A Place of Execution
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season529 pages, about 11 hours: the length of 1.7 typical books on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbOne reader nearly gave up in the first 200 pages before the pace picked up; another calls the read slow throughout.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesA critic in January Magazine places McDermid within a group of British noir writers that includes Ian Rankin and Reginald Hill.
The case for it
on the characters
“the characterisation is so good that I felt I knew these people”
a book blog on the setting
“narrated with a great sense of place”
four stars · a book blog on the plot
“a fantastic police procedural with an excellent and exciting plot”
a book blog on the pacing
“McDermid keeps the suspense taut, and her pacing never flags”
Publishers Weekly, 2000
The case against
on the length
“this story was way too long at 465 pages”
a book blog on the page count
“600+ pages, people!”
a book blog on George Bennett
“no devil in him, no quirks or idiosyncrasies”
a book blog on the humor
“McDermid makes little use of irony or humor”
Karen G. Anderson · January Magazine, 2000
