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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Received from Goodreads First Reads. Let me state by way of context that I am a fussy crime reader, it’s a genre I enjoy but find I can often be disappointed by what I pick up.
Having read a couple of let-down crime novels recently I gave myself a bit of a breather before reading this, as I wanted to approach it with a properly open mind. I am glad I did because it is a really good read. David Mark has an excellent writing style and has crafted his characters with a lot of enjoyment and empathy, refusing to fall back on clichés (which in my opinion too many crime authors are guilty of). The plot is truly gripping, and you are pulled in right from the beginning. The plot is fairly unique and what makes it enthralling right from the prologue is how can a death at sea and a murder in Hull possibly be connected? The crimes are kept grounded enough to feel realistic, not becoming too sensationalist, presumably due to the authors time spent as a crime reporter.
David Mark obviously believes that his readers and intelligent people, and leaves enough of the plot under the surface for the reader to ponder over and work through. There are really good connections between the characters and the setting – basically all elements of the writing sit together well.
I will conclude by saying that it’s quite obvious that a significant amount of time and enthusiasm has been put into creating this book, and I sincerely hope it does go into a series.
Having read a couple of let-down crime novels recently I gave myself a bit of a breather before reading this, as I wanted to approach it with a properly open mind. I am glad I did because it is a really good read. David Mark has an excellent writing style and has crafted his characters with a lot of enjoyment and empathy, refusing to fall back on clichés (which in my opinion too many crime authors are guilty of). The plot is truly gripping, and you are pulled in right from the beginning. The plot is fairly unique and what makes it enthralling right from the prologue is how can a death at sea and a murder in Hull possibly be connected? The crimes are kept grounded enough to feel realistic, not becoming too sensationalist, presumably due to the authors time spent as a crime reporter.
David Mark obviously believes that his readers and intelligent people, and leaves enough of the plot under the surface for the reader to ponder over and work through. There are really good connections between the characters and the setting – basically all elements of the writing sit together well.
I will conclude by saying that it’s quite obvious that a significant amount of time and enthusiasm has been put into creating this book, and I sincerely hope it does go into a series.
“Dark Winter” by David Mark, is a debut novel and the first in a series! A British police procedural mystery set in Hull, a port city in North Eastern England, this series features a protagonist who has the character to see us through several books…. I only hope he does.
Aector McAvoy (Hector) is a transplanted Scot, a family man with a pregnant wife and a young son. He is larger than life, both in physical size and moral character. Blessed with a fine tuned acuity for noticing connections between events, he is excellent at his job. Set just a few weeks before Christmas, the novel fairly brims with atmosphere.
The summary from Penguin.com (USA) reads:
“A teenage girl adopted from Sierra Leone is chopped down with a machete in front of the entire congregation. A retired trawlerman is found dead at the scene of a tragedy he escaped, the only survivor, forty years ago. An ugly fire rages in a working-class neighborhood, and when the flames die away, a body is discovered, burned beyond recognition.
Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is sure there is a connection between these crimes, but his fellow officers are not convinced—they would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a family man more obsessed with being a decent cop, a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring databases that being gung-ho with his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, McAvoy decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, on the hunt for a murderer, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…”
The author, David Mark, though a debut novelist, is a seasoned journalist, so he is well versed in writing and does it superbly. Highly recommended!
Aector McAvoy (Hector) is a transplanted Scot, a family man with a pregnant wife and a young son. He is larger than life, both in physical size and moral character. Blessed with a fine tuned acuity for noticing connections between events, he is excellent at his job. Set just a few weeks before Christmas, the novel fairly brims with atmosphere.
The summary from Penguin.com (USA) reads:
“A teenage girl adopted from Sierra Leone is chopped down with a machete in front of the entire congregation. A retired trawlerman is found dead at the scene of a tragedy he escaped, the only survivor, forty years ago. An ugly fire rages in a working-class neighborhood, and when the flames die away, a body is discovered, burned beyond recognition.
Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is sure there is a connection between these crimes, but his fellow officers are not convinced—they would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a family man more obsessed with being a decent cop, a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring databases that being gung-ho with his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, McAvoy decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, on the hunt for a murderer, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…”
The author, David Mark, though a debut novelist, is a seasoned journalist, so he is well versed in writing and does it superbly. Highly recommended!
Creative premise, but no. It's ok to pass the time, not awful. But not really very believeable either.
Solid and enjoyable first mystery in a series. This is a fast, satisfying book that is marred by a wildly improbable plot.
