Customer Reviews

The Distant Echo (Mcdermid, Val)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

At four o'clock in the morning in December of 1978, four students from St. Andrews School in Scotland stumble across the bloodied body of barmaid Rosie Duff. She is still alive, if barely, and the fastest of the students, Alex Gilbey, runs off through the blinding snow to find help. He eventually staggers up to a police car, covered himself in Rosie's blood and soaked in sweat, looking, he is uncomfortably aware, more like a man guilty of murder than a respectable citizen reporting a crime. Sure enough, in the absence of other suspects, Gilbey and his friends, the self-styled "Laddies fi' Kirkcaldy," are suspected of the murder--Rosie dies shortly after the boys find her--though definitive proof of their guilt is never uncovered.

The murder investigation of 1978 and its repercussions for the four students are the subject of the first part of The Distant Echo. The second part opens twenty-five years later, when Rosie's murder is reinvestigated as part of a cold case review. Modern forensic techniques such as DNA analysis will, it is to be hoped, finally exonerate Gilbey and his friends and bring the real killer to light. But, of course, things don't go as smoothly as one would like for the Laddies fi' Kirkcaldy....

It is a measure of McDermid's success that one cannot be at all confident about the identity of Rosie's killer until it is revealed at the book's end. Until then even the unlikeliest of suspects seem as if they just might have committed the crime. The Distant Echo is tense--I read the last 120 pages or so in one sitting, it being impossible not to do so--and its complex characters well drawn. I am not convinced that in the end the motivation of the killer makes perfect sense, but my niggling doubts are far outweighed by my appreciation of the good read McDermid has given us.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Val McDermid returns to fine form with an absolutely sensational thriller and an utterly compelling page-turner. I was somewhat disappointed with A Place of Execution; although good, it was rather long, and lacked the tightly driven plot and dramatic tension that is usually synonymous with McDermid's work. The actions of the past and how much these dealings come back to haunt us are woven through A Distant Echo, as throughout the first half of the book, the reader is catapulted back to New Year's Eve in 1978 and then, in the second half of the book, bought forward to 2003 where redemption and truth are finally revealed.

McDermid creates a solid and chilly atmosphere as she describes bleak and cold Scottish winters in the town of Kirkcaldy and in the University Town of St, Andrews, where our four main protagonists live. On a frosty, icy night four young students Tom, Alex, David, and Sigmund, full of optimism and idealism about their lives and careers, find the blood soaked body of Rosie Duff, a local girl, who has been brutally stabbed. What happens next turns into a riveting tale of recrimination and blame, as the boys faced with a seemingly, disinterested and inadequate local police force, face a life branded as killers. A Distant Echo, in classic whodunit style really keeps you guessing, and the tension and suspense never ceases as time periods are transcended and the real killer is gradually revealed.

McDermid, to her credit, infuses the narrative with lots of things Scottish. References are constantly made to homemade shortbread, nappies, black bun, sultana cake, Scottish country dancing, grouse, and whiskey. You really get a sense of familiarity, and that McDermid is completely passionate about her roots. She also raises lots of issues to do with gay bashing, hate crimes, and religious intolerance, so the story always has a sense of propinquity, immediacy, and relevance. A Distant Echo is a superbly crafted thriller and well worth the wait. And it without doubt reflects Val McDermid's unique talent as a one of the world's most pre-eminent mystery writers. This is a must read for fans of murder mysteries.

Michael

I picked this novel up a couple of weeks back at the local Borders without knowing what type/kind of thriller this would turn out to be, especially after reading some crappy thrillers for the last couple of months (with all of them marked as either "National Bestseller" or "International Bestseller"). But this one really turned out to be a very good one, not only the overall story line, but all the major characters were very well chosen, extremely fighting fit portrayed and all the facts/events superbly interwoven. Moreover, the whole thing is so finely written and easily readable stuff. I especially liked the way the author managed to delineate the fact how sometimes even trying to help innocently can prove disastrous. Anyway, overall 5 stars!!!

