A Place of Execution

"You shall be taken in the place from whence you came, and thence to a place of lawful execution, and there you shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead..."

A 13 year old girl has gone missing in a small insular English village - a village like a small medieval fiefdom that does not deal well with outsiders. A body cannot be found, but there is an accumulation of circumstantial evidence. This is a police and judicial procedural novel. It follows the case through investigation, charges and arrest, trial and execution. You would think at that point it is at an end.

But then there is book two, taking place 35 years later. A woman is writing a book about the case. Sometimes when you dig into the past you can dig too deep. Most of us were involved with things as children, or knew about things, that were not discussed outside the small group we associated with. It is sometimes better to let sleeping dogs lie, and take some knowledge to the grave. But something is discovered that requires explanation. So what do you do at that point?

This is a well written story with a lot of detail. It is not a quick read. It will give you a good picture of the English justice system, but there is more than one form of justice. It will also give you a good picture of a tight knit group of people who prefer to handle their own problems in their own way.

I thought this would be quite good based on the reviews and the accolades, if not actual awards, it had received. I actually endured reading it - convinced that the ending would be worth the payoff for writing that was so flat and lifeless despite its very strained attempts to provide period character.

The twist at the end, which might be called a double-twist, or maybe just a twist-and-a-half or twist-plus, was really not particularly surprising despite my lackadaisical attention to significant portions. I had very nearly taken to scanning the pages by the last 50-75 pages.

The book is simply far too long for its modest, if interesting, story (and it feels every page of its length). Another reviewer said it could have been a short story - I think a novella would have been a fine length - or simply a screenplay probably the best format as the additional text didn't offer a deeper experience or real elaboration beyond what could easily be delivered in a 110 minute film. The characters were not developed; instead, so much of the copy was filler. If a cigarette was smoked, which in a 1960's police environment, many were, the brand was identified. The deepest character development was that one of the police on the case was a lover of jazz and a birder. There is no suspense created in the process. She tells us the characters are anxiety-ridden and but we can't help but feel bored. Honestly, it read like a good author gave a brief treatment to to a middling high school student to flesh out the novel - maybe with a couple of techniques to move the writing beyond the 10th grade.

And while the writing attempts to capture or evoke an environment or period, it really just doesn't work - much of it just rings hollow or doesn't connect. I just never really developed the since of place and time that the book tried to convey - despite the fact that I read a lot of British fiction, of various vintages, and I considered the setting a plus when picking the book.

If you are really intrigued - skim it. Seriously, the crystal around which the story formed is clever enough, but it is not worth devoting the time to reading the complete text - it was a joyless read for me. They could make a good movie of it, and I think 2 hours would be a reasonable investment of time in the story - not a few hundred pages.

This is my first Val McDermid novel and it definitely will not be my last. When I finished reading the book I had to take a breather to take in everything that happened in this story. It is thought provoking and disturbing.
It is December 1963. George Bennett, a newly promoted inspector, is sent to Scardale, a small hamlet in England, to investigate the disappearance of 13-year-old Alison Carter. Since this is Inspector Bennett's first case, he hunts high and low trying to find the whereabouts of the missing teenager. Everybody in town is very protective and they do not make the investigation easy for the police. They do not volunteer any information and one gets the feeling that everybody in town knows something that we do not. After a week's investigation, the police find evidence that suggests that Alison was raped and murdered.
Shortly thereafter, an arrest is made. The suspect is convicted and punished even though he claims to be innocent. Alison's body was never found but they still managed to find the suspect guilty. This could easily have been the end of the book but it is only the first three-quarters of the novel.
In the last quarter of the book thirty-five years have already passed. Catherine Heathcote, a journalist, manages to get George Bennett, now retired, to participate in a true crime book about the murder of Alison Carter. He agrees and collaborates in the writing of the book. It is not until the last possible moment that Bennett asks Heathcote not to publish the book. During a recent visit to Scardale he uncovered some new evidence that brings a whole lot of questions regarding the crime. He refuses to say anything more regarding the case.
Heathcote, not easily swayed, investigates. Her discovery has serious repercussions to a lot of people involved in McDermid's work. This is what make the book great and why I put it in my highly recommended list.

Ms. McDermid gives us a real "stand-alone." Not only is it not a serial mystery, it can be read as a complex novel by the non-mystery lover. The characters are out of the ordinary and multifaceted. The locale is an integral part of the tale and never far from our mind. There are many players, yet the author makes each so distinctive, the reader never has the dismaying problem of trying to remember who is who and why are they are appearing or disappearing.
The inbred inhabitants of Scardale may have some genetic degeneration, but lack of shrewdness isn't one of them. Also their ability to close ranks when one of their own is threatened is awe-inspiring. I felt there was a little too much agonizing and soul searching on the part of George Bennett, the newly minted Detective Inspector on the case; however, his doggedness was presented well. He was both appealing and exasperating. There were a few clunky clues, and I had a strong suspicion of the guilty party, but was mystified throughout as to how the author was going to resolve the mystery.
Recommend this thoughtful, exciting book for anyone, particularly a "cozy" lover who would like to expand his or her horizons.