DS Aector McAvoy #1
Hull, UK, present day
First line: The old man looked up, and for a moment it feels as though he is staring
through the wrong end of a telescope. The reporter is forty years away.
The sole survivor of a tragedy at sea forty years ago is struck down as he travels to
the original scene for a memorial. DS McAvoy investigates whether it is a case of
perverse coincidence...or delayed "justice".
There are a few wobbly plot points, mostly having to do with jerky segues, that keep
this from being an A read. But the writing and the characterizations are top notch and
I can't wait for the second entry in this new series.
Hull, UK, present day
First line: The old man looked up, and for a moment it feels as though he is staring
through the wrong end of a telescope. The reporter is forty years away.
The sole survivor of a tragedy at sea forty years ago is struck down as he travels to
the original scene for a memorial. DS McAvoy investigates whether it is a case of
perverse coincidence...or delayed "justice".
There are a few wobbly plot points, mostly having to do with jerky segues, that keep
this from being an A read. But the writing and the characterizations are top notch and
I can't wait for the second entry in this new series.
enjoyed this debut crime thriller where there is serial killer loose and killing people who survived tragic events and its set to DS Aector Mcavoy to solve and try and understand the cases are inter related only problem have is the ending seems a bit rushed and not thought out but on the whole maybe if this is going to be a series that he will develop the character and plot better
Three bodies are in the morgue in Hull, East Yorkshire; each of them a sole survivor of a past tragedy. Someone is playing God, targeting the people who have once cheated death. It is up to Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy to try and stop them. In the depths of The Dark Winter, driven by need for justice will he find himself on the wrong side of the killer’s blade?
Aector McAvoy is an unlikely hero; he is more of an office worker than an investigator and you get the feeling he would more comfortable on a computer working than pushing his weight around as lead detective of this case. He is also appears very compassionate which makes for an interesting situation. The dark gruesome nature of this crime mixed with the ‘niceness’ of the protagonist never really worked for me; it felt like cosy crime trying to break into a noir novel.
There are secrets and complexity to this case that really didn’t translate well in the writing. I can see what the author was trying to do but I never felt like it came across well. There are the twists in the case and I was glad for them because I was often close to abandoning this book as it wasn’t working for me.
While Aector was too compassionate and nice to be a decent protagonist solving these horrific murders, the rest of the characters in the book were too one dimensional that I couldn’t really get a sense of their personalities.
When it came to the plot I think David Mark has some great ideas and with his journalism background he did know how to make these macabre crimes feel realistic, but I felt there were too many hole in the story. Mark has the potential to be a good crime writer, with better character development and more practice in weaving a complex plot together. But in the end this book didn’t work for me, I struggled off and on with the book and in the end had to really force myself to finish it.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/01/11/book-review-the-dark-winter/
Aector McAvoy is an unlikely hero; he is more of an office worker than an investigator and you get the feeling he would more comfortable on a computer working than pushing his weight around as lead detective of this case. He is also appears very compassionate which makes for an interesting situation. The dark gruesome nature of this crime mixed with the ‘niceness’ of the protagonist never really worked for me; it felt like cosy crime trying to break into a noir novel.
There are secrets and complexity to this case that really didn’t translate well in the writing. I can see what the author was trying to do but I never felt like it came across well. There are the twists in the case and I was glad for them because I was often close to abandoning this book as it wasn’t working for me.
While Aector was too compassionate and nice to be a decent protagonist solving these horrific murders, the rest of the characters in the book were too one dimensional that I couldn’t really get a sense of their personalities.
When it came to the plot I think David Mark has some great ideas and with his journalism background he did know how to make these macabre crimes feel realistic, but I felt there were too many hole in the story. Mark has the potential to be a good crime writer, with better character development and more practice in weaving a complex plot together. But in the end this book didn’t work for me, I struggled off and on with the book and in the end had to really force myself to finish it.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/01/11/book-review-the-dark-winter/
A fine who-dunnit, but a bit slow, only a few moments of suspense. Original murders, although I wonder if the reading experience would be different if the blurb didn't spoil how the murders are connected.
Dark Winter is a fantastic debut of a police procedural series that takes place in northern England. Just as Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy seems to be able to put himself in the mind of a killer, David Mark has developed his characters so completely that the reader can almost put himself in the mind of McAvoy as he is connecting dots that no one else even sees. McAvoy may be a gentle giant of a man but he is also determined to get at the truth even if his job is in jeopardy. Luckily, he finds a believer in his boss, another dedicated officer who also is fighting to keep her job.