The
Rough Collier
A
Gil Cunningham Mystery
Pat
McIntosh
Soho
Constable (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-507-5 (1569475075)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-507-2 (9781569475072)
Publication Date: May 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): When the peat-cutters came to report the dead man, Gil
Cunningham was up in the roof -- space of his mother's house, teaching
his new young wife swordplay.
They believe the corpse to be that of a local missing man. His wife and
the widow who runs the local coalmine are sure the body belongs to
someone else, but then they find themselves accused of having killed
him by witchcraft.
And if the corpse is not the missing man, who is it?
Gil and Alys try to get to the heart of the matter. Together they
uncover more murders than they bargain for, and encounter the chilling
secret at the heart of the mystery.
Review:
Gil Cunningham, legal advisor to the Archbishop of Glasgow, sets out to
find answers surrounding a dead body in The Rough Collier,
the fifth medieval mystery in this series by Pat McIntosh.
Due to the red hair on the otherwise badly decomposed body, it is
thought to be that of Thomas Murray, a landowner missing for more than
a month. When Gil examined the remains, however, he assured everyone
that they were wrong. The hands were those of a laborer and besides,
the bones were clearly much older than just a month or so. Gil and his
wife Alys then begin a journey following what should have been Thomas'
route to collect rents on his land. But the questions remain: whose
body was found, and where is Thomas?
The mystery deepens after Gil and Alys locate someone who had seen
Thomas recently and they ultimately discover his body in the home of
his friend. Both are dead, presumably poisoned. It seems that several
other members of Thomas' family had also been poisoned. Was this just a
coincidence? And why would anyone want to kill them? Gil and Alys know
they are close to a solution when Alys is lured into a mine shaft with
the intent to keep her silent - permanently.
The
Rough Collier is a credible
whodunit with plenty of red herrings and well-placed misdirection. The
rolling hills of the countryside and the small towns around Glasgow are
beautifully depicted. However, in an attempt at authenticity, the
characters' speech is written in a local Scottish brogue and likely to
be unfamiliar to most readers. While most of what is said can be
reasonably accurately interpretted (translated into the King's English
as it were), it is likely that some of the nuances of the plot are
completely lost due to the incomprehension of some of the dialog.
Still, those readers willing to make do with the dialect will be
rewarded with a fine mystery novel.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Rough Collier and to Soho Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Rough Collier? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
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ISBN-10: 0-7867-1349-6 (0786713496)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1349-3 (9780786713493)
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ISBN-10: 0-7867-1570-7 (0786715707)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1570-1 (9780786715701)
The
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ISBN-10: 0-7867-1741-6 (0786717416)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1741-5 (9780786717415)
St.
Mungo's Robin
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), February 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1903-6 (0786719036)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1903-7 (9780786719037)
The Rough Collier
Soho Constable (Hardcover), May 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-507-5 (1569475075)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-507-2 (9781569475072)
Omnimystery
keywords for The Rough Collier
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Location(s) referenced: Glasgow, Scotland.
