True to the best of crime writing, the genius lies in the story and the way in which the characters react. Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Man Booker-shortlisted second novel has all the advantages: brilliant characterisation, conflicting viewpoints, sharp dialogue, the natural eloquence of Robert Louis Stevenson and, above all, assured pacing, supported by a masterful feel for ambivalence. The facts, based on a real incident in 19th-century Scotland, almost become irrelevant, so good is the telling in prose of unusual clarity. The other, far darker explanation is sexual rejection. That makes his brutal killing seem almost understandable, if still difficult to accept. Initially it appears to be have been prompted by repeated injustices suffered at the hands of a cruel local bully who, having been appointed parish constable, is abusing his authority. The “why?” depends on whether the youth is proven to be either insane or merely a cold-blooded monster out for revenge. The killer is a local boy known in the small community as the son of a brutal father and of a late lamented mother who died in childbirth. A dreadful crime is committed: three members of the same family are murdered in their modest dwelling.
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