Rating: 4/5
Review:
A very good crime novel
This is a very good crime novel, the third in the Douglas Brodie series. I enjoyed Bitter Water, but I think this is better; Gordon Ferris seems to be hitting his stride and I think this series may well develop into something quite special. Here, ex-policeman Brodie is still working as a reporter and gets drawn into a sinister murder investigation involving the Jewish community in post-war Glasgow. Events lead to Nazis, the Holocaust and the camps and trials in Germany. It is a well-told and involving story with genuine emotional impact in places.
I always approach books which have a Holocaust theme with a degree of scepticism. It has direct and immediate personal relevance for me and I have seen it too often used to lend a spurious gravitas to undistinguished work. I needn't have worried here because Ferris avoids this well. The Holocaust and its aftermath is a perfectly legitimate subject for a novel set in 1946 and he stays well this side of the line between exposition and exploitation. As a result, I found the book emotionally powerful in places as well as being a good story. It is well told in literate, readable prose and the period and atmosphere of a freezing winter are well done. The odd very non-1946 phrase like "in the loop" does creep in, but rarely enough not to spoil the book in any way.
I found this an engrossing and exciting read with some genuinely important content, too. Recommended.
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