Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 2
First Line: Conversations in the Macduff police office ceased the moment Detective Inspector Walter Byrne barreled through the plate-glass doors.
Two years ago Seth Mornay, ex-Royal Marine, returned home to start a new life as a Detective Sergeant in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Grampian police force. When the body of a woman is found in an old churchyard, it's up to Mornay and his partner, Constable Claire Gillespie, to solve the case despite the fact that their immediate supervisor seems to be throwing cogs into the works every chance he gets.
It took almost half this book before the pieces began to fall together and "percolate". In the beginning, Mornay is shown as being more interested in the number of women he can bed than he is in solving his cases. His career in the Royal Marines is mentioned several times but details are extremely sketchy, and the tired convention of the obstructive superior tends to bore me. Since I've never been impressed by detectives with overactive zippers, I was seriously thinking about sending this book along to the next reader unfinished. Mornay was supposed to be the Whiz Kid of the Grampian CID, but none of the evidence was supporting that claim.
Fortunately Kincaid managed to get Mornay on track. One or two details about his past in the military, Mornay's sudden abstinence, and the tie-in of an earlier case made The Last Victim in Glen Ross an involving and interesting read. My day was saved.
I have the next book in the series, Last Seen in Aberdeen, on my shelves, and I'll be picking it up sometime in future to read the further adventures of DS Mornay.
Two years ago Seth Mornay, ex-Royal Marine, returned home to start a new life as a Detective Sergeant in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Grampian police force. When the body of a woman is found in an old churchyard, it's up to Mornay and his partner, Constable Claire Gillespie, to solve the case despite the fact that their immediate supervisor seems to be throwing cogs into the works every chance he gets.
It took almost half this book before the pieces began to fall together and "percolate". In the beginning, Mornay is shown as being more interested in the number of women he can bed than he is in solving his cases. His career in the Royal Marines is mentioned several times but details are extremely sketchy, and the tired convention of the obstructive superior tends to bore me. Since I've never been impressed by detectives with overactive zippers, I was seriously thinking about sending this book along to the next reader unfinished. Mornay was supposed to be the Whiz Kid of the Grampian CID, but none of the evidence was supporting that claim.
Fortunately Kincaid managed to get Mornay on track. One or two details about his past in the military, Mornay's sudden abstinence, and the tie-in of an earlier case made The Last Victim in Glen Ross an involving and interesting read. My day was saved.
I have the next book in the series, Last Seen in Aberdeen, on my shelves, and I'll be picking it up sometime in future to read the further adventures of DS Mornay.
Cheryl R. (Spuddie) -
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book in a new series (there are only two so far) set in small-town Scotland. The main character, Detective Sergeant Seth Mornay, is an ex-special forces type whose personal life is a mess. He must put all that aside to investigate the murder of a young woman in the church graveyard in the tiny village of Glen Ross. I enjoyed the book quite a lot; a quick read with some interesting characters. The mystery itself was fairly weak, but it's a first book so am willing to give the author some slack, especially since the characters were so interesting. I'm trying to procure the second book in the series as I have faith that the author will get better with practice. :)
