No Sorrow to Die: An Alice Rice Mystery by Gillian Galbraith
| No Sorrow to Die: An Alice Rice Mystery by Gillian Galbraith | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Louise Laurie
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| Summary: A bedridden, extremely ill husband and father has been murdered and DS Alice Rice along with her team have their work cut out to find the killer. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 224 | Date: April 2010 |
| Publisher: Polygon | |
| ISBN: 978-1846971648 | |
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I hate to start on a negative point but I have to admit that the title didn't grab me. It's more of an everyday phrase than a memorable title to draw in readers. Having said that, I can see it's very much Galbraith's style. However, on a positive note, she's onto a winner with her chosen location of Edinburgh. Its brooding architecture and narrow alleyways suit dark tales. Galbraith makes the most of this renowned city and mentions many places in and around the city centre. For example, ... her attention caught briefly by a man on Arthur's Seat trailing a kite behind him ... Very evocative, like a landscape painting.
Straight away, DS Rice has a gruesome murder on her hands. The victim, a Mr Brodie (a suitably Scottish name) has had to give up a lucrative and interesting career due to ill-health. He's now merely existing. He's waiting to die, basically. He wants to die. So straight away, the plot starts to thicken nicely. We're introduced to a clutch of characters, or, more appropriately, suspects. Apart from the immediate family, the extended family, there's also various others, home helps etc. It seems several people have an axe to grind as far as the recently deceased Mr Brodie is concerned. You have to ask yourself the question at this point, who'd murder a frail, almost-dead man? It would take a particularly callous person. Mr Brodie would have been virtually unable to have put up any sort of struggle. It would have been similar to killing a tiny, helpless kitten. He's so far gone, why not just play the waiting game?
As the novel unfolds we find out more about the Brodie family members but also about the police murder team. This all ensures that the reader connects nicely with the story. And I did. It works. It is certainly a page-turner, but a rather polite page-turner.
There's also a nice strand of local humour, with lots of slang words, in-house police jokes and put-down phrases. It's a deft touch. I particularly liked the creative line a la Robert Burns which reads ... wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous ... shitie. Brilliant. All Burns fanatics will either love or hate that line.
Interestingly, although the novel is modern both in terms of dialogue and time frame, the art of storytelling here is very traditional. It's a little bit of a hybrid. It's as if the urbane Alexander McCall Smith has been crossed with the crime writer, Ian Rankin. But for me, this novel falls between two stools. In my opinion, it lacks the charm of McCall Smith and the grit of Rankin. I would not really describe this novel as particularly gritty, even although the subject of murder is undeniably so, by definition.
Galbraith tackles issues such as sexism and society's perception towards physically and mentally handicapped people, which adds another level to this novel. All-in-all, a satisfying detective novel with all loose ends nicely tied up. I easily read this book in one sitting. An ideal 'beach' read if you'll pardon the worn cliche.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If this book appeals then try Hide & Seek by Ian Rankin.
Gillian Galbraith's Alice Rice Mysteries in Chronological Order
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You can read more book reviews or buy No Sorrow to Die: An Alice Rice Mystery by Gillian Galbraith at Amazon.com.
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