The Coffin Maker's Garden by Stuart McBride
Published by HarperCollins UK
Publication Date: 7th January 2021
Crime Fiction
Book Description:
A village on the edge…
As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith’s home is falling into the North Sea. But the crumbling headland has revealed what he’s got buried in his garden: human remains.
A house full of secrets…
With the storm still raging, it’s too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and waves are devouring the evidence. Which means no one knows how many people Smith’s already killed and how many more he’ll kill if he can’t be found and stopped.
An investigator with nothing to lose…
The media are baying for blood, the top brass are after a scapegoat, and ex-Detective Inspector Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way.
My Thoughts:
I have to admit to having made a huge error in choosing this book as I haven't read the previous books in the series which put me on the back foot big time. I struggled to understand how the characters interlinked and had no knowledge of previous events which had a huge bearing on the story. I understand that this was entirely my error and as such I apologise to the publisher for offering to review this book without having done sufficient background research. Having said that, I did enjoy the story of The Coffinmakers Garden. There are several story threads which give plenty of depth to the plotting and character building talent of the author. There are plenty of situations where you really don't know who's going to make it out of the book alive - and whether the law or the vigilante are going to reach the target first.
The book begins with a very atmospheric scene of a child going missing during a raging storm. The coastline is taking a battering from a very rough sea and coastal erosion is taking its toll on the cliff edge, with a chunk of cliff collapsing into the sea exposing the shocking remains of a serial killer's secret cemetery. Former DI Ash Henderson and his team are brought in to find out what on earth has been going on in this remote Scottish coastal town - and how long for.
Despite this being a shocking tale of kidnap and torture I love that there are excellent touches of dark humour throughout this book. The characters are so well-written with gritty Scottish phraseology used to make the people very genuine and credible. I definitely want to re-visit this series from the start so I can enjoy it in its entirety and get the most out of this excellent author's writing.
Thank you again to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book, and I am sorry I wasn't the best person to review it - my rating reflects the struggle I had with the lack of background, not the quality of writing.About the Author:
Stuart MacBride was born in Dumbarton near Glasgow but grew up in Aberdeen. He is the number one bestelling author of several novels featuring DS Logan McRae. He has been shortlisted for the Theakstons's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award twice. Stuart won the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library, awarded for a body of work, and was named Best Breakthrough Author at the 2008 ITV Crime Thriller Awards.
No comments:
Post a Comment