Bad Blood

DI Marjory Fleming #8

by Aline Templeton

It can be hard beating your brain to dredge up something you've forgotten. But how would it be if you couldn't forget anything ever? Except, of course, the one thing you desperately want to know: why, at the age of eleven, you had been found alone in an isolated cottage, with a head injury and your mother gone? And why had the police investigation been so strangely low-key?Twenty years later, Keira, a victim of hyperkinaesia, is asking questions, hoping that the answers may break the loop that runs constantly in her mind of that last day before her life fell apart. And she's looking for a woman who was a young police officer then who might be able to tell her what she needs to know. If she will DI Marjory Fleming seems oddly reluctant. It's ironic that she should recommend forgetting about it, but as threatening shadows of the past begin to gather, Keira realises that it was sound advice. If there was any way she could take it.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Scotland, Procedural, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

383 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2013

About the author

Aline Templeton grew up in the East Neuk of Fife and was educated at St Leonards School, St Andrews and Cambridge University. She has worked in education and broadcasting and has written numerous stories and articles for national newspapers and magazines. Templeton was a bench Justice of the Peace for ten years and is a former Chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland, now living in Edinburgh. She is married with a grown up family.

She has written nine crime novels, published by Hodder & Stoughton in Britain, and has also been published in the United States and several European countries. After writing seven stand-alone books, she started a series set in Galloway and featuring DI Marjory Fleming, the first of which – Cold In The Earth – was an Ottakar's Crime Novel of the Month and an Independent Best Summer Read. The second, The Darkness and the Deep, was published in July 2006, and there are now six books in the DI Fleming series.

Reviews

[Kim]

I just picked this off the shelf in the library, not realising it was part of a series, indeed it is the eighth story featuring D.I. Marjory Fleming and set in the Galloway region of Scotland. However, despite not being totally 'au fait' with some of the personal contexts with the characters, the crime mystery itself more than compensated for that. After brief scene-setting in 1986 and 1993, the story is largely set in 2013 - Marnie Bruce was a young girl in 1993 when she was hit over the head and left for dead in the house where she and her mother lived, her mother disappearing the same night. Now, 20 years on, Marnie is back and wanting answers. All is not straightforward for the police as they are prevented from telling Marnie all that they could owing to an injunction on disclosure of details featuring her mother but Marnie's return sparks an increasing spiral of violence. Don't want to say much more about the plot as it might spoil it but it is a really gripping read and I feel eager now to read others in the series. 8.5/10.

[Carol Jean]

OK Aline, get to writing! LOL I LOVE this series, I'm so glad to see everyone together and getting along, and the plot hooked me in and kept me reading (until 2 AM!) Great series. Aline Templeton is a wee dancer!

[Sylvia Massara]

I'm sorry to say that I struggled to get as far as I did with this book, which was page 204. Perhaps I'm missing something, but when I read a mystery/crime series I expect the main protagonist to stand out, in this case DI Fleming. I was disappointed that she only came into the story in very minor bits, which were mostly to do with her domestic life, her husband's farm and her son qualifying for some football thing or other. DI Fleming also features in a bit about being seemingly involved in some cover up or other regarding this case, but in general she does very little between the beginning of the book and page 204. This is the reason why DI Fleming did not come across to me as a real in-depth character.

The only characters that kept me reading this far were the promising and inquisitive DC Hepburn and Marnie Bruce herself.

The other thing that threw me was the introduction of so many characters in short passages at the beginning of the book and these snippets were rather confusing, but I realised later that these were the people in the village where a child crime had been committed many years ago. Even so, it was really difficult to remember who was who, and since DI Fleming wasn't doing very much even up to page 204, I just had to give up.

If I can help it I never leave a book unread halfway, but on this occasion I must say that I lost interest, which is a shame because I am sure the actual story is intriguing. It certainly intrigued me at the beginning, but it palls later on because so many of the minor characters get in the way of the actual story (at least it did for me).

