|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
If the man down the block was taken in as a murder suspect, how would you react? Would you look at him with suspicion, even if he was released for lack of evidence? Would you avoid him in the streets, keep your children from visiting his, try not to meet his eyes in the local store? Now how would you feel if the tables were turned, and the suspect was you? Twenty-five years ago, Alex Gilbey and his three best friends were staggering home through the snow when they stumbled across a woman who'd been raped, stabbed, and left for dead. Though they tried to revive her and ran for help immediately, they remained at the top of the suspect list. In the space of twenty-four hours, they went from young, relatively carefree college students celebrating their upcoming Christmas holidays to de facto murderers met with hatred and revulsion at every turn. Not one of them was arrested and tried. Not one of them ever forgot a single event during their ordeal. November, 2003 - Fife police begin re-examining unsolved murders dating as far back as thirty years ago in the hope that new forensic technologies will allow them to obtain convictions in cases where a lack of evidence had previously left them stymied. Alex Gilbey and his friends hope desperately that whoever murdered Rosie Duff so very long ago will finally be brought to justice. The events of that winter shaped them as adults, influencing their decisions and altering the paths their lives may have taken. Will they finally be cleared, now, decades later? Someone does not seem happy with the idea. First, one of the quartet is killed by an arsonist. Then a second member dies in the course of a home burglary. Coincidence? Alex doesn't think so. He's convinced that this is vigilante justice at work, and scared that he might be next. The police are getting nowhere, though the evidence is mounting up to support his convictions, and time is running short - will the real killer be found before Alex becomes the latest victim? Val McDermid has given us another well thought out and beautifully executed tale. The plot races. Frustration at every turn builds tension; escalating violence and an insight into the characters' thoughts build suspense. I was impatient for the resolution. As the years pass and the boys turn into men, their characters become more and more compelling. I wondered how long they could take the anger and bitterness, whether it would overcome them or eventually fade away. The theme repeats itself at various levels throughout the book - if you are thought to have stolen something at work, how does it change the way your colleagues think of you? Would you feel angry, humiliated, helpless? How would you deal with it? Unfortunately, I found the climax slightly unfocussed and somewhat disappointing. Though the relief of tension was huge, I wasn't completely satisfied with the events that took place or the answers that had been over twenty-five years and four hundred pages in coming. The story seemed simply to run out of steam, as though both the characters and the author were too exhausted by everything that had happened previously to continue on. Despite that, I do think Ms. McDermid has turned out another fine performance. THE DISTANT ECHO is an absorbing read that touches on issues relevant to everyone's lives. It left me with a lot to think about.
Reviewed by Jenifer Nightingale, June 2003
This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
