It’s a few days before Christmas, and with the holidays upon them, for four students of St Andrews university, this has been like many other nights, a few drinks in the Lamas bar, a party, and at 4am they are now staggering home, slightly the worst for wear, when one of them literally falls over the body of a young girl who lies bleeding in the snow, and their carefree lives are changed for ever.
Whilst Alex rushes for help, Ziggy, a medical student tries to save the girl, who he recognises as Rosie Duff a barmaid from the Lamas Bar, but she has been viciously stabbed and his efforts are to no avail. The police have no suspects just the four students who found the body, and in the absence of any other suspects, their lives come under the scrutiny of the police. Although, Alex, Ziggy, Mondo and Weird have been friends since high school, as the days pass, their relationship comes under extreme pressure, testing their loyalty to each other to the limits, as they are beset on all sides, suspected not only by the police, but also supposed friends and colleagues, and the brothers of Rosie Duff, who set about them at every turn.
We then pick-up the story twenty-five years on. Although still in touch, since that tragic event, the friends have never quite regained the closeness that they previously enjoyed, and meet infrequently. However, when two of the four die in suspicious circumstances Alex Gilbey is alarmed, is someone taking revenge for Rosie Duffs rape and murder. When alerted to the fact that the Fife police are mounting a cold case review, which includes the unsolved murder of Rosie Duff, he contacts the police in the hope that with the advent of DNA identification, not available twenty-five years earlier, the case may now be solved and he and his friends finally cleared. But it is not that straight-forward, and as he encounters more obstacles Alex realises that he must find out who killed Rosie Duff, if he is to stay alive.
This was a breath-taking read. I usually only listen to tapes in the car, if
I reach an exciting part, well at least it gets me into the car early for work
the next morning. Not with this story, I couldn’t wait I had to take the tape
into the house and finish listening to it there. Joe Dunlop did an excellent
interpretation of the book, his accent and voice inflection were just right
for the characters.
------
Lizzie Hayes
Val McDermid is the author of three series, five mysteries featuring journalist
Lindsay Gordon, six books featuring PI Kate Brannigan, and three books featuring
profiler Tony Hill and police officer Carol Jordon. She has also written two
other stand alone mysteries, A Place of Execution and Killing the
Shadows.