Customer Reviews

Deadline for Murder: The Third Lindsay Gordon Mystery (Kate Brannigan Mysteries)

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Veteran mystery writer Val McDermid, in this third installment of the Lindsay Gordon series, presents with care an intense potboiler where, regardless of the outcome, emotions are bound to explode. If Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone has a lesbian alter ego, Lindsay is it; her ability to keep her cool and her focus, especially during instances of innuendo when alone with her ex-love, is especially admirable.

Fans of the traditional "whodunit" will enjoy this tale of passion and deception--in more ways than one--and Lindsay's search to find the truth, even at the cost of a friendship. A smooth pace in action and dialogue moves the reader quickly through the 200-plus pages of Deadline for Murder, and keeps one entralled until Lindsay does meet that deadline.

Val McDermid can write and I'm always grateful for her lesbian characters who just happen to be lesbian rather than that being a plot device. Lately though her stuff has had a lot of gratuitous violence and in the last one a rape scene written to titillate - as if there weren't enough of those written by men. So it was great to find her older series with a more straight forward mystery, well plotted and with interesting characters. Highly recommended.

This little book is fabulous in a way I can't specifically explain, lest I give away the book's intimate secret's. ;) Anyway, in order to really get the most out of this novel, you need to have read the prior two books in the Lindsay Gordon series. If you have done that, I can pretty much gaurentee you will enjoy, or at least have a powerful reaction to this little critter...

Reporter Lindsay Gordon learns the hard way that you can never go home again. When she returns to Glasgow after staying away for awhile due to the political repercussions from her previous investigation (see COMMON MURDER, a very good novel), she quickly finds out that her lover Cordelia Brown has found someone else, Claire Ogilvie. Lindsay's former lover, journalist Alison Maxwell, is dead, allegedly killed by one of Claire's former mates, Jackie Mitchell, who has been convicted of the crime. This may sound like "who's on first", but it is more lucid in the novel. .... .. Claire has chutzpa as she asks Lindsay to investigate Alison's death because she believes that Jackie is innocent and wants new information for the appeal. Lindsay decides to look into the case for her own personal reasons. As Lindsay digs deep into the life of Alison, she realizes two startling facts about her swinging lifestyle. Alison had numerous lovers and wannabe lovers, and the case is much deeper than a simple murder. It leads to blackmail, prostitution, and espionage involving stolen classified government documents. If Lindsay is not careful where Alison's threads take her to, she may find herself as the next victim. .... .. DEADLINE FOR MURDER is an exhilarating mystery novel that has numerous interesting characters, not the least being Lindsay. The story line is like the beginning of a roller coaster as it starts slowly up the incline and suddenly takes off at warp speed. Though the ardent feminism may turn off some readers, it really should not stop most mystery fans from enjoying a good book. Val McDermid, author of the Kate Brannigan series, is clearly in her element with this fabulous feminist mystery. ......Harriet Klausner -----