A dark but very enticing Scottish noir police procedural with a reasonably unexpected protagonist. ( )

A complex plot, sharply drawn characters, cracking dialogue and authentic locations make this an excellent read. Set in a small Glasgow police station under threat of closure, the team have one last chance to prove their value by cracking a big case right on their doorstep. Highly recommended. ( )

Het verhaal is goed, de spanning wordt goed opgebouwd, je wilt echt verder lezen hoe het afloopt. Maar moeten er zoveel personages aan meedoen, en moeten die allemaal zo worden uitgewertk? Door al die personen verdwijnt het verhaal naar de achtergrond, en dat vind ik een gemiste kans van de schrijfster. Er had meer in gezeten, als het niet zo uitgediept was. ( )

Okay, so I'm a more than a bit of a fan of Caro Ramsay for a lot of reasons. DARK WATER is her third book, featuring a number of ongoing characters, but somehow there's not quite a feeling of a series about these. If you've not read ABSOLUTION, the first book, that will probably sound a bit odd - but let's just say at the end of that book something I've always thought of as quite brave from an author happens. The second book SINGING TO THE DEAD has to move on as a result, and again here, we've got a slight switch in the pairings, the characters and the goings on in this book.

We are talking Tartan Noir here - so there is the obligatory setting of dense fog, cold and a series of violent deaths that seem to have all the markings of a serial killer. There's also a former beauty queen, her mentally ill sister, a rather attractive photographer and his well dodgy assistant and a healthy sprinkling of odd types hanging around the edges. Adding to the obligatory list is the team being stuffed around by their bosses and all, some romantic tension in the ranks, a rookie who is prepared ot push the boundaries and the required tension within any well functioning police team.

Sounds all very predictable doesn't it. Luckily in Ramsay's hands there's an edge, a certain something that makes the basic elements of a Tartan Noir police procedural just that little bit better than you'd think. When I say I'm a bit of a fan - I'm talking a very very big bit. ( )

Weliswaar tamelijk vergezocht, maar elk boek van Caro Ramsay vind ik de moeite waard. Het is zo beeldend geschreven dat ik verbaasd was dat het buiten niet mistte, toen ik even opkeek uit mijn boek. Spannend, boeiend en gruwelijk. ( )