I found The Dead by Ingrid Black to be a fairly standard serial killer story. Set in Dublin, Ireland, notorious serial killer Ed Fagan hasn’t been heard from in a number of years but to everyone’s surprise, a newspaper reporter receives a letter claiming to be from him and promising a number of murders will be taking place over the course of the next week. The next day the body of a prostitute is found, and the police are convinced that Ed Fagan has returned.

American, ex-FBI special agent and true-crime author, Saxon is absolutely certain that this isn’t the work of Fagan, and she has good reason to know. She is called upon to assist DCS Grace Fitzgerald in the hunt, but first she has to convince the team to look beyond the obvious.

I had a little trouble getting into The Dead, it seemed to drag for the first half of the book. I also didn’t bond too well with the main character of Saxon. She is meant to be dark and snarky, but I found her a little too grim and morose. Her addition to the investigation was rather strange as she has no official credentials yet she seemed to have access to every area of the case. Also she is very obviously gay and involved with DCS Fitzgerald but this was never really addressed. There were lots of red herrings and a few loose ends that seemed promising but were totally dropped. The ending was somewhat of a surprise and since there are more books about these characters, perhaps there will be some resolution yet to come. ( )

Ex-FBI Special Agent Saxon works as a consultant for the Dublin Metropolitan Police when a serial killer she researched for a book appears to have returned after a 5 year hiatus. There was enough misdirection to keep me guessing right up to the end.

As my DH knows, I am a sucker for female investigators, and Black's Saxon is no exception. She is sarcastic, short-tempered, and single-minded. First-person narration provides delightful insights into her snarky personality:

"I'd never liked him, and he knew it, probably because I'd failed on every occasion we'd ever met to get to the
end of the conversation without pointedly reminding him of the fact. I just felt that he was the kind of person
who might benefit one day from being repeatedly told that he was unlikeable. It hadn't had the desired effect
so far, but I lived in hope."

And:

"What I had left of good sense told me I should wait till I heard from Fisher -- but I told what I had left of
good sense to go to hell."

And Black's writing has its wonderful moments:

"I waited as he set to, stabbing fussily at the eggs like some ancestral hunting memory had flashed into
his mind and he was worried lest they make a break for freedom before he could free his spear."

On the other hand, and here I am the snarky one, all of the American characters in the book use the word "whilst" instead of "while." For the past 8 years I've lived in a country where English still belongs to the Queen, and I can't bring myself to say "whilst." Every occurrence grated.

I rate this largely enjoyable 2005 Shamus Award winner at 7 of 10 stars. ( )

De Amerikaanse Saxon schrijft sinds ze ontslag nam als FBI-agente met succes boeken over misdaad. Ze woont nu in Dublin, waar ze haar boek over de Ierse seriemoordenaar Ed Fagan, die prostituees vermoordde, niet kon afmaken omdat hij vijf jaar eerder spoorloos verdween. Als een journalist die ze kent een brief krijgt waarin Fagan zich weer meldt en vijf nieuwe moorden binnen een week aankondigt, weet Saxon dat de brief niet van Fagan zelf kan zijn. Ze assisteert haar vriendin Grace, hoofdinspecteur bij de politie in Dublin, bij het opsporen van de dader, maar kan niet voorkomen dat vijf vrouwen worden vermoord. Black is het pseudoniem van een Noord-Ierse journaliste en haar man. Ze hebben een knappe, heel spannende detective geschreven, waarin erg veel gebeurt met veel onverwachte, plausibele wendingen en verwikkelingen, die de lezer meer dan eens op het verkeerde been zetten, inclusief een onverwachte, overtuigende ontknoping.

Great book from a first time novelist. I like how we knew enough about the main character but were not bogged down in details.
An actual mystery that kept me guessing, rare treat and I was thrilled.

A&R $5 rack! ( )

This read like a fairly typical murder thriller, indistinguishable really from others in the genre. I wasn't really interested in any of the characters, I just wanted the puzzle to be solved. Nothing special. ( )