Rating: 
Summary: Masterful Mystery
Review: Val McDermind's story, "A Place of Execution" began a bit dry but quickly that changed. Her characters are well crafted and the sequence of events are masterfully designed. When I came to Part Two, the structure of her story was turned upside down. I wondered where she was going with the introduction of the character Catherine but, just as in the beginning, the story took off again. Once again she took the story and shook up the facts again to reveal another reality. So interesting to see how factual evidence can be seen in so many ways and that the truth, also can display itself in multiple ways. I look forward to her next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Guess the ending, but still found it interesting
Review: Usually I hate it when I solve the mystery way before the end of the book and do not waver in my opinion, but I still found this novel interesting. It was atmospheric, and I was interested in the characters. An enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: For Those Who Sit In The Smoking Section
Review: Remember when the food and drink naming trend began? The trend of reaching for increased verisimilitude in novels by describing the exact nature of the nourishment consumed by the characters? The protagonist didn't just discuss something over an undefined dinner. He or she spoke while ingesting sweetbreads smothered in a delicate sauce of'well you get the picture. In 'A Place of Execution' we are informed every time that a character smokes a cigarette. Not only are we enlighted about the lighting up ceremony, but we are also told the brand of the cigarette, and kept abreast of events by updates on ash flicking, inhaling and stub extinguishing. Not that this makes for an unworthy novel; its just odd that Ms McDermid has decided to spend so much time on this particular vice. My hunch is that the author had just given up smoking when writing the novel, and that she is smoking vicariously through her characters.The novel concerns a young girl who has disappeared from her home in a tiny, secluded town in England. Police Inspector George Barnett is in charge of the case and a dedicated man he is. He devotes most of his time in trying to find young Alison, and we readers share the effort being dragged through hill and dale in the search. The townspeople, being very secluded, would be good candidates for biological research in the investigation of the genetic effects of inbreeding. They are horrified about Alison's disappearance, yet are strangely uncooperative with the police. Yet the diligence of George's intensive search while smoking pack after pack of cigarettes pays off. Someone is arrested for the crime, and is convicted of murder. Then we jump 30 years and find new information about the disappearance that is quite disconcerting. While reading the book a strange thought kept creeping into my mind, a thought that later proved accurate. Will you guess the answer to the mystery? Read the book and find out. It's quite entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Simply one of the best mysteries I've ever read
Review: One reviewer said this book put him to sleep. He must have taken some serious tranquilizers when he picked up this book. Wonderfully written. One of the few books I just did not want to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Great if you need a nap
Review: This glum book is about 6 times as long as it needs to be, and most of the denouement is telegraphed hundreds of pages in advance. Which would be okay if the writing were fun, but it isn't--in this case, "police procedural" means that you get to hear about every cigarette (different characters smoke different brands, isn't that fascinating?) and every cup of coffee or tea consumed in the course of a 37-year investigation. No joke! (And I do mean NO JOKES.) At the same time, you don't learn anything very interesting about the characters as people. I finished this book on a lo-o-ong flight and then began the other book I had with me, a P. D. James that's ostensibly the same genre as this one. But it was so refreshing to start a mystery where the sentences are full of intelligence, and the characters and situations full of surprises! I'd skip this one unless you're an awful insomniac.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: This book grabs you from the very begining. You get caught up in the frenzy of a town trying to find a lost girl. George Bennett is in charge of the investigation of Alison Carter. He finds the dark town of Scardale to be very secretive and disturbing. Their resistance even harms his case. The characters come to life on the page. This is a quick read. The novel ends with all of my questions answered. The only problem I had with the book is the summary on the back page. I think it gives too much of the story away. But that's probably not the writer's fault. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A multi-layered thriller which asks difficult questions.
