My favorite Val McDermid novels are the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, but I enjoyed this one almost as much. I did find the flashbacks to be a bit confusing at times, and I kept mixing up the journalist's and the detective's investigations, but overall I was able to keep the story sorted out. I like novels with atmosphere and a bit of history and this one satisfied on both counts. The author did a good job of making the two story lines intersect and resolving the mysteries. And, as usual, the characters were well-drawn and kept the story flowing. I read my first Val McDermid book, A Place of Execution, last week was blown away by how good it was. So I went into this with high expectations. I was not disappointed. This was another tightly woven intricate police procedural combined with family drama & social commentary from the 1984 mining strikes in the UK. It didn't have the psychological sucker punch of A Place of Execution, and I felt like the end wasn't wrapped up quite as neatly and in as much detail as I would have liked, which is why I lost a star. But overall, it was a very enjoyable book and I look forward to reading more Val McDermid books if they are all of this caliber.
What do You think about Nacht Unter Tag (2008)?
Live locally so that was interesting. Plot not great. Not her best... Still worth reading though.
—Renee
slow start hard to read - no chapters ok in the end
—Anthony
Well done, Val. Thanks for the great ride.
—momomoore411
