Messiah by
Boris Starling
pbk out February 99
(HarperCollins)
at £5.99
Who says that the serial killer sub-genre is played out? A good deal of
blood has flowed under the bridge since Thomas Harris wrote "The Silence of
the Lambs", yet in the hand of talented writer, a multiple murder thriller
can still make for a compelling read. As if to prove this, we have had in
the space of a few weeks two highly impressive debuts from young
practitioners of the serial killer novel. John Connolly's "Every Dead
Thing", set in the United States, has already attracted widespread critical
praise and is a good bet for this year's CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger.
But Boris Starling's first book is likely to offer it stiff competition.
"Messiah" may not have quite the same depth as Connolly's novel, and its
outcome is a shade more predictable (although Starling's culprit has
something in common with Connolly's) but it is heart-stopping stuff all the
same. Even though it weighs in at not far short of 500 pages, the urge to
devour the book at a single sitting is almost irresistible.
A brutal murderer is at large in London. His victims are all male, but the
only other connecting link is that he removes their tongues and leaves a
silver spoon in their mouths. The case is investigated by Detective
Superintendent Red Metcalfe and a small team of trusted subordinates. Red
becomes obsessed by the need to track down the killer, but as the
investigation stumbles from one crisis to another, and as the body count
rises relentlessly, it becomes clear that the guilty secrets of his own
past are coming back to haunt him. Short snappy chapters and a
present-tense narrative style which is less obtrusive and irritating here
than in many books contribute to the pace as the pursuit for the man Red
dubs Silver Tongue hots up. This is a gripping mystery and augurs
exceptionally well for Starling's future in the genre.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Messiah by
Boris Starling