The body of a prostitute is found at Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, her hands pointing towards her feet, placed as if in prayer, a small flower pressed between her palms. Psychologist Solomon Bright is called to assist DCI Lorimer in the murder hunt but before any conclusions can be drawn, further bodies turn up arranged in exactly the same careful way and it seems increasingly clear that they have a serial killer on their hands.
A Small Weeping is wreathed in Scottish atmosphere as Alex Gray skilful weaves together the contrasting worlds of the Glasgow streets, a private clinic and the Outer Hebrides. As well as adding descriptive power to the book such diverse settings also give her the opportunity to add depth by exploring some differing manifestations of the healing nature of personal happiness. The simplicity of the needs of a clinic patient with multiple sclerosis, Phyllis, is particularly affecting.
Throughout the book the hunt for the killer is pacy and, as you would expect,
full of twists and turns and the result is a taut, suspense-filled thriller
with a satisfying ending. And no, I didn’t guess whodunit.
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Ruth Wade
Other books by Alex Gray: Shadows of Sounds; Never Somewhere Else.