Subhasish Ghosh
5th Jan 2006

St. Cross College
University of Oxford

Its December 1978 in St Andrews, Scotland, and the town is held in the smooth grip of a blanket of snow. Four young men are stumbling home from a party, taking a shortcut over Hallow Hill, when one of them discovers, half-buried in the snow, the body of young barmaid Rosie Duff, bleeding profusely and barely alive. Unfortunately, she dies before any help can arrive, and the four lads become, for lack of any contrary evidence, the only suspects.

Fast-forward 25 years. Now, Fife police have set up a cold-case review team, to apply new techniques to unsolved cases. And one of the cases they will be looking into the notorious Rosie Duff murder. The original quartet of suspects has now been scattered to the four winds. Their bond has been strained almost to breaking by the suspicion that they had to bear, and all their lives have been fundamentally changed by what they uncovered that evening.

Then, one of them dies in a suspicious fire, and the four remaining friends are brought together again with a crash. But, soon, further events conspire to make it abundantly clear that someone is wreaking vengeance or Rosie Duff. Someone who is determined to see that the most harsh of justice is finally meted out to those who killed her

Its rather clear, even from just reading a brief synopsis, that Val McDermids latest book is going to be very, very good.

The Distant Echo returns McDermid to the dizzying heights of A Place of Execution (which, really, is so good that it must be placed outside the genre of crime), while retaining all the sheer enjoyability factor of other successes such as Killing the Shadows. Its an excellent book, destined for great success. Its an intense examination of how suspicion can affect lives, tear them apart, and of the bonds that tie people together, and what it takes to break them.

Its excellently written, and the plot is original and fascinating, and plenty of twists are provided along the way to keep the reader satisfied and interested. Theres enough atmosphere to convince the reader that McDermid is far more than just going through the motions, and the characters are well drawn and real enough to care about. The Distant Echo is a triumph, and a prime example of why McDermid is one of the best thriller writers we have.

Ms. McDermid has delivered another taut and intelligent mystery for her legions of devoted fans, which I count myself a proud member.

I will leave it to others to give a plot and character overview, but believe a reader new to her work will be drawn to how well she constructs her plots and characters. Also, she's very fair in how she places clues in the story for those of us who like to work out the "who done it" before the final exposition.

If you are looking for a book to burn the midnight lamp over, this will keep you engrossed.

My only criticism was a minor character (deviant, bad guy)was named Brian !!

A Distant Echo by Val McDermid is her best so far. Alfred Hitchcock would make this into a great movies. Four friends stumble upon a body on a dark, cold night after partying and college highjinks. The story follows their lives and the enormous impact this event has on them until, in the end, it is finally resolved decades later. The author delves into the psychological impact of friendship, secrets, suspicion, unresolved guilt, and vengeance. These human characteristics muddle the many clues that make the final solution seem obvious in the end, but so unobtrusive one cannot be faulted for not tying them together sooner. Concluding the book,I thought of Chekov and his line about a gun in the first act needing to go off before the play ends. There are lots of guns tossed throughout the story, but they are subtly displayed. The writing is good, the story is plausible and the main characters are well developed and realistic. One can't help wondering what we would do if we were in their shoes. It all comes together in the end, no strings left untied. This is a very good mystery.

THE DISTANT ECHO is one of the best stories I've read in months! It grabbed me on the first page and I kept reading it page after page. Val McDermid tells a definately compelling story with deep insight into her characters. It is filled with suspense and it gallops along. Wow! I look forward to reading all of her 5 star books!

Val McDermid grew up in Kirkcaldy, a small mining community on the east coast of Scotland and studied English at Oxford University. The books she has written featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan have provided the basis for the popular "Wire on the Blood" television series. Her novels have won a number of awards, including the Macavity award, the Anthony Award and Grand Prix des Romans d'Aventure. "The Distant Echo", meanwhile, has picked up the Sherlock and Barry Awards and has been nominated for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. It is one of her stand-alone books, was first published in 2003 and is largely set in Scotland.

