Dying Light
Summary:
It’s summertime in Scotland: the sun is shining, the sky is blue and people are dying…
It starts with Rosie Williams, a prostitute, stripped naked and beaten to death down by the docks the heart of Aberdeen’s red light district. For DS Logan McRae it’s a bad start to another bad day.
Rosie won’t be the only one making an unscheduled trip to the morgue. Across the city six people are burning to death in a petrol-soaked squat, the doors and windows screwed shut from the outside.
And despite Logan’s best efforts, it’s not long before another prostitute turns up on the slab. (retrieved from )
Group Review/Comments:
5 Thumbs Up, 2 Thumbs Down, 1 Thumb in the Middle.
MacBride was clearly the better writer of the two this month. Criticism included “too many moving parts”, and the torture scenes–really over the top. However, unlike Tabman, MacBride was good enough a writer to compel us to complete the story. The graphic torture scenes didn’t have the same effect on the group as Tabman’s violence. One member referred to Dying Sin as “cleaned up gritty.” However, there was mention that MacBride’s writing, although appreciably better than Tabman’s, did not elevate this novel enough. One member, G., mentioned, “I like it [mystery fiction] to attempt to approach literature.” There was question of the overall suspense; some felt like we were plowing through to the end…we hung on…but it wasn’t easy. The characters weren’t well developed and no one really got a good sense of Logan even though he was really the main character.
On the plus side, the humor of MacBride was appreciated, and mention was made of the comic descriptions of Steele. All agreed that Logan, sadly, DID belong on the “screw up squad” and many felt the very last mystery to be solved caught us by surprise.