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I am not often deeply impressed by genre novels, though I've come to see that, as with all books, it's the quality of the writing that makes the difference.
I just finished a new mystery that deserves a post of its own: A Dark So Deadly by Stuart MacBride.
This is a long novel: 608 enjoyable pages. It was so delicious that I have already ordered two more by the same author. MacBride is that good. Right up there with Tana French (see here) in my mind, yet very different in style and voice.
A Dark So Deadly is a mystery and a police procedural—there is a great deal of procedure—that never lags for a moment. MacBride is the author of the bestselling Logan McRae series. This one is a stand-alone novel whose main detective is DC Callum MacGregor. Callum is an earnest fellow who gets accused of all kinds of malfeasance. He experiences one of the worst days imaginable when his girlfriend leaves him for a colleague and his mother's severed head is discovered, having been frozen for more than two decades.
As much as the narrative is plot-driven, twisty, and fast-paced, with several challenging cases intertwining, what appeals to me most (and probably to others of MacBride's many fans) is the witty banter among the characters. There are a lot of characters but they're easily distinguished. Here's a brief extract from a conversation between Callum, trying to leave the office for a lunch break, and a colleague:
McAdams frowned. ‘And where, exactly, do you think you’re going, Constable MacGregor?’
So near, and yet so far. ‘Lunch, Sarge.’
‘Lunch? Off to hide in the park reading … He checked his watch. ‘And you don’t have time. That mummy needs its home found. Get your arse to work.’
‘I’ve been working.’ Callum picked up the list, all eight pages of it, and shoogled it. ‘Now, I’m going to waste my contractually mandated lunchtime in the building society, trying to get them to give me some of my own money, so I can buy food for my pregnant girlfriend. That all right with you?’
McAdams snatched the list from his hand and flicked through the sheets. Frowned. ‘Constable, why do these museums have the word “dick” written next to them?’
Ah …
‘I’m waiting, Constable.’
Right. Yes. Er …
Ah, OK: ‘It’s not “Dick”, Sarge, it’s “D.I.C.K.” Database Incomplete – Currently Checking. Most of them don’t have an electronic register of all the exhibits in storage, so they’re getting back to me.’
McAdams raised an eyebrow, making a line of wrinkles climb its way up his forehead. ‘“Checking” doesn’t start with a K, Constable.’
Innocent face. ‘Doesn’t it, Sarge?’
The following conversation occurs when Callum first meets Constable Franklin, his new partner:
Oh yeah, babysitting this one was going to be bags of fun.
‘Off you go then.’
Franklin turned on her heel, face all pinched and flushed. Narrowed her dark-brown eyes and bared her teeth at Callum. ‘Do we have a problem, Detective Constable?’ Voice like a silk-covered razorblade.
Wow. She was just … wow. Completely … like a model or something. Not just pretty, but totally—
‘I asked you a question.’ She curled her top lip, exposing more perfect teeth. ‘What’s the matter, never seen a black woman before?’
‘I … It … No.’ He blinked. Stood up straighter. ‘I mean: no. No problem. Welcome on board.’ He stuck out his hand for shaking, but she just pushed past and marched from the room, slamming the door behind her.
‘Bloody hell …’ Callum leaned against the wall.
‘I know. Magnificent, isn’t she?’ McAdams grinned at the closed door, then laid a hand against his chest. ‘Skin like warm midnight. Her eyes are moonlit rubies. Her heart: frozen steel.’ A sniff. ‘See if I hadn’t already ticked “threesome” off my bucket list?’
Be aware that this tale has gory aspects. That is, the serial killer's victims are mummified, the lengthy process described graphically. If you can stomach that, it's a pleasurable read.
Copyright (c) 2017 by Susan K. Perry, author of Kylie’s Heel
