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Bruce and Bennett Mystery #1
The Rotting Spot
Someone's getting away with murder … and they'll do anything to keep it that way.
The skull hunter's rotting spot hides a secret, while the families on the sea-lashed Northumbrian headland hide several more. When Lucy Seaton goes missing, her friend Erica Bruce is convinced there's a link to the disappearance of Lucy's cousin years before.
At first, Inspector Will Bennett's sceptical of Erica's homeopathy and love of William Blake's prophecies, so she begins her own investigation, contending with Lucy's steely mother and religious aunt — and the doubtful assistance of excess-loving Stacey.
The skull hunter's rotting spot hides a secret, while the families on the sea-lashed Northumbrian headland hide several more. When Lucy Seaton goes missing, her friend Erica Bruce is convinced there's a link to the disappearance of Lucy's cousin years before.
At first, Inspector Will Bennett's sceptical of Erica's homeopathy and love of William Blake's prophecies, so she begins her own investigation, contending with Lucy's steely mother and religious aunt — and the doubtful assistance of excess-loving Stacey.
395 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2009
6 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Laws
12 books8 followersValerie Laws is world-infamous for spray-painting quantum physics poetry onto live sheep in her Arts Council-funded QUANTUM SHEEP project. She is a Northumbrian poet, performer, crime & comedy novelist, playwright and sci-art installation specialist.
Her 13 published books include poetry (including 4 full collections), crime & comedy fiction, language text books, and drama.
Her new crime novel THE OPERATOR (BRUCE AND BENNETT CRIME THRILLER 2) is out on Kindle, endorsed by Ann Cleeves, Alex Marwood and Phoef Sutton.
Her first crime novel THE ROTTING SPOT is endorsed by Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid, won a Northern Writer's Award, was a New Writing North Read Regional Choice, and was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize.
Her recent poetry book ALL THAT LIVES arises from funded Residencies at a London Pathology Museum, and at Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health, working with neuroscientists creating poetry about the brain’s bizarre beauty and life cycle. It won a Northern Writer's Award and the work at an early stage secured a Wellcome Trust Arts Award.
Four of her books are available as ebooks including her comedy Austen reimagining, LYDIA BENNET'S BLOG.
Valerie has degrees in Mathematics/Theoretical Physics, also in English, and an MA(Creative Writing). She was disabled in a car crash 28 years ago but unlike the two cars, was not written off! She's an obsessive swimmer and snorkeler, a keen wildlife spotter, and loves to travel worldwide.
She has written 12 commissioned plays for stage and BBC radio. She's won many prizes and awards, eg twice a prizewinner in National Poetry competition.
Valerie devises new forms of poetry, science-themed poetry installations and commissions including the infamous Quantum Sheep. Another of her random physics haiku was commissioned by BBC2 TV for Why Poetry Matters, with Griff Rhys Jones, and live at Royal Festival Hall, London. That one was sprayed onto beach balls and activated in water.
Her poetry AV installations have featured in public exhibitions. SLICING THE BRAIN has been exhibited in London, Newcastle, and Berlin. Her WINDOW OF ART 'embedded haiku', activated electronically, was in ST Thomas Hospital, London for ten years.
She performs her work worldwide live and in the media. She has had many Writers' Residencies, including in Egypt and in scientific institutes, currently in Dilston Physic Garden which grows and studies mind-altering herbs. No free samples though!
Her 13 published books include poetry (including 4 full collections), crime & comedy fiction, language text books, and drama.
Her new crime novel THE OPERATOR (BRUCE AND BENNETT CRIME THRILLER 2) is out on Kindle, endorsed by Ann Cleeves, Alex Marwood and Phoef Sutton.
Her first crime novel THE ROTTING SPOT is endorsed by Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid, won a Northern Writer's Award, was a New Writing North Read Regional Choice, and was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize.
Her recent poetry book ALL THAT LIVES arises from funded Residencies at a London Pathology Museum, and at Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health, working with neuroscientists creating poetry about the brain’s bizarre beauty and life cycle. It won a Northern Writer's Award and the work at an early stage secured a Wellcome Trust Arts Award.
Four of her books are available as ebooks including her comedy Austen reimagining, LYDIA BENNET'S BLOG.
