The Distant Echo
1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by darkhorse4460 from Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, April 24, 2019
On a freezing Fife morning four drunken students stumble upon the body of a woman in the snow. Rosie has been raped, stabbed and left for dead in an ancient Pictish cemetery. And the only suspects are the four young men now stained with her blood.
Twenty-five years later the police mount a ‘cold case’ review of Rosie’s unsolved murder and the four are still suspects. But when two of them die in suspicious circumstances, it seems that someone is pursuing their own brand of justice. For the remaining two there is only one way to avoid becoming the next victim – find out who really killed Rosie all those years ago…
I haven't read nearly enough Val McDermid and surely should!
Twenty-five years later the police mount a ‘cold case’ review of Rosie’s unsolved murder and the four are still suspects. But when two of them die in suspicious circumstances, it seems that someone is pursuing their own brand of justice. For the remaining two there is only one way to avoid becoming the next victim – find out who really killed Rosie all those years ago…
I haven't read nearly enough Val McDermid and surely should!
Journal Entry 2 by darkhorse4460 at Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Monday, June 24, 2019
It's true I haven't read enough Val McDermid and on the basis of this, I really should read more. This was a gripping treat and I stayed up late to finish it!
I like it is divided into two time periods, the first half set in 1978, the second 25 years later, no skipping around or flashbacks. I liked the real feeling of time and place that she establishes in the first half, it felt very real to me maybe because I was a teenager and a student in that era and it all came vividly back, although I've never been to St Andrews or been involved in a murder! The characters are all set up well so that we really feel the terrible impact the murder of Rosie Duff has on everyone and see the different paths it sets them on. 25 years later, the four 'witnesses' are middle aged and have successful careers and relationships, but the shadow of the crime still hangs over them.
A cold case is opened. Some new and surprising developments emerge but who was the murderer seems as illusive as ever. What happens is intricate and gripping as we see events from a number of points of view but never so deeply into a character that we can determine who really knows the truth.
The outcome is both surprising and not surprising. As usual I kind of half guessed but never saw the whole picture. I like my crime thrillers to be slow burn and complex with lots of psychological insight. This ticks all the boxes.
I like it is divided into two time periods, the first half set in 1978, the second 25 years later, no skipping around or flashbacks. I liked the real feeling of time and place that she establishes in the first half, it felt very real to me maybe because I was a teenager and a student in that era and it all came vividly back, although I've never been to St Andrews or been involved in a murder! The characters are all set up well so that we really feel the terrible impact the murder of Rosie Duff has on everyone and see the different paths it sets them on. 25 years later, the four 'witnesses' are middle aged and have successful careers and relationships, but the shadow of the crime still hangs over them.
A cold case is opened. Some new and surprising developments emerge but who was the murderer seems as illusive as ever. What happens is intricate and gripping as we see events from a number of points of view but never so deeply into a character that we can determine who really knows the truth.
The outcome is both surprising and not surprising. As usual I kind of half guessed but never saw the whole picture. I like my crime thrillers to be slow burn and complex with lots of psychological insight. This ticks all the boxes.
