Reviews with content warning for Murder - Jego krwawe zamiary

A very slow read that becomes a page turner near the end. I wished it wasted less time with young roderick being clueless or had developed other, more interesting, characters further. As it is, this is an unreliable but also boring narrator story about an unhinged murderous man.

I was more taken by

his sister suicide

than I was his whole story

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

His Bloody Project centres around the story of Roderick Macrae brutally murdering three of his small crofting community.

From the outset there seems no doubt that Roddy is guilty - he admits to the crimes and provides his own account of events, with some explanation as to why he did what he did.

But will we ever uncover the truth?

This was such a cleverly constructed novel. Presented as an investigation of a real life event, the blurring of fact and fiction is immediately disorientating. The reader is presented with various versions of events - eye witness accounts, Roddy’s statement, the coroner’s reports, the findings of a criminal “expert”, the trial and testimonies of a variety of witnesses and experts.

These accounts vary considerably. What was Roddy’s real motivation for the murders? Who is telling the truth? Who is reliable? Who has their own agenda to fulfil?

I found this quite a “meta” reading experience. You’re aware throughout that your sympathies are being manipulated. If we’d been presented with certain pieces of evidence in a different order would we have formed the same theories? How can you ever know who to believe? How do you define the “truth”?

The portrayal of life in a Highland crofting community was unflinching and much of the harsh reality of the poverty of the Highlanders existence was dealt with here - the crofters’ lack of rights, the subjugation by the laird and factor, the hardship of eking out an existence from the land.

There were also engaging characters - to love and hate! Despite being the assumed culprit Roddy is not necessarily the villain of the piece - at least to begin with….

Anyway I could ramble on for ages about this book. I loved it and despite the historical setting the questions around perception, public opinion and truth are still very relevant today.

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