Valerie has degrees in Mathematics/Theoretical Physics, also in English, and an MA(Creative Writing). She was disabled in a car crash 28 years ago but unlike the two cars, was not written off! She's an obsessive swimmer and snorkeler, a keen wildlife spotter, and loves to travel worldwide.
She has written 12 commissioned plays for stage and BBC radio. She's won many prizes and awards, eg twice a prizewinner in National Poetry competition.
Valerie devises new forms of poetry, science-themed poetry installations and commissions including the infamous Quantum Sheep. Another of her random physics haiku was commissioned by BBC2 TV for Why Poetry Matters, with Griff Rhys Jones, and live at Royal Festival Hall, London. That one was sprayed onto beach balls and activated in water.
Her poetry AV installations have featured in public exhibitions. SLICING THE BRAIN has been exhibited in London, Newcastle, and Berlin. Her WINDOW OF ART 'embedded haiku', activated electronically, was in ST Thomas Hospital, London for ten years.
She performs her work worldwide live and in the media. She has had many Writers' Residencies, including in Egypt and in scientific institutes, currently in Dilston Physic Garden which grows and studies mind-altering herbs. No free samples though!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 18, 2013
I have to say, I loved this local read. The writing is absolutely sublime.
It took me a while to get in to this book, but once I started I was hooked. And MY, WHAT A TWIST! This novel plays out wonderfully, with everything that could possibly be wanted from a crime novel. I cared for the characters and was genuinely interested in everything about them. The Skull Hunting is particularly interesting - gruesome but wonderful at the same time, fascinating. It made me want to look things up, research further to better understand the characters and their motives.
I loved that even before the author's note at the end, I knew where this book was set - I could see Seaton Sluice and Whitley Bay without being told, they're described wonderfully. It makes me want to go and explore the area further. And I'd love to read more of Erica Bruce. I turned the last page and wanted to continue reading.
Valerie Laws really captured the atmosphere of a an English sea-side town. You could feel that it was past its hey day. This book was a glorious display of showing you what was happening rather than telling you. Wonderful writing!
It took me a while to get in to this book, but once I started I was hooked. And MY, WHAT A TWIST! This novel plays out wonderfully, with everything that could possibly be wanted from a crime novel. I cared for the characters and was genuinely interested in everything about them. The Skull Hunting is particularly interesting - gruesome but wonderful at the same time, fascinating. It made me want to look things up, research further to better understand the characters and their motives.
I loved that even before the author's note at the end, I knew where this book was set - I could see Seaton Sluice and Whitley Bay without being told, they're described wonderfully. It makes me want to go and explore the area further. And I'd love to read more of Erica Bruce. I turned the last page and wanted to continue reading.
Valerie Laws really captured the atmosphere of a an English sea-side town. You could feel that it was past its hey day. This book was a glorious display of showing you what was happening rather than telling you. Wonderful writing!
March 3, 2023
This is an odd mystery. Starting with its formatting on my kindle which included a background color (one of the 256 shades of gray I imagine) which was off putting?? Awkward?? Irksome?? Really F-ing Annoying Yep that's it.
It begins with a skull hunter's blog which in itself is quite off putting. Luckily (??) I had a friend who collected skulls so I found it less shocking than your average reader. This is also a story with multiple POVS which can be very annoying I am still not sure how much I like the omnipresent observer narrator
Our main character is Erica (Ricci) Bruce a 20 something homeopath who stumbles onto a drunken gal giving birth in an alley outside a club along with an odd older woman Peggy who seems to be lurking about.
The next day Erica encounters her former friend Lucy's mum who just so happens to be the pregnant girl's doctor and Peggy's sister and the encounter is less than pleasant
However everything gets turned on its ear when Lucy suddenly goes missing and her mother is convinced that Erica had something to do with the case which eerily mimics another missing person's case from 25 years earlier involving Lucy's cousin Molly
Much Of the book is Erica fighting with the local PD to get them to do their f-ing job and battling with Will Bennett who has a passionate hatred of alternative medicine.
To add to Erica's complicated life she is a barely recovered anorexic who is always obsessing about food and exercise.
