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Title: The Distant Echo by Val McDermid ISBN: 0-312-30199-5 Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (18 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Old crimes are never forgotten.
Comment: Val McDermid's "The Distant Echo" is about four boyhood chums from Scotland who call themselves Ziggy, Weird, Mondo, and Gilly. They are university students at St. Andrews in 1978. The young men love carousing, drinking, and getting high. One night, after a late party, the four literally stumble upon the body of Rosie Duff, a young woman who had been brutally assaulted, stabbed, and left to die. The police consider the four lads to be suspects. However, since there is no solid evidence connecting them to the crime, they are not charged. However, the shadow of Rosie's death hangs over them for the rest of their lives. Twenty-five years go by. The four young men move on with their lives, but Rosie's death has not been forgotten. After so much time has passed, the men become the targets of a determined killer.
When she is in top form, Val McDermid is truly splendid, as she proved in her wonderful novel, "A Place of Execution." However, "The Distant Echo" is a paint-by-numbers thriller. The plot is recycled from innumerable books with the theme that old murders and long-buried secrets never die. In addition, at over four hundred pages, the novel is much too long and repetitious. Most unfortunate of all, the ending is so clearly telegraphed that there is absolutely no suspense in the final pages.
The only positive statement that I can make about "The Distant Echo" is that the four protagonists are an interesting and varied lot whose personalities change over time. I cared about these characters and I was interested to see what would become of them. However, it took a great deal of patience to finish this book, and only the most determined McDermid fans will want to pick up "The Distant Echo."
Rating: 5
Summary: Superb
Comment: This is the first book by Val McDermid I've ever read, but definitely not the last.
On a cold December evening in 1978 drunken four coeds from St. Andrews University stumble upon the bleeding body of Rosie, a local barmaid, in the snow. Before one of them returns with help, she has died and each of them are suspects.
Slowly their personal secrets are revealed as their lives are torn apart. Eventually they are able to focus enough to complete their college education and begin their careers.
Twenty-five years pass and their past comes back to haunt them. Rosie's murder has not been solved and a close relative of hers appears and wants revenge. One by one the co-eds of 1978 begin to meet their fates and their makers until Rosie's real murderer is revealed.
Rating: 5
Summary: Her Best Since Place of Execution
Comment: Val McDermid is an excellent writer and certainly one of the top suspense writers today. The psychology involved in the Distant Echo crimes and the psychology of the characters' responses to the crimes never fails to be satisfying. This book finds her in great form--this is just as good as Place of Execution, arguably her best work.
Ms. McDermid has a real forte in carefully layering the melancholy atmosphere of a winter murder in Fife, Scotland. Her characters are believable and likable. The plot is superb and complex. Halfway through the book, the reader already feels like she/he has enjoyed a great novel of suspense. Happily, that's only the first half of the book!
I feel comfortable recommending this novel to even the most discerning reader.
One of my dislikes concerning the works of Ms. McDermid is a determination to promote her particular brand of feminism and homosexuality. There are short passages that are dedicated, or so it seems, solely to making a statement on those issues. Just a little too pedantic for my taste. This is certainly a minor matter, but I think her characters would come across as more evenhanded if she were to temper that trend.
Overall an outstanding novel!
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Title: Playing with Fire : A Novel of Suspense by Peter Robinson ISBN: 006019877X Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 20 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Babes in the Wood: A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery by Ruth Rendell ISBN: 140004930X Publisher: Crown Publishers Pub. Date: 21 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0316095648 Publisher: Little, Brown Pub. Date: February, 2004 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Now May You Weep: A Novel by Deborah Crombie ISBN: 0060525231 Publisher: William Morrow & Company Pub. Date: 07 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Narrows: A Novel by Michael Connelly ISBN: 0316155306 Publisher: Little, Brown Pub. Date: 03 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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