Review: A Place of Execution

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

January 1, 2001
January 9, 2015

I'm sorry I didn't keep any comments from my original reading; I'd love to compare them. What I do know is that I liked the book even better, despite knowing the big twist. The greatest strength of the book is the earnest young detective doing his best to solve a heinous crime in 1963 without any preparation but his own sensitivity. Aces there. And although the book deals with repeated rape and sexual abuse of a minor, there is no titillation in it: all the reactions we see are from people horrified, shocked, and disgusted. Although grooming behavior wasn't identified as such then, that is how it is perceived.

Personal copy

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