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htliang
Feb 27, 2016htliang rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I didn't enjoy Val McDermid's "The Skeleton Road", but I decided to give her novels a second chance with "A Place of Execution". A missing 13-year-old girl becomes the center of Inspector George Bennett's life as he works tirelessly to try to find out what has happened to her. The novel was extremely long and dragged at points, especially since I had a good idea as to where the author was going with the plot. I was correct in my thinking (albeit with a slight twist). The novel might have been more interesting if I had not figured this out so quickly. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I found the "atmosphere" of the novel depressing. Val McDermid can bring a scene to life with her detailed descriptions. For example, when the missing girl's dog (Shep) is found and is brought home to the mother (Ruth): ...Ruth hadn't even moved when he'd opened the door. It was the sound of the dog's claws on the stone flags that had dragged her eyes away from the window. When she turned, the dog had dropped to the floor and, whimpering, crawled toward Ruth on her belly. "We found Shep tied up in the woods," George had said. "Someone had taped her mouth shut. With elastoplast." Ruth's eyes widened and her mouth twisted in a rictus of pain. "No," she protested weakly. "That can't be right." She dropped to her knees beside the dog, who was squirming around her ankles in a parody of obsequious apology. Ruth buried her face in the dog's ruff, clutching the animal to her as if it were a child. A long pink tongue licked her ear. I thought that passage was well-written and tugged on the heart-strings.