books@list.co.uk
Fiction & Biography
CMME lilitll l E P MANDA SCOTT No Good Deed rHearrme Etc, 0.
First writes
Putting debut novelists under the microscope
Bruno Maddox
Who he? i' e .1',r"~'. »:
Manda Scott’s first novel Hen ’5 Teeth was an eccentric little number, an inventive tale of multiple murders, lesbian detectives and chickens which surprised traditionalists by being nominated for the Orange Prize. After such a rapid success (followed up by two sequels), Scott might have been expected to repeat her triumphant formula, or at least proceed in similar vein, for literary eternity. Yet it would appear that some shadowy authority figure at Headline scrawled ‘See Me’ in red biro at the bottom of the treatment for her latest novel, thence to politely but firmly advise her to control her quirkier tendencies or else stay behind at three-thirty and help the janny clear up the playground. The result of this stylistic U-turn is No Good Deed, a fairly conventional thriller which is over-written and ponderous in parts while sorely missing the originality and edge of Scott’s debut. The sleuth here is Special Branch operative Orla McLeod, one of those gutsy, tortured heroines who, in the bloodthirsty opening scene, survives an abortive undercover sting in a Maryhill flat. Her saviour is nine-year-old Jamie
qr"
Hrs debut 1 ..’t'[3'.rt‘l)r't'f~ llftll.’ ‘>.l' ii‘t1'\’\" ‘?K:"\.|\l
\ r rrv- .llrr'rl'rt'l
.fll nirv'f' Wrnl'titnlll-T r. ... . .
t,._. t.t:rlr.rtr\...1lt: to. "’.’rr:r'.t' lt't titan. Ilrt' tlttr. f.l‘rt'
'ixz'r‘n'rl ‘7' 9‘ llril’ I' " r." .‘,’|llr llt'l
Buchanan, rendered mute by the trauma of , .. . . r H. . ,r . seeing his hooker mum killed in the crossfire ,r r : f.’ . . . by notorious criminal Tord Svenson. Fearing { ;_ r . ,. t. horrible vengeance, the pair flee to McLeod’s heart: st». .v 1, “Mm mum’s Highland cottage, hotly pursued by “,5... “H. mm: hum)”, ,w Svenson and the promise of yet more ,1.” , 1r», ,: 1;,(gr'rr.,l\t;rl
:ritm‘ v.'.rrlt:r .allo: 2 t‘l'atw
Maddox who tr tr
carnage. Even if you ignore the wild improbabilities
of this plot, No Good Deed is an infuriating .. ,(m M rt. . « , “at... read, the main problem being one of faltering to: ed 3') rake T'trr: . m r. or .e pace. The book opens dramatically then rm: ° immediately descends into plodding . ,r. Basically W,“ ,, m _ introspection, leaving the reader to scan Scott abandons previous triumphs and hopes for the best I, 1. M, m, “V .,.,f Hm”, page after page of digression and U 1.).“ U. I, (g Mi. Mi, ,, I, I, overwrought character development in search of some tenacity to remain with the book until its final “at “HM. Hf)“, ) ‘1 I). l, I, I! U, I“ much needed action. There are only so many of the revelations. MN: (I M'ng Hm H, mm. confabs between Orla and her colleagues that we No Good Deed really suffers by lacking a coherent '[MW [(1 ,L, HAM ,.l‘:,,l,l.,.) .4 I, /. require access to, particularly when her male style. There are snatches of black humour, the dialogue New}, “Mimi” Wm.) “H, counterparts are interchangeable archetypes who talk is noirish and the characters bear old-fashioned Scots (1‘, mm (M, , ‘13, as though permanently giving a lecture. names that could have been pinched from Highlander mummy Wm. (“H ., . w The relationship between Orla and Jamie is or even Oor Wullie (Murdo Cameron, Morag McLeod, WW I,” h. ham“. MM, ,1/ ’ touchingly depicted, allowing Scott the opportunity to Donald Laidlaw). But the overall effect is less of a WW.) .,I .1,” , explore the darker aspects of her heroine’s character, heightened reality, more of chucking things in as they mm” W“ .) [mm H,” though readers will require extreme patience and occur and hoping for the best. (Allan Radcliffe) “I I,“ WM '1, A; WM“ Hmmmm
I Ill/7‘, [ill/t: H/(n' [Nuns If. pup/whet} Ir), lrtt/e, H/oW/r
Cliches are somethrng that the honor r‘rtual takes place on hecomes the [MUM 1/,“ The Ancient (HammCOHms €9.99) gave spe(.,ralrsesrn more than most. dnvrng force of the MV Lysrcrates. and .... tether rt s don I go rnto the from these hegrnnrngs. the horror basement or ‘rt's hehrnd you] this rs hegrns. Hrtchrng a cheap hit on the by and large a formulaic area. where shrp rs Esther lvlulholland. an army the reader accepts the conventions cadet who's been hrkrng in the Andes. and hopes for skrltul wrrtrng and researching the Inca crvrlrsatron. And maybe a few surprises. the ancient rrtuals ot the Incas come ... 't, A,” r Wrth thrs rn mrnd. rt's drsapporntrng to the fore as a series of gruesome 1! h w hut not entirely unexpected that Muriel murders hegrn. the vrctrms' hearts ‘, Gray's central character's rn The herng cut out. 1 v Ancrent ‘nclude an rnscrutahle By setting her tale rn an enclosed \ Vietnam vet. a trouhled alcoholic space wrth plenty of nooks and who's a good upnght man deep down crannres with no escape route. Gray Inside. and a heroine rarsed rn a trarler‘ focuses hoth the characters' and who had to grow up fast and tough. r‘eader's' attentron. She cr‘(-;ates a Not the most rnsprr'rng setup. hut srtuatron ‘.'.rher'e hasrc human rnstrncts from tx'rO-drmerrsrorral hegrnnrngs. of tear and the need to sun/Ive (,orrre Gray draws the reader rn with well» to the fore. and rt rs th s sense of Judged pacrng and a ser for creating krro‘.'.':ng danger could he Just around suspense and claustrophohra. the corner that dn‘xes the hook Set aboard a cargo shrp sarlrng from tori-.rard. \‘Jhat lacks rn South America to the Unrted States. clrar'acterrsatrorr rs made up tor h, the The Ancrent hegrns with. some young adr'enarrrre-packed ftrrectrcn the boys pertorntrng a rrtoa: to rarse art narratine drags us ott rn. Gray offers adrenaline-packed horror ancient demon The heap ot trash thrs rl,oursa Pear‘sortr
106 THE LIST ' .-'. 3.1:.