Review: A Crackerjack Scottish Mhistory
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2014
Chris Longmuir has found, in 1919 Dundee, the perfect time and place for an historical mystery with an accent on issues we still discuss today. The year is still close enough to the 19th Century for us to enjoy a cemetery murder, missing girls, possible devil worship and a hair-raising sequence in an underground labyrinth. At the same time, without slowing the pace, the author probes skillfully into child abuse, women's rights...and the first Scottish policewoman's struggle to survive in an all-male bastion. Mhistory lovers here get the best of all worlds. The Dundee setting is exquisitely rendered in little touches, not agonizing seas of ink. The dialogue never sounds stilted because Chris Longmuir has opted for a natural style of speech--but one firmly rooted in thoughts and values of the day. The division of the book into shortish chapters evokes very subtle memories of Guy Richie's editing of Sherlock Holmes. And, cool surprise, Chris Longmuir has a hot ace up her sleeve: the tack of exploring the day's sexual tensions through continuous attempts to hold hands or to touch...and characters' changing reactions. Terrific writing. Two thumbs up.