The Dead by
Ingrid Black
pbk out January 04
(Headline)
at £6.99
This Dublin based serial killer thriller paints an authentic picture of the physical city:
its geography and climate, buildings and districts, but fails to carry that Irish flavour
into the depiction of characters, their interaction and dialogue. The sense of another
culture is sadly missing, we could be in any big city. Saxon, a former FBI agent, is a
reluctant immigrant to Dublin and lover of Detective Chief Superintendent Grace
Fitzgerald. The relationship between the two women is convenient in that it allows
Saxon an in on the investigation but there's scant sex or romance here. When The
Night Hunter begins to kill again after a five year absence, Saxon is convinced
someone else is to blame. Even though the killer is mimicking the earlier string of
murders and taunting the press about it, she (and only she) knows for sure it can't be
The Night Hunter - after all she killed him. There's a nice tone to the critical and
jaded Saxon's account, including some pithy comments, and Black manages a
twisting plot well enough to keep us hooked but the gun-loving Saxon stretches our
credibility to snapping point when she crassly exposes herself to danger and acts with
stupidity in a climactic scene.
Manchester Evening News 20.12.03
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
The Dead by
Ingrid Black