Review: "A Place of Execution" is a chilling tale set in rural Derbyshire, and woven around the disappearance of Alison Carter, a teenage girl. The year is 1963, and the place is the (fictional) backwater village of Scardale; secluded from modern life, populated by only a few families who have been inbreeding for generations; and ruled, like in medieval days, by a squire who owns everybody and everything in the village. And it is none other than the stepdaughter of much-hated new squire Phillip Hawkin, a newcomer to Scardale's tight-knit society, who has disappeared. Following the investigation led by newly minted D.I. and Jimmy-Stewart-look-alike George Bennett and his more experienced partner, Sergeant Tommy Clough, we as readers slowly become familiar with Scardale and its inhabitants, who are reluctant to open up to outsiders - even if they don't hate them as much as Hawkin - and in that reluctance, provide less than the much-needed help in discovering Alison. In fact, when ultimately a suspect is arrested, on the strength of evidence tying him to both Alison's disappearance and another horrific crime, Alison is still missing. And she remains missing throughout the suspect's trial. It will take all of 35 years and a new investigation by journalist Catherine Heathcoate, who befriends Bennett after having met his son Paul, and who is able to procure Paul's help in convincing Bennett to revisit those long-past events which never ceased to trouble him, to reveal a truth which by then seemed all but buried for good ... and like the story's protagonists, many a reader may be left wondering whether this is not the way it should have stayed. "A Place of Execution" is a well-plotted thriller which ambitiously tackles issues from depravity, vice and vengeance to sin, deceit, guilt and justice; and all of these, on multiple levels. It purposely leaves the questions it asks unanswered, forcing its readers to come to their own terms with each of these issues. And by changing its narrative perspective from George Bennett in 1963 to Catherine Heathcoate in 1998, it offers the reader two different angles from which to see the events and the questions they pose. Unfortunately, for me, the change of the narrator's viewpoint brought with it a certain loss of depth and perspective. Whereas the social setting of Scardale village and the characters introduced in the book's first part are compellingly drawn down to their last unique feature and down to the last one of the supporting characters, those introduced in the second part are in many respects only superficially sketched pastiches that failed to engage me. And whereas in the book's first part nothing is left to coincidence and random, the second part is riddled with coincidences; each of which individually might have been within the realm of possibilities, but which taken as a whole were just a tad too much for me to accept. I couldn't shake the impression that for the sake of the coveted change of narrating perspective in the book's second part, Ms. McDermid was willing to sacrifice more than a negligible part of the integrity and the feeling of authenticity she had so effectively created before; and for the sake of driving the plot to its conclusion she sacrificed the character development which had worked so well in holding the story together in the beginning. Fortunately, the book's second part is decidedly shorter than the first one; and while it dragged a little for the reasons mentioned above, I still found myself interested enough to read on to learn how it would end and whether my suspicions as to the solution of the mystery itself were correct - only to find that while I had correctly guessed the core facts as such, the book's end does not offer a simple solution at all. Rather, in real life, it would almost certainly have been only the beginning of a very long and difficult healing process on which the protagonists would have had to embark. To her credit, Ms. McDermid shuns the gore and sensationalism to which her book's central theme would easily lend itself. And even if you are reading "A Place of Execution" primarily for the mystery story it contains, there is plenty to puzzle over in terms of clues, pseudo-clues, red herrings, red flags and more. Bear with George, Tommy and Catherine until the end. You won't regret it - not half as much as *they* find themselves wishing they had never touched the case of Alison Carter's disappearance.
Rating:
Summary: a place for the bedside...
Review: or the briefbag, the car, the train or wherever you may be...pick up this well crafted novel and silently wish away any interuptions...however well intended, they will seem unwelcome...this is truly a well crafted novel...from the beginning the reader is allowed a table for one...that rare, enjoyable mindset of wanting to get lost in a novel...inviting no one along...what better gift to oneself than a good read
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read in a while!
Review: What a book! I don't usually do "english" mysteries because they are too cute and cosy, or simply move to slow for me. I have read a few of Mcdermids other books, (Lindsey Gorden) and have enjoyed them, but this one has surpassed anything I have read by her, or by any other mystery author lately. I couldn't put it down. (In fact, this morning I was late for work cause I made the mistake of picking it up to read with my coffee.)
I read alot of books and can usually figure out what is going on before the end, but not with this one. It keeps you guessing, and just when you think you have it figured out, you get blindsided. I really loved this book!
I could write alot more, but with all the twists and turns, I'm afraid i might give something away. If you are looking for something different, something with a little bit of a nasty twist, and something to really get lost in, read this book. I really don't think you will be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Quality Mystery
Review: Quality Mystery Val McDermid brings us face to face with some disturbing issues in her book A Place of Execution. A child's disappearance is always unsettling and McDermid's novel about young Allison Carter vanishing from the closed community of Scardale is most disturbing. McDermid's tale is one which brings to light questions of justice and vengeance as well as providing the reader with a quality mystery story Chief Inspector George Bennett and Detective Sergeant Tommy Clough join forces in their search for the missing 13 year-old. Both men are interesting characters who have an innate sense of justice and a strong desire for Allison to be returned to those she loves. The residents of the hamlet of Scardale, where young Allison is from seem determined to put obstacles in the way of the detectives. All residents are related to each other and seem to know each other's business, but when the need to be truthful and honest is so vital they seem to be less than forthcoming. This in itself is a mystery, because Allison is a well loved and valued member of the community. It is odd that Scardale would be so distrustful of strangers as to disrupt the investigation. While this book is a stand alone the team of George Bennett and Tommy Clough are an intriguing pair. Bennett a young and inexperienced detective is sincere and idealistic in his goals. George has a sympathy for the victim which is appealing and honest. Tommy Clough is a seasoned veteran who seems impossible to fool and as such is a valuable asset to George in his search for the truth in Scardale. There are sufficient clues for the experienced mystery readers to guess some of the story, but even for them, there should be some surprises in store.
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