His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

It was easy to read and it featured Applecross which for me was perfect. Overall it was a different kind of murder story to the typical Glaswegian down on his luck detective, with some excellent description of life in the Highlands during the 1850/60s. I would have loved to have glimpsed inside Roddys father’s mind (what happened to him?) and to have had more back story about Jetta but to do so would have changed the narrative and merely piqued my interest as opposed to frustrate me. I liked the directness of the book with Burnet not stopping to elaborate on events. I did think that the trial could have twisted the tale even more and I think this is my one (slight) criticism of the book. I really enjoyed the short sharp sections finding it suited my holiday reading style of dipping in and out and finished the book within a couple of days.Īlthough you know right from the get go that three people are killed I did find the actual event quite shocking, and certain revelations during the trial furthered this. The book is broken down into various sections, eye witness accounts, a diary written by the accused and then the trial itself. Having no WiFi I chose not to Google more about the book and ploughed on blind. I must confess during the first few pages I wasn’t sure whether the book was fact or fiction. I think it brings something extra to the book and the holiday to be able to say “ooh I’ve just read about that”.Īnyway the book itself is about a triple murder in a small crafting community in 1869 (very holiday reading I know). I love “location reading” and always try to link my holiday reading to my destination. As tempted as I was, I deciding to save it until the next time the Highlands beckoned.Įaster it was and just in time as a breather from Bleak House (floundering at page 315) was needed.

Intrigued I took it as a sign when the very next day I walked into Waterstones and found it standing out cover first on a shelf. Someone mentioned that the location of this book was set very close to a regular holiday destination of mine in the Highlands.

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet