Dead Catch — T. F. Muir Book Review
Over at the coasts of Scotland, a boat has landed to shore. What first appears to be an old boat stranded on shore due to the stormy nights opens up a casket of mysteries and murders. The story of a police investigator’s journey to uncover a string of unanswerable questions and to finding the missing link connecting seemingly isolated events together is one which is definitely worth the read.
World-Building
The story takes place in a Scottish town which resides near the coast. A small community with its own host of pubs, as per British tradition. The town itself is surrounded by meadows at the far edges and the community is generally quite. The police force isn’t particularly too large either, judging from what I pieced together, especially since they typically don’t work at the weekends.
Characters
The main character is police investigator Gilchrist. He is a father with a tendency to separate family from work. And he works all the time, leaving no time for any familial issues, which he later tries to circumvent by meeting and talking with his son and daughter. He is supported by his colleague, Jessie, who acts as an assistant for Gilchrist during his various inquiries. She also has a criminal brother, Tommy, who has somehow involved himself in the middle of everything. Then there is Smiley, an extremely uptight policewoman in charge of the department. She answers to McVicar, who is responsible for management of the police force in Glasgow.
There is also a man by the name of Jock Shepard, who is the crime patriarch of Scotland. Nothing happens without his knowledge. He is above the law, above the police. Logically, he becomes a possible suspect of the string of murders happening around this area of Scotland…
Story Structure
The journey itself was suspenseful, with the reader discovering clues of interest as Gilchrist is investigating with the underlying question of how everything actually links together. Piece by piece, there is a sense of the murder and what the greater conspiracy actually is.
There were also some family drama side stories, nothing over the top. These involve the son and daughter of Gilchrist: Kris and Maureen. There are also limited scenes with the child of Jessie whose name eludes me.
As a whole, there is a good balance between the main story and the extras. I did not feel the side story dragging the main story, nor did I really feel any significant fillers overtaking the central narrative. Each page enticed me to read the next page, although not to the same addicting extent as The Eyes of Darkness, which I briefly reviewed not too long ago.
Summary
In Brief:
- It’s a detective mystery taking place in a Scottish town near to the coast.
- It starts off from the discovery of a mutilated body on a forgotten boat.
- The central character is DCI Gilchrist who is supported by Jessie.
- The central suspect is the Scottish Crime Patriarch Jock Shepherd.
- The pacing is fine.
- The side stories are also interesting.
Genre: Thriller, Mystery.
Afterwords
If you are interested in a simply detective story which eventually culminates to a plot twist in a plot twist and if you prefer a material which isn’t too long, then this book is for you. It’s not too overly complex, but the conclusion itself was quite intriguing. A great and enjoyable read!
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