What do You think about The Distant Echo (2004)?
I picked this up free from a recent stay in a holiday cottage, originally only interested because of her close association with Ian Rankin and Iain Banks, two of my very favourite authors. I didn't expect much, after learning that she's at least partly responsible for a TV series involving Robson Greene, but I must admit to being pleasantly surprised. It's very much a game of two halves, the first following four close friends in their student years as they cope with the pressure of being unjustly vilified as murder suspects in a small community. The second half follows some 25 years later, as their rebuilt lives begin to crumble when a cold-case review reopens the case, and the suspects start being bumped-off in suspicious circumstances. Although the book is well-written throughout, with a tightly constructed plot, the first half was what really gripped me. Once the victim's body has been literally stumbled upon, the way the author handles the behaviour of the four protagonists is a marvel. Each of the four react differently, yet entirely believably to the pressure, some growing as individuals, some experiencing understandable psychological crumblings.In the second half, the details that seemed to be little more than circumstantial detail turn into important turning points, and the plot unfolds quite beautifully. It's not quite water-tight, and finding a friendly local forensic expert specialising in paint is quite a slice of luck for a case hinging on such evidence, but by the climax that barely seems to matter. The resolution is probably the least interesting aspect here, it's the handling of character here which really matters, and in that, it's something of a masterclass. Clumsy clichés are skilfully avoided, and genuine insight appears to be reached. It's the first book I've read by Val McDermid, but if the rest are in this kind of class, it will only be the first of many.
—David
4.5* rounded down.-- mild spoilers ahead! --Wow. I really needed reading this one.First things first, I grade McDermid against herself and against other crime writers I like a lot. If I graded her against the average romance (m/m or else), I'd need dozens of stars to find a just balance.There's thick plot, an era and a place portrayed so perfectly as to put you right there, and I never guessed at the murderer, even though the red herring was more than just that. But then, I rarely ever guess correctly, so that may be just me, but on the plot and story level this book thoroughly satisfied me. A big solid chunk of a book.What I also dearly needed was a book cleaning my reader palate of bad, overblown-blowsy, theatrical, over-cute and strainedly "chic" language. I read too much of that lately and it started to clog all my senses and to sour me on books. The amount of genuine Scottish and British expressions was just right to firmly anchor the book (and not so overdone as to read like a direct attempt to dazzle), there were similes and descriptors which worked for me without having to think about it, and she effortlessly creates atmosphere. Maybe what I find the most enchanting is the way how McDermid writes men, and psychopaths. She managed to have me side and sympathise with four lads, during the earliest era of modern lad culture. And she somehow managed to do that without being in any way forgiving about their faults. These were real, genuine boys and men, without any of the artificial affectations so common in romance, and that felt like a fresh breath. Oh and the 0.5* lacking from this is because I can't seem to not want Tony or Carol in her books ;P
—Steelwhisper
I've read a lot of good Val McDermid books, but this one, it just frustrated the hell out of me. I struggled to get through it and seriously thought I'd give up on it on more than one occasion. But, as a fan of the author, I persisted. The gist of the tale is that back in 1978, four students, on their way home from a night of drinking and drugs, come across a dying girl in the snow. They recognise her as someone they know, raise the alarm, try to save her life, but she dies and they become suspects immediately. This book paints the police force as a bunch of incompetent idiots, who have no instincts and can't see as far as the end of their noses. It spans over 25 years, when the investigation is re-opened as a cold case and in present day, the police as still incompetent idiots. I could see who killed Rosie Duff before I was a third of the way through, which I find frustrating, as the clues were not challenging enough and I love to be kept guessing until the end. Not so here. But, it got three stars from me at the end, because of a twist I did not see coming at the end, so a little redemption.
—Mary Gilligan-Nolan
