The Washington Post calls CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award winner Val McDermid "one of the bright lights of the mystery field." In Trick of the Dark, forensic psychiatrist Charlotte Flint is in desperate need of a distraction after her testimony in a high-profile case comes under fire, threatening her career. Enter Dr. Corinna Newsam-an old professor of Charlotte's-who's convinced her son-in-law was murdered by her daughter's new lover.
"I try not to miss a Val McDermid book, and I especially like these dark, psychological stand-alones. I had missed this one, but a review, now lost, of some other book led me here. I don't like books with no characters to care about, so I shouldn't like this one, as they're all flawed, but I find McDermid's storytelling so addictive, that I get caught up in it all. I also like her turn of phrase--Charlie Flint, our heroine, is a clinical psychologist, a "detective of the interior state." Something very satisfying about that idea and where it leads here. So Charlie's career is on hold (see numerous summaries below) and she's investigating on behalf of her mentor: did another former student (Jennifer/Jay), who is now having an affair with mentor's daughter, actually kill daughter's husband, and her former partner, and a business adversary. That would be 3 murders. I hate talking about plot. So it's investigative, step by step, but filled with emotional land mines. Uneasy, unsettling tone; measured pace that builds in intensity; vividly drawn, flawed, interior characters; satisfying plot twist at the end; smart writing, compelling, polished, and persuasive. Interestingly two narrators with very similar voices, both dark, husky, smoky, and sensuous, but the book doesn't lend itself as well as some to 2 narrators. Basically one reads sections that are Charlie's point of view, and the other reads Jay's. Worth a listen."
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Joyce (4 out of 5 stars)