Share for friends:

Read The Distant Echo (2004)

The Distant Echo (2004)

Online Book

Author
Rating
3.93 of 5 Votes: 1
Your rating
ISBN
0312994834 (ISBN13: 9780312994839)
Language
English
Publisher
st. martin's paperbacks

The Distant Echo (2004) - Plot & Excerpts

3.5/5 starsOn a cold snowy morning in St Andrews, Scotland in 1978, four drunk university boys returning home from a party, stumbled on a young barmaid fatally stabbed in the local cemetery. She died before help could arrive and the witnesses themselves became the prime suspects. Lack of evidence resulted in no one being charged.Twenty-five years later, the case is reopened as part of a special review of unsolved crimes, in light of new forensic and technological advances. Alex Gilbey and his three friends are now respected professionals doing well in life. But the reopening of the case that haunted them all their lives, brings with it new terrors: someone is meting out their own brand of justice and revenge on the four men. Will the real killer be discovered before the friends lose their futures too?I read The Distant Echo many years ago, and thought I’d read it again.The pace of the novel is steady and engaging with a strong plot that unfolds well in unexpected ways. The narrative is occasionally slow and boring, but not so much that you get discouraged from finishing. There is a constant heightened sense of tension prevalent throughout the book. The setting is vivid and atmospheric.The characterization is strong and distinct – the portrayal of the four main characters: what they go through (individually and together), and the various ways they react to and cope with the burden of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, they are not one-dimensional; they have secrets and misdeeds to their names which may jeopardize their future.The progression of the narrative was unpredictable; it covered all the characters and their thoughts. The first half of the book was stronger in the way it dealt with the affect of the death and investigation on the boys. The impact of being wrongly accused, of becoming social pariahs and living with the shadow of death and accusation is effectively portrayed. The book is also a comment on incompetent police work which is more concerned with results than truth.Though the identity of the killer was not surprising, there was a wonderful twist in the end with respect to the other crimes which was shocking. I enjoy books that deal with cold cases and this one delivers. It’s dark, good and insightful.Review posted on Gemstreet Reviews

I think McDermid achieves more with her one-off characters in this book than some writers of crime fiction manage over the course of a detective’s serialised career. Other than the ‘Wire in the Blood’ series, this is my first Val McDermid book; not having had any of her stand-alone novels individually recommended to me, they just never made it onto my radar (seriously, I’m having that radar decommissioned) but even the appeal of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan as crime-fighters didn’t prepare me for the ease with which the author could get me to care for four disparate yet strongly-bonded friends who stumble onto a murder scene on a cold, snowy night in Fife. The fifth major character in this novel is suspicion – suspicion which links, bonds, causes rifts, upends lives and haunts them, until 25 years later the same four lads are still in the frame when the investigation re-emerges as a cold case. Only this time, they aren’t just being looked at. They’re being killed.I suppose I’ve read other crime fiction where innocent people fall under suspicion as the police follow leads, particularly where the detectives doggedly pursue the wrong person for most of the book, but the atmosphere of panic and depression is so artfully drawn out that it’s impossible not to emphasise with Alex, Mondo, Weird and Ziggy, even while the reader wonders which of them might have done it.The dénouement isn’t quite as unique. I don’t know if it was more of a shock in 2003 when it was published (I can’t remember when this particular trend in crime fiction began), but it’s satisfying enough in 2011, anyway.The Distant Echo might still be a puzzler for some, although even if you consider yourself a fair fictional villain-spotter, there’s a lot worth reading about this story beyond the answer, if you’re a fan of the genre, and it’s still definitely a page-turner (I must remember to review the next book I dislike as having ‘stuck together pages’).

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

Write Review

(Review will shown on site after approval)

Read books by author Val McDermid

Read books in series Inspector Karen Pirie

Read books in category Mystery & Thriller