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Just because an author has a highly developed sense of humour doesn't necessarily mean he can't write a pretty good crime fiction novel. Stuart MacBride is a case in point. In BLIND EYE, he has invented some horrific mutilations for his villain to perform yet, in places, he had me giggling so hard that tears were rolling down my cheeks. DS Logan McRae is sufficiently unlucky to discover a body, albeit one that still contains a spark of life. The man has been badly beaten but that is not the worst of the torture. He has also had his eyes forced out of their sockets and the surrounding area burned. To add to his woes, a policeman in his party also accidentally shoots a Polish woman who may be innocent of any obvious crime, although there are degrees of innocence. The blinded man is not the sole example of the torturer's arts. There are other victims, also Polish, and there are anonymous letters claiming responsibility and threatening reprisals on more Poles for their awful crime of immigrating to Aberdeen. Somehow, however, everything that goes wrong is laid at the feet of Logan McRae. Logan, in the meantime, is being hotly pursued by DI Roberta Steel. She is in hot pursuit of the detective Sergeant for a particularly sensitive task. She want him to impregnate her partner, Susan. No hands on - or the equivalent - contact. She just wants him to make a deposit in a little plastic container and he will be off her hook. Somehow, Logan is reluctant. In the meantime, a local crime family becomes involved when one of them is blinded. The McLeods are a nasty bunch but do not fit the profile of the Oedipus victims, as they are not Polish. Logan gets to mix with the good and the bad. He has to interview a Catholic priest who defends the sanctity of the confessional while, at the same time, admitting he has nothing relevant to conceal on behalf of his parishioners. Neither the police nor the criminals seem to be overly intelligent in this outing. Nonetheless, the entire adventure is entertaining, witty and well plotted. Logan is probably the most convincing character but DI Steel is an attractive character, in a repulsive sort of way. MacBride may have a way to go before he can compete with the very best writers of crime fiction, but I doubt he has a great distance still to cover.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, June 2009
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