Customer Reviews
A tour de force - By: maz, 24 Nov 2008 
A Place Of Execution is the first Val McDermid book I've read & I'm now worried that any book of her I read now will be a let down. It was utterly riveting.
Without giving too much away the book is the story of a notorious child abductionin 1960's Britain. There are chilling references (depictedin newspaper snippets) of the disappearance of two of Brady & Hindley's victims.
The central figures is George Bennet, a newly promoted detective inspector investigating the abduction/murder of a 13 year old girlin a remote Derbyshire village. Faced with dead ends & closed doors it becomes a personal obsession. Years later he tells his story to a journalist,Catherine Heathcote.
The description of policing & investigatingin the 1960s is utterly compelling. There are some harrowing passages, but these are necessary to the plot & thoroughly non gratuitous.
The twist is totally unexpected & brilliant.
I'm not going to say much more. I cannot recommended this book enough.
A TRUE ENGLISH MYSTERY... - By: Lawyeraau, 11 Nov 2008 This Edgar Award finalist & New York Times Notable Book of the Year is a beautifully crafted, intriguing mystery, with well-fleshed characters & an intricate plot. Quintessentially English to its core, this mystery will captivate the reader, not only with its plot but with the vivid imagery that the author skillfully conjures for the reader. Filled with a myriad of twists & turns, this book will keep the reader riveted to its pages.
In the winter of 1983, a thirteen year old girl, Alison Carter, out for a walk with her dog, suddenly vanishes from her sleepy, insular English hamlet. Although there is no corpse, an unexpected discoveryin a local cave brings George Bennett, the young Inspector assigned to the case, to an inevitable conclusion, leading to an arrest. Despite its resolution, this case will continue to haunt Inspector Bennett for decades to come.
When journalist Catherine Heathcote decides to write a book about the Derbyshire murder case, the now retired George Bennett fully cooperates until the eve of publication, when he suddenly requests that the book not be published for reasons that he refuses to share with Ms. Heathcote. Suddenly, the intrepid journalist senses that there is more to this story than meets the eye, & she sets out to unravel the secret of what really happened to Alison Carterin the winter of 1963. It is a journey of discovery that will fascinate the reader.
Those who enjoy beautifully written, well-plotted mysteries will simply love this highly atmospheric book. The author is clearly a superlative writer, with real talent for writing intricately plotted mysteries, while creating memorable characters. Bravo!
One of my favourite books - By: crime reader, 09 May 2008 This is one of the very best books I have ever read. Unlike some of her other books this one is not gruesome, so will appeal to the more squeamish reader like myself. It is absolutely brilliant & the twist to the story is totally unexpected. Fascinating & unputdownable!
Possibly McDermid's best novel - By: one-eyed Jack, 07 Mar 2008 Val McDermid has written some outstanding novels (The Torment of Others, Wirein the Blood & Mermaids Singing come to mind) but somehow, somehow this one probably tops the lot. It is utterly immaculatein its (forgive the pun) execution,in its structure,in its characterisation &in its capacity to surprise & even deceive the reader. I need not go over the summary of the story here as so many others have already done that, but can I just repeat the words of the Daily Telegraph's Gerald Kaufman, who stated that 'It may be that McDermid will write better novels than thisin the future, but I do not see how.' I concur with that view absolutely.
For those of you who remember seeing Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' the first time, you will probably recall wanting to see the film all over again immediately, realising at the end that most of what had gone before was not as you had assumed. So it follows thatin A Place of Execution, despite admirably detailed accounts of the investigations into the case of a missing teenage girl backin 1963, whichin effect come to a seemingly satisfying conclusion three-quarters of the way through the book, the final quarter which unravels itself 35 years laterin 1998 manages to completely dismantle our earlier belief that justice had been done & made me want to read the 1960s part of this book again to see if I could have guessed what was coming. Of course, I already knew that there was going to be a twist to this tale & I took much pleasurein taking guesses as to what it would be; a miscarriage of justice was the most obvious, but that cannot be said to be true because for all human reasons other than legal, justice was clearly served even if there were some unexpectedly high prices to be paid, it later emerged, on the part of more than one victim.
This is storytelling at its best. The characters are so real that I feel that I want to contact them & talk about their experiences. I led myself to understand that A Place of Execution is based on a true story,in which case it only serves to underline that truth is invariably stranger & more convincing than fiction. There are some stories that just cannot be made up, & I reckon that this is one of them. Knowing the story was based on real-life events had left this novel on my library shelves at home for more than a year - what a mistake that was, & I discovered this within a handful of pages. It has few flaws, it has been written by a masterful & confident writer at the top of her game & I recommend it without reservation.
If you haven't read it yet, then do not hesitate : order your copy today. And while you're at it, buy at least a half-dozen more Val McDermid novels, becausein the world of suspense, mystery & crime writing she really has very few peers.
Top drawer crime fiction. - By: Rocking Ryan, 04 Dec 2007 I am a connoisseur of crime fiction, & I don't give 5 stars lightly! This book is simply one of the best books I've ever read! Gripping, believable & unpredictable. It was a clever idea to set the story around the times of the moors murders, as this helps to keep the story unpredictable. Val Mcdermid has written some other good books most notably 'Wire In The Blood'(though I'm not a fan of the Kate Brannagan books), but this book is far & away her bestin my opinion.