The mystery about the missing girls is fairly well done although I figured it out and then was annoyed it took the police & Erica so long to catch up.
The author wrote one of my favorite tongue in cheek P&P Books of ALL time https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
It begins with a skull hunter's blog which in itself is quite off putting. Luckily (??) I had a friend who collected skulls so I found it less shocking than your average reader. This is also a story with multiple POVS which can be very annoying I am still not sure how much I like the omnipresent observer narrator
Our main character is Erica (Ricci) Bruce a 20 something homeopath who stumbles onto a drunken gal giving birth in an alley outside a club along with an odd older woman Peggy who seems to be lurking about.
The next day Erica encounters her former friend Lucy's mum who just so happens to be the pregnant girl's doctor and Peggy's sister and the encounter is less than pleasant
However everything gets turned on its ear when Lucy suddenly goes missing and her mother is convinced that Erica had something to do with the case which eerily mimics another missing person's case from 25 years earlier involving Lucy's cousin Molly
Much Of the book is Erica fighting with the local PD to get them to do their f-ing job and battling with Will Bennett who has a passionate hatred of alternative medicine.
To add to Erica's complicated life she is a barely recovered anorexic who is always obsessing about food and exercise.
The mystery about the missing girls is fairly well done although I figured it out and then was annoyed it took the police & Erica so long to catch up.
The author wrote one of my favorite tongue in cheek P&P Books of ALL time https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
January 16, 2019
"Much of the time, watching their golden existence, he carried on alone, like some tiny rocky planet orbiting twin suns, so far out as to feel little warmth."
Valerie Laws's The Rotting Spot is a thriller, and a very good one at that; but it's ultimately about love and loss, the corrosive effects of secrets, and the skeletons (or should that be skulls?) that sometimes rattle around in the most apparently innocent of closets. It is also - as the passage above testifies - extremely well-written.
Much of the action centres around Erica, a pint-sized homoeopathist who, in her spare time, loves nothing more than collecting skulls. Yes, you read that correctly: it's a hobby she picked up from her erstwhile friend and employer, skull hunter Mickey, whose passion in life is amassing the crania of dead animals. "The rotting spot" of the title refers to the place where Mickey leaves the severed heads to decay, until the flesh and soft material is stripped away, leaving only bone... It may sound vile, but it's just a harmless, albeit eccentric, hobby. Or is it? The novel keeps you guessing, on that and many other points. The ultimate prize for the committed skull hunter is, after all, a human skull...
When Lucy, Erica's childhood friend, goes missing, the police are initially reluctant to take a great deal of action (understandably so - an adult is perfectly entitled to wander off if he or she wants to). However, Erica is unconvinced that Lucy's vanished of her own free will: she had a good life, not to mention a young son. In fact, Erica quickly begins to suspect that Lucy's disappearance has something to do with the almost-parallel vanishing, years before, of her cousin Molly. What follows is a complex and clever mystery, in which the layers of ordinary family life are stripped away like - well, like flesh from bone, I suppose.
Erica's pursuit of the truth brings her into contact with Inspector Will Bennett, who is also investigating Lucy's disappearance. They soon develop a sort of love-hate relationship: they clash repeatedly, and yet are constantly drawn back to each other, eventually forming an odd, unofficial partnership. Will personal or professional sparks fly? Given Valerie Laws's penchant for surprising her readers, it's as well not to assume anything.
Laws is also a poet - known, amongst other things, for spray-painting quantum theory onto a flock of sheep, no less - and what makes The Rotting Spot stand out amongst thrillers is the beautiful, evocative writing. Laws's familiarity with, and affection for, North East England comes through in every page and every vivid place description. It's there too in the local dialect used by many of the characters. Reproducing dialect in writing is difficult, at least if it's to be effective and not annoying, but Laws succeeds beautifully; it helps the characters to come to life, so real and vivid that they all but leap off the page.
And yet, gorgeous writing notwithstanding, the pace rarely slows. Even as the characters question themselves and each other, so too does the reader. Things are never quite what they seem - the line between heroes and villains is constantly blurred, not least because the characters are all drawn with just the right level of psychological complexity. Nobody can be taken at face value. And in a crime novel, of course, this is a very good thing - who can be trusted? What secrets are people hiding? The tension that follows in the wake of these questions keeps on rising. And the end, when it comes, features a twist that, like many a good twist, surprises us - and yet, when we look back, not only makes sense but seems almost inevitable.
