The Special Dead is the tenth book in the Rhona MacLeod series, but it was the first one that I had read and I still really enjoyed it. There are obviously backstories that I have missed out on - apparently Rhona has past history with DS Michael McNab, who has been demoted for some reason, and there are so many mentions of their past case that it becomes annoying, if you are unfamiliar with what went on before - but overall, it's not a problem at all.
The book starts out with two guys and two girls in a pub, getting to know each other on a rowdy Saturday night out. Two of them, Mark and Leila, peel off and go back to her flat. When Mark wakes up with a hangover from hell the next morning, he discovers that Leila is dead. Did he kill her? He doesn't think so but the whole of last night is a blank.
Then her friend is also found dead. As the police start to investigate, they discover that both of the girls were witches. This left me feeling slightly dubious about where the book was heading, but it is actually dealt with fairly respectfully. The police are dubious - DS McNab, in particular, has a hard time taking it seriously - but the novel avoids a lot of the black-robes-and-pointy-hats witchy stereotypes that I was half expecting.
As the police continue their investigations, they discover Freya, a friend of the girls at the local university library, who - sure enough ! - turns out to be another believer of Wicca. She helps out to the best of her ability and even turns into a bit of a love interest for DS McNab. She also turns into the next potential victim, as the police follow a number of suspects and try to work out the hidden meanings in the various items left behind by the victims.
It's an interesting story, with believable characters and an intriguing insight into Wiccan beliefs. I get the feeling that Freya will continue to put an appearance in the subsequent novels in the series. The main characters, DS McNab and his colleague Rhona MacLeod, the forensic investigator, work well together and undoubtedly have a complex enough relationship to keep things interesting.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £7.99
- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Pan; New Edit/Cover edition (13 Jun. 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1529000688
- ISBN-13: 978-1529000689
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 3.2 x 19.7 cm
That's another author whose name sounds familiar, but I can't recollect reading anything by her. Like the sound of the book, and will keep an eye on the series, once The Works is open.
ReplyDeleteThis is one good thing about the confinement - I've been working my way through my stash of books !
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