Storm (Windsor Selection S.) - Hardcover
Elemental rage, bloody Greek myth, man's greed and capacity for cruelty, the insane imaginings of a killer, all intermingle in this stunning new thriller from the bestselling author of Messiah to create a novel of stunning ferocity. A storm-tossed crossing on the North Sea; a catastrophic ferry accident; hundreds dead. Detective Chief Inspector Kate Beauchamp is one of the survivors but her ferocious fight to stay alive brings with it a high cost: a burden of guilt that she should live while some of her friends died; a terror of water; a frozen inner core that never seems to melt. When the body of a young female journalist is found in Aberdeen soon after the disaster, Kate insists on conducting the investigation - partly to exorcize her own demons, partly because she feels a strange affinity with the victim. The killing is peculiarly brutal and the murderer has left a unique calling card: attached to the woman's neck is a poisonous snake. Into this emotional cauldron steps the last man on earth Kate wants to see - her estranged father, Frank, in Aberdeen to conduct the marine inquiry into the sinking. Was the disaster the result of a bomb, as claimed by the ferry-line's chairman, or is he trying to hide something? In a sweltering heatwave, Kate and Frank conduct their highly pressured investigations. But for both of them, danger is approaching fast - a vortex of violence which will sweep them up and endanger their very lives.
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Review:
Boris Starling's accomplished and harrowing second novel begins with a North Sea storm that causes a catastrophic ferry accident. Amongst the handful of survivors is Kate Beauchamp an off duty DCI who was planning a trip to Bergen with her Amateur dramatics society. A variety of figurative storms brew in the aftermath--the anger and alienation between Kate and her father, the torment of a tortured mind expressed through hideous violence, a corporate conspiracy--each leading to an eventual vortex that is both merciless and startling. It is Starling's expert rendering of these storms that provides an enticing core, as the action builds to a thrilling crescendo, which is marked by paranoia and desperation.
Review:
As DCI Kate Beauchamp conducts her investigation into vicious serial killings in the shadow of her recent trauma, an unexpected reunion with her estranged father (investigating the sinking) adds a welcome emotional frisson in to what could have been a standard murder mystery. This is reinforced as Starling probes the mind of Beauchamp's tortured quarry. This is no faceless madman, "Blackadder" is a tragic product of his own storm: he projects his pain through Greek Tragedies, with his victims as tempting Furies. In Beauchamp, Starling has fashioned a detective whose effectiveness lies in her unceasing drive and her incisive understanding of the criminal psyche:
If there were no consequences to be afraid of, then everybody would not only be evil, they would act evil. The only difference between us and [the killer] is that he is not sufficiently afraid of the consequences to stop himself.Fast-paced and delivering gripping tension with excellent orchestration, Starling offers a magnificent tale that is conducted with grace and depth. --Danny Graydon
Praise for Messiah:
‘Fast-paced, gritty... deserves nothing but praise’
Esquire
‘Grips from the first page and doesn’t let go. It’s a grimly, frighteningly good read’
Val McDermid
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherChivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0754016692
- ISBN 13 9780754016694
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages480
- Rating
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