I ordered this novel partly because a writer I really enjoy recommended her (I don't mean via book blurb, but actually mentioned her in a book of her own). The trouble with being a bibliophile is that I can read faster than my favorite writers can write. I am always on the lookout for someone new, who is good.

If you are part of the instant-gratification generation, with a life that started with video games when you were young, you may not have the patience for this writer. The general librarian's rule of thumb is to give a book 5 chapters before you reject it; I am so glad I held out.

The story takes off slowly, but then builds. It goes from okay, to interesting, to actually quite interesting...and by the time you are halfway through the 465 pages, it is a can't-put-it-down.

The writer isn't a word-painter like Elizabeth George. She won't make you say "Ahhh" on page 1. She specializes instead on originality, character development, and foreshadowing. Her setting is also rich, original, and believable.

I confess I quibbled a tiny bit with the ending. I didn't entirely believe it would shake out that way in real life. But read it and see what you think; as for me, I have to conclude this review so I can go order some more Val McDermid books!

Thirteen-year-old Alison Carter disappears on a frigid December night in 1963. No one is more determined to discover her fate than newly promoted Detective Inspector Bennett and his able and trusted partner Detective Sergeant Tommy Clough. For Bennett, the search for Alison, "even if it is just to bring home a daughter's dead body to her mother" becomes a crusade. Their investigations are hampered by the seemingly insular and inbred feudal community of Scardale where Alison lived, along with her closely-knit family of mother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Their homes and livelihood depended largely on the grace of their landowner and squire, the much-disliked Philip Hawkin, Ruth's second husband and Alison's stepfather. From the barest of clues, coaxed like blood from stone from the locals, Bennett and Clough mount an investigation, garnering ghastly evidence that ultimately results in a conviction and an execution. Justice was served. Or was it? It will take thirty-five years and an ambitious and aggressive journalist to uncover the truth behind Alison Carter's disappearance.

My feeble attempt at a synopsis cannot do justice to this masterpiece. From its introduction to its ending, Val McDermid's A Place of Execution had me on tenterhooks. Anyone who would deny the fact that mystery novels can be literature must not have read this. Expertly written with fully fleshed out characters so vividly described you'd swear they were right before you. The ingenious plot whose denouement and its horrors could not be diminished by any reader's speculation, no matter how dogged the effort, will remain in my head for a long time. The sensitive yet unflinching depiction of a most heinous crime and the agony it caused make me admire the author's skill even more. There is not a single one of its 465 pages I would take away--every single one of them was a pleasure to read! And did I say justice was served? In my opinion, it was.

It was a good read, well written and the story lines do generate some excitement. However, some events felt forced - some plotting contrivances took one star away. Another star was dropped due to not a lot of excitement in the reading.

When I think about the book, it had a very good ending - one that was a surprise to me. But I give it three (and a half) stars because it could have been written more concisely. I love a good murder mystery as much as the next person (Sandford, Connolley, Kellerman), but this one moved too slowly for me.

I will try her again though, because I like her style. Her character development is thorough and story line is good too.

I read the whole thing cause I did want to find out the "whodunit", so it kept me going from that point of view.

I don't recommend strongly.

This book was recommended by a friend. I love Val's books. They are usually put together well, but this one was awful. The only interesting character was the newspaper man. I think his name was Smart. See, I can't even remember the names of the characters. The story line was so apparent that I knew who the killers were by the middle of the book.

Fans can take a chance, like I did, but I'm sorry, Val, I do not recommend this book.

After I finished this 500+ page book, I passed it onto my mystery lovin' grandfather, who then passed it onto my aunt. In other words, the books become a family classic!

I read it over a rainy weekend. Indeed, it has a setting that is cold and calculating...characters that, if one is like me, one will always be suspicious of the motives...and many twists and turns...

The book also is divided into several sections: beginning; trial; ending (I'm sure they're called something other than that but that's what I'm calling them off the top of my head).

While I knew the book had a surprise ending, I did not see the one Ms. McDermid chose coming. Of course, once I found out what it was I fell in love with it, and the rest of the book came together.

My biggest gripe about the book was the sheer length of it. It easily could have been cut by 200 pages and still been an excellent novel...though at the time that seemed like a bigger deal than it does now. The ending also seemed a little sharp, as though more could have been taken from the beginning of the book and added to the end. My grandfather complained about too many details, especially about such things as characters drinking tea. Go figure. He is a man...

Anyway, I did give this book five stars, because despite it's length and any misgivings my mother's father may have towards it, it's a read that's well worth your time. Purchase it today.