The story begins in December 1978 with four students at St. Andrew's University staggering home together after an end-of-term party. Alex "Gilly" Gilbey, Sigmund "Ziggy" Malkiewicz, Tom "Weird" Mackie and Davey "Mondo" Kerr grew up in the nearby village of Kirkcaldy and - despite differences of opinion about David Bowie and Pink Floyd - have been close friends since school. Taking their usual short-cut over Hallow Hill, a hidden tree-root and a shove form Weird sees Alex literally stumbling across something he'd rather have avoided. Rosie Duff, the Lammas Bar's nineteen year-old barmaid, has been raped, stabbed and is barely alive when Alex lands on her. Ziggy, a medical student, tries to keep her alive while Alex runs for help - however, by the time he returns with PC Jimmy Lawson, Rosie has died. Worse is to come : DI Barney Maclennan, who leads the subsequent murder investigation, views the four friends as the prime suspects rather than key witnesses. The police's attempts at an investigation, and their suspicions about the students, become common knowledge : the early part of the book covers the initial investigation and its effects on the four friends. However, they aren't charged, and the case never comes to court.

In late 2003, Fife Police announce they are to look into Rosie's murder again as part of a full-scale cold case review. While the Laddies fi' Kirkcaldy were never charged, there are some who are still convinced of their guilt - including Rosie's brothers, a pair with a violent record. By now, Alex is living in Edinburgh, Mondo is in Glasgow, while Ziggy and Weird are living in America. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Rosie's murder, a date Alex has never been able to forget, he receives a phone call : one of his three friends is dead, killed in what turns out to be an arson attack. Attending the funeral, he notices a wreath made of rosemary and white roses. The message, unsigned, reads "Rosemary for Remembrance". Alex, remembering that Rosie's full name was Rosemary Duff, has started feeling somewhat edgy...

This is the first novel by McDermid I've read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's difficult not to feel sorry for, and worried about, Alex and his friends bearing in mind what the investigation is doing to them, the strain it puts on their friendship and how they are widely viewed as pariahs. The book features plenty of twists and turns, is very easily read and is one I would highly recommend.

Probably no one enjoys a great whodunnit more then I do, since I was raised reading everything Agatha Christie. I am always on the look out for a good old who, how or why dunnit. This book came close to the mark but missed. Don't know why the evil-doer was telegraphed so clearly and early, because surely the author didn't mean for it to be so obvious.

The characters and story line were interesting. Totally agree with other reviewers this could have been trimmed by about 150 pages and been a tighter script.

Loved the language and sense of place in the beginning chapters. By the finish of the book I was ready for the end to come.

3 stars only

Basically this is a standalone whodunit covering 561 pages, and I spotted who did it within less than 20. Normally I'm not that good at guessing such things so this has to be a weak element to the story. It removed most of the suspense for me, because I had to read over 500 more pages knowing the ending. And I was never in any doubt.

A young girl is murdered back in 1978, and at the time the killer is not found although there are several key suspects, in particular the four students who discovered the body. Then we jump forwards to 2003 and the case is re-opened, with the occasional new twist here and there.

What spoilt things for me was the absence of a strong, key central character. Previously I read The Torment of Others by the same author which included two of her most popular heroes Carol Jordan and Tony Hill. I think novels are made or broken by the depth of their central characters, and it's disappointing in this case because I already knew that McDermid is more than capable of creating them. The Distant Echo is compromised by the absence of any truly interesting characters and by its excessive length. Having said that I have confidence in the writer, I have read at least a dozen other novels of hers and I can assure you that I have had very positive things to say about most if not all of them. Val McDermid is one of Britain's leading literary ladies and I can only suggest that The Distant Echo is a mild blip and normal service will soon be resumed. It's not bad, but as one-off McDermid thrillers go it pails into insignificance beside such brilliant novels as A Place of Execution.