This is probably my favorite of the series, though I had to skip books 4 & 5, as my library lacks them. I was worried I'd have a hard time catching up, but having read the first three, I found that my knowledge of Carol, Tony and their relationship was enough to get me deeply engaged in this book without having to know each particular reference to past cases.The violence, while brutal, was not too torture-porn-y as it has been in previous books, and the motive for murder was an excellent and fairly original one. I really love McDermid's style and hope to petition my library to fill in the gaps in this series so I can continue on! Multiple setting, slow pace, far too many characters. These were some of the reasons that kept me short of appreciating the story to the extent I would have liked. Dexterous though, as it came by when I dug deeper into the book, the narrative was lucid enough for me not to lose track of the things entirely. I am not sure if it requires getting used to reading Val’s work, but I certainly had to will myself through this one – my first – at least half a dozen times. It’s rated over 4 by readers and as a writer I know that is no fluke. I probably need to read more of her. Which I surely will.The Plot. There’s a killer on the loose. A psychopath, who lures young victims to isolated spots before killing them brutally. The killer is smart, doesn’t leave any clues, uses public computers and never uses the same name. He goes by repetitive alphabets like zz or kk. The killings are spread in two police jurisdictional areas. One where Carol, one of the protagonists, works. She lives as a tenant in Tony’s house, the protagonist number 2 who is also a psychologist. But this time around she is unable to hire him due to her new boss who suspects she is helping Tony earn good money and whose quality of criminal profiling he finds shallow. He also accuses her of having an affair with Tony. Tony, on the other hand, is fighting the most tumultuous time of his life. His father, whom he never knew, has left him a big mansion, a yatch and lots of money. He is fighting an inner conflict – he is not sure if he should honour the father’s heritage as the man never came forward to claim Tony was his son. There is another cold case that the police are after. The three cases seem to converge as the sea of characters comes in and out of the scene. A good book, but could have done better with fewer characters and setting. And a better connected sequence of events.
What do You think about Gorączka Kości (2009)?
I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I want to read more books by this author.
—chelo026
Well written - grips you and you don't want to put it down
—darionfa
Bit Slow in parts but overall a good story.
—shanu