Valerie Laws's The Rotting Spot is a thriller, and a very good one at that; but it's ultimately about love and loss, the corrosive effects of secrets, and the skeletons (or should that be skulls?) that sometimes rattle around in the most apparently innocent of closets. It is also - as the passage above testifies - extremely well-written.
Much of the action centres around Erica, a pint-sized homoeopathist who, in her spare time, loves nothing more than collecting skulls. Yes, you read that correctly: it's a hobby she picked up from her erstwhile friend and employer, skull hunter Mickey, whose passion in life is amassing the crania of dead animals. "The rotting spot" of the title refers to the place where Mickey leaves the severed heads to decay, until the flesh and soft material is stripped away, leaving only bone... It may sound vile, but it's just a harmless, albeit eccentric, hobby. Or is it? The novel keeps you guessing, on that and many other points. The ultimate prize for the committed skull hunter is, after all, a human skull...
When Lucy, Erica's childhood friend, goes missing, the police are initially reluctant to take a great deal of action (understandably so - an adult is perfectly entitled to wander off if he or she wants to). However, Erica is unconvinced that Lucy's vanished of her own free will: she had a good life, not to mention a young son. In fact, Erica quickly begins to suspect that Lucy's disappearance has something to do with the almost-parallel vanishing, years before, of her cousin Molly. What follows is a complex and clever mystery, in which the layers of ordinary family life are stripped away like - well, like flesh from bone, I suppose.
Erica's pursuit of the truth brings her into contact with Inspector Will Bennett, who is also investigating Lucy's disappearance. They soon develop a sort of love-hate relationship: they clash repeatedly, and yet are constantly drawn back to each other, eventually forming an odd, unofficial partnership. Will personal or professional sparks fly? Given Valerie Laws's penchant for surprising her readers, it's as well not to assume anything.
Laws is also a poet - known, amongst other things, for spray-painting quantum theory onto a flock of sheep, no less - and what makes The Rotting Spot stand out amongst thrillers is the beautiful, evocative writing. Laws's familiarity with, and affection for, North East England comes through in every page and every vivid place description. It's there too in the local dialect used by many of the characters. Reproducing dialect in writing is difficult, at least if it's to be effective and not annoying, but Laws succeeds beautifully; it helps the characters to come to life, so real and vivid that they all but leap off the page.
And yet, gorgeous writing notwithstanding, the pace rarely slows. Even as the characters question themselves and each other, so too does the reader. Things are never quite what they seem - the line between heroes and villains is constantly blurred, not least because the characters are all drawn with just the right level of psychological complexity. Nobody can be taken at face value. And in a crime novel, of course, this is a very good thing - who can be trusted? What secrets are people hiding? The tension that follows in the wake of these questions keeps on rising. And the end, when it comes, features a twist that, like many a good twist, surprises us - and yet, when we look back, not only makes sense but seems almost inevitable.
September 1, 2013
I chose The Rotting Spot by Valerie Laws as one of the books to read for my crime writer in residence crime series of posts for the Edinburgh eBook Festival. The title intrigued me and it had lots of good reviews so I reckoned it must be a reasonably good read, and it didn't disappoint me. The plot was good, it kept me guessing - I like to be kept guessing but it's becoming increasingly difficult - and the characters were original and engaging. The main character, Erica Bruce, is a homeopath, an exercise and keep fit freak, a borderline anorexic who fights to retain a balance between eating, fitness and health. She jogs and, wait for it, collects the skulls of dead animals as a hobby! Now how much more original than that can you be?
The darkness in this story comes from the many dysfunctional characters the reader meets along the way. One of them speaks with a distinctive Geordie accent, and although I often have problems reading books that use accents in dialogue, I had no problems following this one. The story revolves round a girl who has been missing for 25 years, her dysfunctional family, and her cousin who goes missing during the course of the story.
