The Distant Echo

It was December 1978 in St Andrews, Scotland when four university students, after a night on the town, discovered the body of a woman lying in the snow at the Pictish cemetery on Hallow Hill. Alex (Gilly), Davey (Mondo), Sigmund (Ziggy) and Tom (Weird) Had first met at secondary school in Kirkcaldy and referred to themselves as the Laddies fi' Kirkcaldy. Finding the body of Rosie Duff, a local barmaid, in the snow changed their lives, especially when the police (and the town) treated the four men as suspects, not witneses. However, after a prolonged investigation, the police were not able to establish Rosie's killer.

Twenty-five years later it was decided to reopen the investigation into a number of cold cases, including Rosie's murder. ACC James Lawson is in charge of the cold case squad and DC Karen Pirie is responsible for reviewing the evidence for the Rosie Duff Case. With new methods of investigation, including DNA, it was hoped that new information could be uncovered leading to a conviction. However the boxes of evidence relating to Rosie's murder have disappeared. Then two of the four main suspects die in suspicious circumstances and it is feared that the other two will meet the same fate.

Over the years I have seen a number of recommendations for Val McDermid novels and I am glad that I have finally read one. As well as dealing with the procedures for solving of case the author, in The Distant Echo, also allows the reader to get to know the suspects who are under investigation. This book introduces Karen Pirie who goes on to feature in a series of novels. I look forward to reading other books by Val McDermid.