A review by kellyvandamme
The Scribe by A.A. Chaudhuri

3.0

I was lucky enough to read The Scribe via the Pigeonhole and I enjoyed it. There were quite a few comments from my fellow pigeons about the fact that chief inspector Carver enlists Maddy Kramer's help, so I feel it's something I should address. First of all, the lead investigator seeking civilian assistance is not uncommon in fiction, it's a trope I've come across rather often, and it's probably quite rare in real life investigations, but this is fiction, and it's not like I had to suspend disbelief all that much: Maddy is clever and she belongs to the niche where the murders are being committed. Moreover, Carver's dealing with a serial killer and he's on a deadline, I can see how he would just grab any help he can get, because bringing in external resources would take too long. Again, most likely not the way things are done in actual police investigations but frankly, I didn't give two hoots! When it's 30 degrees Celsius out and you're reading in the garden, you don't want your novel to be hyperrealistic, you want to be entertained. And that I most certainly was!
A lot of red herrings here, most I saw through, but Chaudhuri did manage to surprise me with one of the reveals.
One to read and simply enjoy, not analyse.