Val McDermid, A Place of Execution
In 1963, thirteen-year-old Alison Carter disappears from Scardale, a hamlet in Derbyshire, England. For recently promoted inspector George Bennett, it is an opportunity to demonstrate his skills, but it will soon also become a personal crusade: learning that his wife Anne is pregnant, Bennett feels he has a responsibility towards other parents, and in this case, to Alison’s mother Ruth…
However, despite Bennett’s eagerness, Alison is not found, and, as days passes, very few clues tell the story of what happened to her on the cold December night of her disappearance. Her dog was found unharmed, but, later on, some gruesome discoveries let Bennett think the worse…
Thirty-five years later, journalist Catherine Heathcote decides to write a book about Alison Carter’s disappearance. George Bennett cooperates, until one day he withdraws his consent for the publication of the book without a word of explanation. What terrible knowledge did he uncover about a case long closed? What could prompt this honest detective to want the truth hidden?
A Place of Execution is a very suspenseful mystery, with an ending I hadn’t been expecting. Event though I found it was a bit light on the characterization (as regular visitors of this blog know, I usually favor mysteries with a psychological depth such as Elizabeth George’s or Ruth Rendell’s), this one had the originality to go beyond the boundaries of a traditional police investigation. It is not its only merit, since the solution to the mystery seemed fresh and original even to a mystery lover like me. I am glad to have discovered another good mystery writer and I’ll be looking for other mysteries by Val McDermid…
Rating: 4/5
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