I came upon this book via my local library and I thought this was the second mystery of the series for DI Fleming rather than the eighth. This could explain the lack of character build-up and her involvement in this story. Mind you, I'm only assuming this as I got up to page 204; perhaps the pace picks up for appearances from DI Fleming later on.

[Kirsten]

Marnie Bruce leidet unter Hyperthymesia: sie kann sich an alles erinnern, was sie erlebt oder gesehen hat. An alles, nur an eine Sache nicht: vor zehn Jahren verschwand ihre Mutter und sie blieb alleine in dem kleinen Haus zurück. Als ihre Beziehung in London zerbricht, kehrt sie nach Schottland zurück um das Geheimnis um das Verschwinden ihrer Mutter zu lüften.

Aus Marnies Rückblenden ist klar, dass Karen Bruce keine gute Mutter war. Wenn sie überhaupt mit Marnie redet, sind die Worte abfällig und laut. Wichtig ist nur, was ihr Freund macht. Als Marnie in ihren Heimatort zurückkommt, muss sie feststellen dass ihre Mutter ein Geheimnis hat. Sie wird auf offener Straße angegriffen und ihr Leben ist in Gefahr. Für sie steht fest: das Geheimnis ihrer Mutter hat sie umgebracht.

Aline Templeton führt den Leser Schritt für Schritt in Marnies altes Leben zurück. Jede neue Erinnerung bringt sie ein Stück dichter an die Lösung. Aber es wird auch klar, dass die Vergangenheit nicht angenehm war und die Folgen bis heute zu spüren sind. Marnie kann niemandem mehr vertrauen.

DI Marjory Fleming war schon vor zehn Jahren mit dem Fall betraut und ist jetzt die Person, an die sich Marnie wendet. Marjory ist zwischen ihrer Arbeit und ihrer Familie hin und her gerissen. Marnies Fall ist nicht der Einzige, der auf ihrem Schreibtisch liegt, aber der mit der kleinsten Priorität. So sehr sie es sich auch wünscht, sie kann und darf ihm nicht ihre Zeit widmen.

Der Krimi zeigt, dass man die Vergangenheit manchmal besser ruhen lassen sollte. Die Geschichte ist spannend erzählt, trotzdem fehlt ihr das "gewisse Etwas" für die volle Punktzahl, ohne dass ich sagen kann, was es ist.

[Jovdb]

Read the first in the series then this one! Can’t get them in order!

Anyway, a good story, set in Scotland. A young woman returns to Scotland some twenty years after an incident in which she was hit over the head and her mother disappeared. She now wants answers. What happened to the investigation into her mother’s disappearance?

DI Fleming was a young PC when all this happened. She was peripherally involved and, at the time, felt the case wasn’t handled well. Now, she finds out there is more to the story; legal restraints that prevent her from telling the daughter about her mother.

This prodigal return sets of a chain of events that has even deeper roots reaching back 40 years.

The three incidents, a 40 year old murder, a twenty year old assault and disappearance and a recent murder are all tied together in a dramatic conclusion.

[Joyce]

Really really enjoyed this book although I have jumped from #2 to #8 but it didn’t desperately affect the background to DI Marjory Fleming. The kids are now a lot older but you could read between the lines of the missing years. The story weaves its way around a murder which happened many years before when the murderer was convicted and imprisoned for a child’s murder. The murderer becomes a mother and when her daughter is about 8 she disappears and her daughter is injured in the disappearance. As an adult the daughter wants to find out what happened to her mother and so goes back to the village where it happened. The story focuses on how the DI and her team unravel the mystery and the things which happen to the friends who are still alive and living in the village. I had no idea that Drax’s accountant was the girls mother who was besotted to him.

[Rog Harrison]

This is the eighth book in a police procedural series (nine books in total) featuring Deective Inspector Marjory Fleming which is set in south west Scotland. I had enjoyed the first, third and ninth books so am trying to read the other books.

