As it has been awhile, I can't fully articulate why I loved River of Darkness so. I recall it as a well written and tense mystery set in Britain shortly after the end of World War 1. A rural family is massacred and few clues are left. The Inspector suspects the killing may be linked to the war itself. I believe my favorite moment came in the middle of the book. One of the victims left a strange drawing, and when you realize what it is, it is a wonderful shock.
Having warm memories of the prior book, I was happy to try the Blood Dimmed Tide, a sequel set in 1932. This time someone is killing young girls in the countryside and once again, the killings appeared tied to larger events. I enjoyed the book and finished it rather quickly, but I didn't get the same level of enjoyment that I did from River of Darkness. On the plus side, the pacing was excellent. I also liked the message that actions have consequences. On the negative, the writing seemed a bit off. I can't even guess how many characters would "scowl" in reaction to hearing something. Perhaps England was a bit down in 1932. There was also less suspense as you had a decent sense of what was happening early on. And the story itself seemed a bit more run of the mill. It is better than average, for certain, but unlike River of Darkness, I don't feel compelled to tell people to read it.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Blood Dimmed Tide
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2 comments:
At least one reason I thought River of Darkness was a great success was that Airth managed to make the main character very likable without making him uninteresting. Detectives are often depicted as either (i) single-minded and somewhat offputting (think of Marlowe, Bosch or Rebus), (ii) so charismatic as to make it rather unbelievable that they have a hard time maintaining their friendships (Elvis Cole springs to mind), or (iii) complete badasses that don't really exist in the real world (Joe Pike is a good example). Airth's detective came off, to me at least, as a kind and decent person who'd been pretty well broken by his wartime experiences. The reader (or this reader) really invests in the character and wants him to succeed. Ross MacDonald often managed that with Lew Archer, I thought.
Or something like that.
A nice analysis Steve. And it points to a potential issue with Tide. In this book, John Madden (the main character) has retired but becomes involved in the investigation, as a civilian.
As such, his role is reduced. And he does seem to do a lot of scowling.
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