Maniac

by Angus MacVicar

Book by MacVicar, Angus

Genres: Crime

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1969

About the author

Angus MacVicar was an accomplished Scottish author, screenwriter and playwright who published work in a variety of genres. Earlier in his career he was known for his crime thrillers and autobiographies, but his early writing was interrupted by his service as a captain in the Royal Scots Fusiliers. As a result, most of his juvenile science fiction was not published until after World War II. It was then that his Lost Planet series became extremely popular, with MacVicar himself adapting the stories as TV and radio serials.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alec returns to his home village of Kilcolum, in Scotland, to recover from a mental breakdown. However, almost immediately Alec comes under suspicion for the evil murder of a little girl in the village. Everything seems to point to Alec being the murderer, and even Alec is uncertain as to his guilt or innocence. Turning to his old girlfriend Jenny for comfort, he soon finds things are not the same in Kilcolum as the day he left, for one thing Jenny is now wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
This was an interesting murder mystery. I really enjoyed it, even though I had guessed who the murderer was early on, there was plenty of suspense and interesting characters to keep me reading. I would like to read more by this author who wrote suspense well, and who died in 2001.

I received this galley via NetGalley.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Endeavor Press has gone and done it. Revived another blast from the past for digital afterlife. The thing is some of what they bring back should have been left well enough alone on whatever dusty shelf it was resting, but this is a publisher that has the all in no quality control approach of Netflix when it comes to their line up. And so sometimes their books are quaint dated fun and sometimes they are flat out duds. This is from the latter bucket.
Not sure how it got any decent reviews at all. Although to be fair, I read two books by this author back to back and out of the two, this is by far the more superior. Which speaks volumes about the other one.
So this book, as Scottish as the author’s name suggests, follows a formula. Small village whose name begins with Kil or Kin something, a mixed bag of locals and their local affairs, including almost thought not quite adorably quaint love affairs. One of them turns up dead. And this is following a brutal murder of a sheep. Who the f kills a sheep.? What sort of a perfectly Scottish murder is that?
Anyway, is the man who’s just come for a visit on a six week mental vacation responsible? Is he the cleverly crafted unreliable narrator, given his iffy mental state and past secret? Or would that be too clever for a book like that and is he just a nice sort of fella out to win back the love of his life?
Well, you can plow through the tangled webs these wily villagers have weaved (woven?) to find out. It isn’t really worth the time, but at least it won’t cost you too much of it. These jobber authors of yesteryear went for volume not page count and knew a thing or two about brevity.
A very sedate affair for such a wildly hysterical title. Pass.

[Ionia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maniac is written in a classic murder mystery style that pleased me for its ability to layer on the possible suspects without making the book seem over complicated just for extra pages.

This book will keep you running from the beginning to the end, wondering if you have figured it out and then doubting yourself every time some new piece of information is revealed. I like books that keep you on your toes and this one does that. The psychological aspects of this novel stay with you after you are finished reading it, making you think about it after the last page has been read.

I liked the main character in this book. He was interesting and the kind of character that makes you feel a bit sorry for him, because he reminds you of yourself. His flaws are kind of the flaws in all of us, and that made this story easier for me to connect with.

Overall, this was a good book with a solid plot. Recommended for crime lovers.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this arc from Netgalley.

Pretty much average mystery read. Even though I'd guessed early on who'd done it, it was still interesting.

[Barbara Tsipouras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a nice, classic, and somehow old-fashioned crime mystery. A small village in Scotland in the 1960's where a lot of people are under suspicion when a little girl is murdered. The reader guesses and follows clues along with the main character and the police.
Moderate suspense but a vivid image of this society where the laird, the minister, the doctor and the director of the school are important members and everybody knows everybody, but there ae some wellkept secrets.
It is a good idea to republish this crime thriller. People haven't changed that much.
Thanks to Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.