A young woman returns to Scotland to try and find out what had happened to her mother who had apparently abandoned her as a child. However she finds much hostility when she tries to ask questions and even the police are not helpful until there is an attack on the guest house in which the young woman is staying. The hostility is due to events which happened before the young woman was born and now there is a murder. There's also quite a lot going on in the personal lives of Marjory and her team. I found this a really compelling read and I hope to read the other books in this series.

[Jennifer]

A big leap for me from the first in the series to this and it looks as though I may have missed some interesting times. However, it was easy enough to get back into the setup. As with the first novel there's some domestic stuff going on for DI Fleming... teeters on the brink of being the same old 'dilemmas of a working mother' stuff but avoids falling in. Meanwhile one of her officers is having 'dilemmas of a working daughter' and that's well conveyed, especially the effect on her sleep.

It's an engaging situation - a young woman searching for the mother who disappeared years before, quite thought provoking. Perhaps too many potentially juicy strands for one story. The epilogue was desperately sad but admirably honest, putting all the other dyads into perspective.

[Clare Sudbery]

(not actually a review, just a quick summary because I'm just using Goodreads to remember which books I've read. Also note that date read is VERY much approximate).
I enjoyed this. 11-yr-old girl's mother disappears (possibly murdered), and she returns to the scene years later as an adult when a new, apparently connected, murder occurs - at which point she becomes a suspect. Set in Scotland. Highlights prejudice against working class children with behavioural problems. The hook is that the girl never forgets anything, which makes her dangerous to the baddies. A lot of twists and turns which kept me guessing.

[Judith Sulivan]

A taut thriller, an examination of a close-knit community but most of all a quest for identity in which the resolution poses almost more questions than it answers. Marnie Bruce is an intriguing character. Sad she will not necessarily re-appear in other Fleming stories. Trying not to spoil but Marnie did come alive for me and her particular attribute of a fully photographic memory was an interesting one.

[Wendy]

Enjoyed the story, and the settings. But the author's affectation of not saying who is talking in a two-person dialogue, but making you check where the speech marks finish, or not, at the end of each paragraph in order to work out if it's the same person talking or the other one, drove me mad.
This is the first book I've read of hers so maybe she's dropped that idea for newer ones - hope so.

[Bonnie]

Aline Templeton accomplishes what many detective story writers don’t.....each book in her DI Fleming series is a totally different type of tale, the characters we know grow a bit in their roles too. Suspenseful and definitely hard to put down...ok, on to #9 now.

[Dave]

Couldn't go on after 50 pages

[Jill Stirling]

A great read. Read this series in order. Very good.

[Caroline Ingvaldsen]

The eighth DI Marjory Fleming police procedural is another predictably satisfying thriller.

[Kay]

Maybe 3.5. Too many characters, too little Marjorie Fleming.

[Michelle Keat]

Very good Scottish police procedural with a plot and characters that kept me interested right to the end. I will be looking to read more in the DI Marjory Fleming series.

[Citronelle]

Good atmosphere, many strands coming nicely together, as always in this series. The books don't always focus on the same detective, this one was mostly about Louise Hepburn.

[aprilla]

I'll continue the series

[Cathy Cole]

Aline Templeton's DI Marjory Fleming series is one that I've been slowly (almost glacially) savoring since I picked up the first book, Cold in the Earth. Since there's only one more book after Bad Blood, who knows when I'll make myself finish the time I've spent with Big Marge Fleming?

If you're a reader who likes reading mystery series that have strong ensemble casts, you need to make the acquaintance of DI Fleming and her team. Not only do readers become a part of the lives of her fellow police officers, but they also feel a part of Marge's own family. Her husband is a farmer whose livelihood suffered during the outbreak of mad cow disease, but he's rock solid and a salt-of-the-earth type of man who's always supported his wife in her career choice, no matter how often it keeps her away from home. Her son, Cam, wants everyone to get along which can't be said for her very contentious and headstrong daughter.