In many ways this story met the criteria of a cosy, although a lot darker. It had the amateur sleuth, the unbelieving detective, and a great mystery. I don't think it met the criteria of noir, not hard-boiled enough, but it certainly met the criteria of dark. If there was such a sub genre, I'd be tempted to call it a dark cosy. One more thing, the language and descriptions were so vivid I could see them, and when I looked at the author's background I wasn't surprised to find out she is also a poet. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.
The darkness in this story comes from the many dysfunctional characters the reader meets along the way. One of them speaks with a distinctive Geordie accent, and although I often have problems reading books that use accents in dialogue, I had no problems following this one. The story revolves round a girl who has been missing for 25 years, her dysfunctional family, and her cousin who goes missing during the course of the story.
In many ways this story met the criteria of a cosy, although a lot darker. It had the amateur sleuth, the unbelieving detective, and a great mystery. I don't think it met the criteria of noir, not hard-boiled enough, but it certainly met the criteria of dark. If there was such a sub genre, I'd be tempted to call it a dark cosy. One more thing, the language and descriptions were so vivid I could see them, and when I looked at the author's background I wasn't surprised to find out she is also a poet. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.
August 27, 2015
This is one of the best crime thrillers I've read for years, and I read quite a few crime thrillers. For a start, the characters are interesting and unusual - I don't think I've ever seen a homeopath portrayed sympathetically, nor a working class single mother in crime fiction. Then there's the elderly skull-collector and the mentally ill sister of the doctor...it's a vibrant cast.
Vibrancy and energy sustain this novel throughout the twists and turns, which aren't as predictable and obvious as many writers would have made them. I was left at the end feeling as if I'd ridden a rollercoaster, and given food for thought too.
The prose is also vital and assured. This is not an amateur, uncertain writer but one with all the professional's armoury of techniques at her disposal,and she uses them, from the fierce word choices that slap us into the opening scene to the elegant and sometimes painful coils of the protagonist's thought processes.
Recommended!
Vibrancy and energy sustain this novel throughout the twists and turns, which aren't as predictable and obvious as many writers would have made them. I was left at the end feeling as if I'd ridden a rollercoaster, and given food for thought too.
The prose is also vital and assured. This is not an amateur, uncertain writer but one with all the professional's armoury of techniques at her disposal,and she uses them, from the fierce word choices that slap us into the opening scene to the elegant and sometimes painful coils of the protagonist's thought processes.
Recommended!
February 4, 2020
Ms. Laws is a new author to me so I didn't know what to expect. The book was slow to start but it built up to a fantastic twist ending. Although I found the character of Erica somewhat irritating as a know-it-all amateur detective, I think I will read the next book in the series.
December 3, 2013
A 'dark cosy', as one reviewer put it, is as close as we're likely to get it to a perfect tag for this mystery. I entered with some trepidation, since I'm not a fan of cosies and more than one reader had mentioned that the story was slow to take off. In fact, the terrific mystery angle doesn't kick off until the Kindle meter ticks off about 49%. Till then we have a rich, smooth blend of slowly simmering mystery (over a disappeared childhood friend), character study, dramedy...and just plain terrific writing. That last item makes all the difference. First-rate writers command our attention, never more so than when they choose to go at their own speed. This writer had me nearly at hello with the precision of her phrasing and her cool poetic turns: 'delusions of blondeur'...'teeth more ruined than a Roman wall'...the lovely description of a baby's fresh smell. Meanwhile, dark things are going on: a pregnant slattern's near death while pub crawling...the grisly, Gothic 'rotting spot'...perhaps a second missing/murdered girl...One of the author's bolder decisions turns out to be one of the book's great delights: Erica, the heroine, is a professional homeopath and a former fattie still recovering from sugar and cooked food addictions. Most agents and editors would have backed away in horror. And yet, Erica's alternative profession is woven quite neatly into the tale, contributing to the solution and eventually saving her life. You don't need to share all of her beliefs to enjoy her as a character or thrill to her detecting style--no more than you need a Medieval mindset to get into The Name of the Rose. My one reservation did not diminish the number of stars: but I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more of Will Bennett. That aside--and easily aside--this is a world-class, terrific debut.
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August 27, 2013kindle cloud
October 23, 2016
An intriguing mystery starting with a missing woman, then revealing a complex history of family secrets.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews