Rating: 
Summary: Simply superb
Review: In 1978 St. Andrews, Scotland, four intoxicated students stumble home at four in the morning while snow heavily falls. However, they sober up rather quickly when they stumble over the raped and murdered body of Rosie Duff. Though everyone especially the victim's siblings believe that the drunken male quartet killed her, no proof exists and thus no one is charged with the homicide.Twenty-five years later, forensic science has advanced to the point that the Scottish police reconsider this cold case. Instead of rejoicing that perhaps Rosie's killer is identified, the reopening of the investigation sets off someone seeking revenge against the four former students, who remain haunted by that deadly discovery. Two of them, Sigmund Malkewicz and Davy Kerr, suddenly die in what look like accidents, but their deaths sends a shiver up the spines of the surviving pair. Alex Gilbey and Tom Mackie become determined to learn the truth about the murder a quarter of a century ago and the two killings of their friends because they fear they are next. On the other hand, Assistant Chief Constable James Lawson wants them to stay out while he tries to solve the murder as homage to his former superior, Detective Investigator Barney Maclennan, who died during the 1978 investigation. Part one takes place in 1978 is brilliantly designed so that the audience wonders who killed Rosie. Part Two occurs in 2003 is well written with an intriguing and plausible ending. The contrasting police procedural story lines enable the audience to see how far forensics has come in a relative short period while entertaining the audience with a strong two in one novel that ties nicely together. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Val McDermid's Best Book to Date
Review: In December 1978, around four in the morning, in the middle of a heavy snowstorm, a group of graduate students leave their favorite pub. They're singing and arguing and horsing around when Alex loses his footing. His fall however is broken by something soft. When his vision clears and he has his wits about him, he realizes he has just fallen on top of a woman's body. Ziggy, the pre-med student, sobers up immediately as he recognizes the bleeding woman. She is Rosie Duff, the barmaid, who has been a friendly comfort to the boys for as long as they have known her. She is still alive, but barely. The group is in the middle of snow-covered landscape with no signs of life anywhere. Alex sets out to find help and eventually comes across a young cop, who listens to Alex's fantastic story with suspicion and skepticism. But by the time they reach the scene, Rosie is dead. The four students are the most likely suspects in her brutal killing. Over the next few days the police subject each of them to intense interrogations. None of them are prepared for the force of prejudgment and personal attacks inflicted by the townspeople. Finally, they are released; they go home for the holidays, but their ordeal is far from over. No charges are ever brought against the four friends. They get their degrees and move on with their lives, but each of them is haunted by the events of that winter night twenty-five years ago. Then in November 2003, a decision is made to open old cold case files and Rosie Duff's is one of the most troubling. Things have changed for the detectives who originally investigated her murder. Some have retired, some have died and some have gone on to promotion after promotion. Most of the current force, old enough to remember Rosie, feel that they have a second chance to get the fractious four. One in particular has them in his sights and is determined to bring them to justice. Then Ziggy, who has made his home in America, dies in an arson fire. Alex and only one of the "four" attend the funeral; there they both admit that they are uneasy about the circumstances under which their friend died. They promise to stay in touch. Soon, they learn that another member of their group has been murdered. Suddenly the two who are left realize that they and their families are targets of a killer. THE DISTANT ECHO is Val McDermid's best book to date. She has written a mystery that is a full-blown whodunit with believable characters and a chilling eeriness. Each bit of information, each new clue, each new idea fits together with perfect symmetry. Readers will be hooked immediately to the complexities of the murder investigation, the impact it has on everyone attached to the case, and how corrupt officials have the power to twist the truth while contaminating the evidence. In her own inimitable style, McDermid has written a masterful novel that will haunt readers long after the crimes are solved. --- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Rating:
Summary: One of Val McDermid's best work
Review: In probably her best work since the modern classic, A PLACE OF EXECUTION, Val McDermid has written a mutifaceted tale that spans decades in terrifying bookends related to a single murder.
Four best friends come across the dead body of a local barmaid and their lives would never be the same. In 1978, Alex Gilbey and three of his friends are crossing a park at night while staggering home after a local party when they discover the body of a young woman. They report the discovery to the local police and are immediately considered suspects due to their reckless youth. The dead girl, Rosie Duff, was found raped and stabbed multiple times. Rosie's two brothers, enraged by the senseless death begin taking out their anger on the four youths. Another death results just prior to the time change to the present where the youths, now grown find themselves at the hands of a possible serial killer.
The senseless murder forms the hub around which the spokes of the story, complex relationships and interactions of the multiple characters revolve. The reader is kept in suspense and is truly never given the solution until the very end. The depth and richness of the characters, quite remniscent of Val Mcdermid's best work, give the book its incredible strength and potent emotional impact. The juxtiposition of time halfway through the story adds a layer of depth and, in essence, begins a completely new story. A brilliant work.
Rating:
Summary: One of Val McDermid's best work
Review: In probably her best work since the modern classic, A PLACE OF EXECUTION, Val McDermid has written a mutifaceted tale that spans decades in terrifying bookends related to a single murder.
Four best friends come across the dead body of a local barmaid and their lives would never be the same. In 1978, Alex Gilbey and three of his friends are crossing a park at night while staggering home after a local party when they discover the body of a young woman. They report the discovery to the local police and are immediately considered suspects due to their reckless youth. The dead girl, Rosie Duff, was found raped and stabbed multiple times. Rosie's two brothers, enraged by the senseless death begin taking out their anger on the four youths. Another death results just prior to the time change to the present where the youths, now grown find themselves at the hands of a possible serial killer.
The senseless murder forms the hub around which the spokes of the story, complex relationships and interactions of the multiple characters revolve. The reader is kept in suspense and is truly never given the solution until the very end. The depth and richness of the characters, quite remniscent of Val Mcdermid's best work, give the book its incredible strength and potent emotional impact. The juxtiposition of time halfway through the story adds a layer of depth and, in essence, begins a completely new story. A brilliant work.
Rating:
Summary: Something rotten in the state of St. Andrews
Review: It's December 1978 in St Andrews, Scotland, and the town is held in the smooth grip of a blanket of snow. Four young men are stumbling home from a party, taking a shortcut over Hallow Hill, when one of them discovers, half-buried in the snow, the body of young barmaid Rosie Duff, bleeding profusely and barely alive. Unfortunately, she dies before any help can arrive, and the four lads become, for lack of any contrary evidence, the only suspects. Fast-forward 25 years. Now, Fife police have set up a cold-case review team, to apply new techniques to unsolved cases. And one of the cases they will be looking into the notorious Rosie Duff murder. The original quartet of suspects has now been scattered to the four winds. Their bond has been strained almost to breaking by the suspicion that they had to bear, and all their lives have been fundamentally changed by what they uncovered that evening. Then, one of them dies in a suspicious fire, and the four remaining friends are brought together again with a crash. But, soon, further events conspire to make it abundantly clear that someone is wreaking vengeance or Rosie Duff. Someone who is determined to see that the most harsh of justice is finally meted out to those who killed her' It's rather clear, even from just reading a brief synopsis, that Val McDermid's latest book is going to be very, very good. The Distant Echo returns McDermid to the dizzying heights of A Place of Execution (which, really, is so good that it must be placed outside the genre of 'crime'), while retaining all the sheer enjoyability factor of other successes such as Killing the Shadows. It's an excellent book, destined for great success. It's an intense examination of how suspicion can affect lives, tear them apart, and of the bonds that tie people together, and what it takes to break them. It's excellently written, and the plot is original and fascinating, and plenty of twists are provided along the way to keep the reader satisfied and interested. There's enough atmosphere to convince the reader that McDermid is far more than just going through the motions, and the characters are well drawn and real enough to care about. The Distant Echo is a triumph, and a prime example of why McDermid is one of the best thriller writers we have.
Rating:
Summary: Val McDermid is a Master Storyteller
Review: Ms. McDermid has delivered another taut and intelligent mystery for her legions of devoted fans, which I count myself a proud member. I will leave it to others to give a plot and character overview, but believe a reader new to her work will be drawn to how well she constructs her plots and characters. Also, she's very fair in how she places clues in the story for those of us who like to work out the "who done it" before the final exposition. If you are looking for a book to burn the midnight lamp over, this will keep you engrossed. My only criticism was a minor character (deviant, bad guy)was named Brian !!
Rating: 
Summary: A Distant Cry From A Place of Execution
Review: Really this is two books in one. In the first half the characters are fully drawn and very believable, the plot line is taught, and well written. Unfortunately, the second half of the book where the characters have moved to middle age is disastrous. The characters become card board cut outs and the plot is extremely contrived. If you do not see the ending coming you have not been paying attention. A huge disappointment after enjoying tremendously A Place of Execution. Maybe the title should read A Distant Second.
Rating:
Summary: Ohhhh! A one day read!
Review: Rich in atmosphere, drawn in character, McDermid took me to a place I'd rather not have gone. I mean, what kind of young women wants to be around sex-obsessed, drug addicted, violence-inducing guys? Not me, that's for sure. But in The Distant Echo, that's exactly where you'll go. And that's why I gave this book four stars and not five.
Otherwise, it was very well written. I did not guess the killer until well towards the end, most probably when Ms. McDermid intends the reader to. The average reader probably will not mind the langage, drugs, and general tone of the book as much as me, so I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Another excellent mystery
Review: This book is very reminiscent of McDermid's most successful book to date, the multi-award winning A PLACE OF EXECUTION. The similarity lies in the way the story is presented in two parts, the first half dealing with the emotion of the crime as it happens and the second half fast forwards to the present and deals with the fallout. In this case we are taken back to 1978 before completing the story in 2003. On the surface it's a simple mystery, a girl is raped, stabbed and left for dead in the small university village of St Andrews in Scotland. But as the story unfolds, the consequences prove that the tragedy is much more insidious and far reaching. Part 1 of the story begins with four young men walking home drunk from a party, late one night. The men met on their first day of high school and have stood by each other throughout their school life. They have now moved on to university and have remained inseparable. They each have nicknames bestowed upon them and it is by these names that we know of them throughout the book. For the record, their names and nicknames are Alex Gilbey (aka Gilly), Sigmund Malkiewicz (aka Ziggy), David Kerr (aka Mondo) and Tom Mackie (aka Weird). During their walk home they literally stumble upon the body of Rosie Duff, a barmaid from the local pub. She had been stabbed in the stomach and was barely clinging to life. Faced with the dying girl, Alex is sent to get help and finds PC James Lawson who raises the alarm, but by the time they get back to Rosie, she had already died. The 4 friends start out as the only witnesses to the murder, but soon become the only suspects, thanks to two facts. The police have a distinct lack of evidence and, while being questioned all four of them withhold information that they think is unrelated to the case and would only serve to get them in trouble. Although they all insist they had nothing to do with Rosie's death, news soon leaks that the police had questioned them and people start voicing their suspicions. The rest of the first part of the story sees the slow disintegration of the boy's friendship as the case drags on with the finger of blame continually pointed at them. They have to endure malicious gossip and rumour as well as physical and verbal abuse. They even get to the point where they begin to become suspicious of each other and start to blame one another for getting them into their predicament. It's in the second half of the book (Part 2) that the story really comes to life as plot twists are thrown in one on top of the other. It's 25 years later and we get to see what became of the four friends and how their nightmare experience has affected their lives. We also get a complete change in tempo as the style of story jumps from police procedural to that of a thriller. McDermid does a splendid job of feeding out a little bit of the murder investigation, which has been reopened as part of the Chief Constable's cold case review programme, while supplying an intensely thrilling subplot to keep things jumping. THE DISTANT ECHO shows how easily a weak friendship can be torn apart under pressure, but at the same time it highlights the strength of true friendship. I found it to be compulsive reading thanks to its multi-dimensional story line. It's more than just a murder mystery, although it's a fine murder mystery just the same, it's a book that deals with relationships (all sorts of relationships, by the way) and their survival through all sorts of adversity.
Rating:
Summary: A Quarter Century Mystery!
Review: This is my second Val McDermid book. I usually am not a fan of english authors, but Ms. McDermid spins a heck of a good tale, so I am hooked. This book begins in 1978 when four drunken college chums stumble upon the body of a local girl. Though suspected, they are never charged of the crime. The first part of the book deals with the group and dealing with the suspicions of others.
The second part of the book fast forwards to 2003 and two of the four are killed under suspicious conditions. When the remaining two begin to dig deeper into the crime, the plot thickens and they find themselves uncovering details about the case. This is a well-written work and I will defintely read more Val McDermid.
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