babyco 's review for:

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

3.0

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A little disappointed. There was a lot of clunky repetition and some of the voices felt forced, especially the computer professional (Macfadyen), Weird at certain points (saying "he had not accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour" which strikes me as not something someone in his position would typically say...I hear people in his position describing those as "unsaved" way more often), and I felt Weird's characterization came off as caricaturish at points. Alex and Lynn in the middle of the book, etc. The pacing was kind of weird and I think it felt too slow/labored for me to really be able to fall into it as a reader being *thrilled* reading a thriller, or in an intellectual puzzle sense. And that pacing/repetition for me took me out of the story at a couple points; there were moments when it felt more like a constructed work of fiction and less like a compelling, real story. It was still gripping enough for me to finish it quickly though, especially the beginning. I was hoping also for more subversion of common LGBT tropes, like I thought it would be an interesting twist if certain characters turned out to be LGBT (ex. Rosie) rather than the ones that were. This is the first McDermid book I've read, I've heard great things about her and definitely want to give her another try. I picked this book because it seemed like it was the beginning of her most recent series and I'm craving more modern crime mystery novels. I do admire what she did in terms of subverting common mystery/detective tropes. Like the building of tension driven by a party trying to take revenge against innocents, rather than the more typical "suspect is afraid detective will catch them, so the detective is in danger because the suspect is trying to protect themselves." The time skip. The telling of the story from the witnesses point of view, trying to defend themselves. I do think Alex's motivation for getting involved in solving the crime later in the book does feel a little bit tacked on and I feel like I wanted to shake him and get him to behave less like a plot vehicle at certain points. I love Ziggy. Wish there had been more development of Ziggy's character. I love Ziggy's father.
Also I thought for Macfadyen to be driven to such extremes, he would need to be written in a less heavyhanded way...it felt a little forced and difficult to believe his voice/constant reiteration of his motives. Characters in general seemed to overexplain their motives so we readers would REALLY get it. Like Jackie, p.359: "I'll be honest with you, Alex. I can't say I've got any great interest in saving your skin. But you're right. I've got something at stake here too. Helping you find who killed David gets me off the hook. So, who should I speak to?"
The police and private detectives involved also seem too incompetent/amateurish for reality, more a plot device to allow plot to happen. Ex. The PI Weird hires calls 3 funeral home florists to see if they made a rosemary wreath. I'd expect more innovative investigating.
For me a lot of these issues could have been resolved if there were a more of a puzzle/intellectual mystery element to the story that would draw more of my attention.