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A review by pollyno9
A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
4.0
Val McDermid is a superb author. I've read all of her Tony Hill novels, and watched and re-watched the Wire in the Blood TV show, but I was still unsure if I truly enjoyed her writing, or those specific characters. It's the writing, for sure.
When I started this one, I wasn't really in the right mood for a mystery, but the characters and well described setting really drew me in. The jacket was a bit misleading to me, I thought that the book was going to be a bit more half 60s mystery/half 90s conclusion, but the 90s conclusion is truly a conclusion, encomapssing only the last... oh, less than a quarter of the book.
Another concern I had (that the 60s portion would be boring and dry, maybe even a bit cheesy) was completely unfounded. Her characters read true, and if one handed them modern conveniences they'd fit in perfectly in any police procedural, modern or not.
When I started this one, I wasn't really in the right mood for a mystery, but the characters and well described setting really drew me in. The jacket was a bit misleading to me, I thought that the book was going to be a bit more half 60s mystery/half 90s conclusion, but the 90s conclusion is truly a conclusion, encomapssing only the last... oh, less than a quarter of the book.
Another concern I had (that the 60s portion would be boring and dry, maybe even a bit cheesy) was completely unfounded. Her characters read true, and if one handed them modern conveniences they'd fit in perfectly in any police procedural, modern or not.