Skip to main content

His Bloody Project Graeme Macrae Burnet #inbetweeny

Someone mentioned that the location of this book was set very close to a regular holiday destination of mine in the Highlands. Intrigued I took it as a sign when the very next day I walked into Waterstones and found it standing out cover first on a shelf. As tempted as I was, I deciding to save it until the next time the Highlands beckoned.

Easter it was and just in time as a breather from Bleak House (floundering at page 315) was needed. I love "location reading" and always try to link my holiday reading to my destination. I think it brings something extra to the book and the holiday to be able to say "ooh I've just read about that".

Anyway the book itself is about a triple murder in a small crafting community in 1869 (very holiday reading I know). I must confess during the first few pages I wasn't sure whether the book was fact or fiction. Having no WiFi I chose not to Google more about the book and ploughed on blind.

The book is broken down into various sections, eye witness accounts, a diary written by the accused and then the trial itself. I really enjoyed the short sharp sections finding it suited my holiday reading style of dipping in and out and finished the book within a couple of days.

Although you know right from the get go that three people are killed I did find the actual event quite shocking, and certain revelations during the trial furthered this. I did think that the trial could have twisted the tale even more and I think this is my one (slight) criticism of the book.

I liked the directness of the book with Burnet not stopping to elaborate on events. I would have loved to have glimpsed inside Roddys father's mind (what happened to him?) and to have had more back story about Jetta but to do so would have changed the narrative and merely piqued my interest as opposed to frustrate me.

Overall it was a different kind of murder story to the typical Glaswegian down on his luck detective, with some excellent description of life in the Highlands during the 1850/60s. It was easy to read and it featured Applecross which for me was perfect. It's staying on the shelf.

Comments

  1. Rob9 April 2018 at 08:08

    I really enjoyed this one. Very well written and engaging from start to finish.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mount by Jilly Cooper #inbetweeny

I'll start this blog with a warning, this post does contain spoilers. So if you haven't read the book then please don't read this blog, yet. Of course you should read this post just wait a little while until you've read the latest installment of Rupert Campbell Black (RCB). Warnings out of the way I'll begin. I was massively looking forward to reading this book having hugely enjoyed the previous ones. RCB is my (not so) secret trashy pleasure and has been for many years. This book had all the ingredients of a classic, pages of wonderfully named characters, a few tortured souls and of course RCB with all his horses, dogs and now grandchildren. The book got off to a good start full of characters from old but also plenty of new ones to mix it up a bit. The horse's really played a starring role in this book but I also really loved Gav and at first Gala. Yep only at first as she went strongly down hill and I bet you can guess why. RCB. Here is where I fell o...
Post a Comment
Read more

After The Party by Cressida Connolly

After The Party was May's book of the month. “Had it not been for my weakness, someone who is now dead could still be alive. That is what I believed and consequently lived with every day in prison.’ It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister’s grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory. At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever.” We were very confused initially as to which party the book was referring to. We all thought it...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

"Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn’t supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy. Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the north-west, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Soon the two women’s lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood’s stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake." We talked first about the cover of the bo...
Post a Comment
Read more