Into this already strong mix of characters is added Marnie Bruce, a young woman with whom I totally sympathized. She's tired of being fobbed off by everyone who should care about her mother's disappearance (but doesn't). She's reached the end of her tether and demands answers. DI Fleming wants to help because she was a rookie at the time of the woman's disappearance and feels a sense of responsibility. Watching her learn how to glean clues from Marnie's hyperthymesia is a lesson in patience and determination.

What elevates Marnie's character is her reaction to how all hell breaks loose in that small Scottish town simply because she wants closure. She is one of the best, most nuanced, and memorable characters I've read about in a long time.

Yes, indeed, if you like compelling mysteries with a strong sense of place and a great cast of characters, you need to pick up Aline Templeton's DI Marjory Fleming mysteries. I highly recommend them. (Yes, it is best if you start at the beginning.)

[Richard Thompson]

Alas... the last of the DI Fleming (so far... we will definitely keep and eye out for the next one...)

This one encompasses three crimes, the murder of a young boy forty years ago, the assault on another child and the disappearance of her mother twenty years ago, and the recent murder of a woman who had connections to the first two. One connecting link is Marnie Bruce was knocked unconscious and left for dead the night her mother disappeared, and subsequently put into foster care. Now Marnie wants to know what happened to her mother and why there didn't seem to be any investigation at the time. A second link is Margory Fleming was a newly minted PC twenty years ago and was on team dealing with Marnie Bruce and her mother. Fleming is now, of course, a Detective Inspector, coping with a new nakedly ambition woman Superintendent known unaffectionately as Hyacinth (after Hyacinth Bucket) as well as the usual problems within her team and tensions in the family.

Another winner.

31. MemoryWalk - the Fort Hotel in Fort St. John. A mob of irate women has gathered in the street outside the hotel and are banging on pots and pans and chanting: "Come - out - and- face - us! Come - out - and - face - us!" They fall silent as the doors to the hotel swing slowly open and DRACULA steps out carrying the body of a young boy whose head is smashed and bloody. As the women scream in horror and dash off down the street, the hotel bursts into flame.

[Barbara]

Great Series

just read all the DI Fleming in just about one gulp. they are beautifully written, full of lovable and hate-able characters and tense, fast paced story lines. Marjory is believable and deals with working-woman situations as we all do...sometimes well and often guilt ridden and anxiety filled. I can't wait for the next installment. PS. the first book wasn't the best, so if you are a bit skeptical do keep going!!

[Laura]

A really good read - her easy style means you can get through it quickly, but you just want to keep going until you find out what happened. I highly recommend this author - have enjoyed all of her books.

[Gary Van Cott]

3.5 Stars. One of the better books in this series. It includes a newish female DC who is an interesting character. As of December 2014 this was the most recent book in this series. It is in no way a final book but there is no sign that the author has written or is writing another.

[Oonagh]

Another great read from Aline Templeton I'm so glad I discovered this series. The mystery at the centre of this book is an interesting one & kept me interested right to the end. I do hope Aline Templeton keeps this character & this series coming!

[Melissa]

Still not tired of this series, really sick of Cat's attitude and Marjory being such a wimp about it. Other than Cat, I liked this story very much. Nice tight mystery, a few twists, and then a satisfying ending. The baddies in this are about as horrible as they can get, vermin.

[Lizzytish]

It was good getting back to Scotland and Big Marge. A satisfying read compared to some of the twaddle I've been reading. Realistic characters with flaws and heart.

[Carolyn]

I liked how all the strands tied together in this one. Although liked is not really the right word for enjoying something frightening, sadistic and horrible. Heh.

[Phil Butcher]

Another great mystery solved by DI Fleming in the beautiful and bleak surroundings of Galloway.

[Chris Dyer]

Quite a twisted plot with a reasonable surprise t the end. A good read.