2019 police procedural mystery, tartan noir, second in the Jack
Logan series. DCI Logan has transferred to Inverness because Glasgow
has too many bad memories for him, and is thrown straight into the
investigation of a tortured and mutilated body washed up on the shores
of Loch Ness.
Even though this came out in the same year as A Litter of
Bones, the first in the series, I was impressed by how much better it
was handled throughout. Partly this is because it's not the same old
"cop confronts the serial killer he didn't quite catch back in the
day" plot, partly I think it's because Kirk is trying to establish
some of the significant elements of the series so not everything has
to be resolved in this individual book.
The only real mis-step, in my opinion, is the title: having read it,
obviously one is considering the possibility of a family connection
for the killer, and whether or not it's borne out (I'm not going to
say) that flavours one's thoughts all through the investigation.
But Kirk doesn't do the thing that Stuart MacBride does, of making his
hero an utter failure and butt of all the jokes until the last third
of the book when he turns into Super Detective. Logan may make
mistakes, but he's a good policeman, both in his own investigative
skills and in his management of his team. Even "kid who always gets it
wrong" DC Tyler Neish starts to show some actual skills and
personality here, without getting noticeably less annoying.
"Is there any Earl Grey?" he asked.
Logan replied before Sinead could open her mouth. "No, there is
not," he said. "You're on duty. You'll have proper tea. You can
drink your bloody potpourri on your own time."
At the same time the essential silliness of the tartan noir world is
present here, in particular from a group of obsessed Nessie-hunters
who both obstruct and accidentally assist the investigation. And Kirk
uses the other thing I know about Loch Ness too, which is pleasing to
see.
Altogether good fun, and I think starting to find a voice distinct
from the more derivative style of the first book.