Disappeared is Anthony Quinn's first novel, and allowances must be made. On the positive side, a story about the 'disappeared' of the Ulster Troubles is current and compelling. Quinn's descriptions of the shores of Lough Neagh are spellbinding and sometimes downright beautiful. On the negative side, the plot is preposterous, there are far too many characters to keep track of, and pretty well all of them are more interesting than Quinn's lacklustre protagonist DI Celsius Daly yes, the name is the only interesting trait). On the whole, the positives just outweigh the negatives. I read it to the end, otherwise it wouldn't be here on my blog. The denouement was a bit disappointing - somewhat of a deus ex machina. Also, am I right in thinking that diesel isn't easily flammable, thus not the weapon of choice for your averagely intelligent teenage arsonist?
Personally, I won't be revisiting Inspector Daly again in a hurry. That shouldn't put anyone else off - I hated the first Rebus novels when they came out, and look what happened with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment