About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED
by Christopher Brookmyre
Little, Brown, August 2011
304 pages
$34.99 CAD
ISBN: 140870269X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

There are two female protagonists in Brookmyre's latest novel, each very different from the other, but both headed, however unclearly, in the same direction. First up is Jasmine Sharp, twenty years old, and looking to recover some sense of direction following the death of her mother. She'd hoped to become an actor, but had to drop out of drama school to nurse her mother through her final illness. Now she has been taken on as an apprentice private investigator by her uncle Jim in what appears to be an act of pure charity, since no one would seem more ill-suited to the job than Jasmine. Her greatest strength is an ear for local accent that would be perfectly at home in the first act of Shaw's PYGMALION, but otherwise, she spends most of the time saying to herself, "Don't screw up, Jasmine," and then screwing up.

Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod is quite a different matter. She is happily married to a man quite a bit younger than herself, the mother of two young boys, and almost completely successful in her career. She has, however, been recently passed over for promotion in favour of a man who is more politically astute than she is and less driven, or so it would seem, to ensure that every villain is under lock and key. Her mantra, learned from her mentor, is simple: '"This is Glesca, " Moira told her...."We don't do subtle, we don't do nuanced, we don't do conspiracy."' Catherine is to find out that yes, sometimes there are conspiracies, even in Glasgow.

Jasmine's uncle Jim has unaccountably disappeared and Jasmine sets about to find him, getting little help from the police at the beginning, even though Jim is a retired cop. Her investigation is a bit wobbly though based on what she's been able to pick up from her uncle in her short time on the job. But almost at once she is in over her head and were it not for the intervention of a somewhat mysterious chap, Jasmine and her enquiries would have come to an abrupt and literal dead end.

Catherine, for her part, has a nasty, probably gang-related murder to deal with, as well as the suspicion that the man who was given the job she wanted is less committed to bringing criminals to justice than he ought to be. Brookmyre alternates chapters between Jasmine and Catherine, with Jasmine's story being largely an action thriller, while Catherine's is a solid police procedural. But each woman is learning something about herself along the way, so that they will both emerge from the experience as stronger characters.

If this doesn't sound like the Brookmyre of the past, that wildly inventive spinner of gloriously scatological, hilariously improbable fantasy thrillers, it isn't. There isn't a jobbie in the entire book. It is as though Brookmyre has said to himself, all right, it's time to grow up and be serious. He's even changed his name a bit on the cover - he is now Chris, not Christopher. I would be less than honest if I said this is an altogether welcome change. WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED is a very good book indeed, well-plotted, well-characterized, very well-written. Centring the narrative on two different and interesting women is a welcome innovation. But sometimes you just want to be taken somewhere over the top, some place you might not be able to get to on your own. Brookmyre could take you there in his earlier extravagantly-titled assaults on convention and good taste. Perhaps, as he writes his way into what appears to be the first in a new series, he'll find a way to include the odd excursion to the wilder shores of crime - Jasmine is almost ready for one.

§ Yvonne Klein is a writer, translator, and retired college English professor who lives in Montreal.

Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, August 2011

This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]