Envy the Dead

Jacobsen & Kerr #6

by Iain McDowall

The 1980s: The Falklands War. The IRA. The Miners’ Strike. Cruise Missiles. Anti-Nuclear Protests. And in the thick of it all, beautiful Claire Oldham, the revolution’s poster girl—until the day she turns up brutally murdered. A young, troubled drifter, Martin Grove, is swiftly prosecuted and jailed for the crime.
Fast forward 20 years and Martin Grove walks free, cleared by advances in forensic science, seemingly the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Fast forward a few more years, come right up to date—Martin Grove is shot dead in his reclusive home, "executed" at close range. DCI Jacobson and his team are on the case. But which case? And do the answers lie in the dangerous past or in the even more terrifying present?

Genres: Crime

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Iain McDowall grew up in the West of Scotland but lives in England. He was a university teacher before taking up writing. His Inspector Jacobson series has been praised by reviewers on both sides of the Atlantic. Iain has stated that he uses the crime novel as a scalpel to scrape away at hidden, darker aspects of modern life. His latest title is The Evil Thereof.

Reviews

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read but it left me a little unsatisfied. The character development was limited and I didn't really engage with the protagonist. Quite useful for learning about the events of the period the book is set in and there were several red herrings to tease the reader but I guessed quite early on whodunnit. The ending was too abrupt for my liking, too.

[Granny Swithins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written police procedural, tying in a recent murder to a crime that happened in the eighties. I loved the Myrtle Cottage setting, the background of political protest and how the revolution was lost under Thatcherism.