list.co.uk/books Reviews | BOOKS
CRIME NEIL BROADFOOT The Storm (Saraband) ●●●●●
Since the release of Falling Fast, the debut novel which earned him a nomination for Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year, Neil Broadfoot has established himself as something of a heavyweight newcomer in the world of Tartan Noir. His second novel, The Storm, picks up where the first left off: telling the rapid, frantic story of crime reporter Doug McGregor and Detective Sergeant Susie Drummond as they attempt
to solve an Edinburgh-wide mass murder case.
Both characters have connections to the killings: Doug sees
his editor shot in front of him, and Susie is witness to the death of a prominent lawyer. Their professional obligations are undercut by their personal feelings towards the case, a conflict that Broadfoot handles well and takes care not to overplay. Through a highly-stylised narrative technique, in which the killer’s point of view is interspersed with Doug’s, Susie’s and others, the plot is given a deal more meat and grit than you would expect from a standard thriller. The story’s resolution is solid, though a little predictable, and while the characters’ investigative instincts are impressive, at times it is frustrating to watch them progress seamlessly towards an inevitable conclusion. There are no red herrings to follow or unexpected plot developments: Broadfoot sets the mystery up and unravels it systematically and clearly.
That said, well-formed characters and an intelligent use of mixed narrative makes this novel a swift, clean-cut thriller, and while it may not keep you guessing, it will almost certainly keep you reading. (Rebecca Monks) Out now.
SHORT STORIES PIPPA GOLDSCHMIDT The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space (Freight) ●●●●● NON-FICTION MALACHY TALLACK 60 Degrees North (Polygon) ●●●●●
FICTION SCARLETT THOMAS The Seed Collectors (Canongate) ●●●●● DEBUT COLIN MACINTYRE The Letters of Ivor Punch (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) ●●●●●
Pippa Goldschmidt – the author of Falling Sky, who has a PhD in astronomy – presents a collection of scientific short fiction, depicting a lesser visited world of observatories and laboratories. We enter the thoughts of history’s
heavyweights of science; Einstein is confronted by an imagining of his illegitimate daughter as he rides the lift to his mistress' flat; Turing finds himself trapped in his own imitation test; and Oppenheimer, inventor of the atomic bomb, is a socially awkward student at Cambridge with murderous intent. Most characters are isolated, unable
or unwilling to bond with colleagues or partners. They use science to understand their personal worlds, as well as the world at large. The narrative tone is factual, analytical and honest. Goldschmidt’s prose is endlessly inventive, exploring the experience of women in a male dominated profession, of the descendents of Jews who survived the war and, as the title suggests, the lack of regulation regarding outer space. (Rowena McIntosh) Out now.
A writer loses their father suddenly and later dives headlong into a project with nature. No, it’s not Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, it’s Malachy Tallack’s 60 Degrees North, a mystical meditation on the parallel line which cuts across Shetland, Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. As an adopted Shetlander who
has always felt conflicted about his homeland, the restless Tallack chose to write about his feelings by heading off on a global adventure. Written with a real feeling for place, Tallack certainly packs in plenty of history and notes his encounters with local characters never less than sympathetically. He also paints some lovely imagery: arctic terns ‘pinned like little crucifixes against the sky’ and a sea otter ‘as sleek as a polished walnut’.
While Macdonald’s loss felt like a profound trigger to launch herself into other worlds, you don’t fully get that sense here. And Tallack's assertion that the north has been uniquely unfair to its estranged indigenous peoples might come as a surprise to many quarters in the Americas and Australia. (Brian Donaldson) Out Mon 13 Jul.
In The Seed Collectors, Scarlett Thomas uses the private life of killer plants to tell a very human story. Following the death of Aunt Oleander, we meet the very tangled Gardener family, including ‘paleo wanker’ Charlie, filmmaker Clematis, secret sister Fleur and yummy-mummy Bryony. Fleur inherits Oleander’s retreat, Namaste House, but the others are given only a seed pod. These look innocuous enough and could be a shortcut to enlightenment if ingested properly, but they could also kill you. Will anyone dare to find out?
Big ideas about enlightenment,
reincarnation and the ego carry the book forward, but at its heart it’s about messy human lives. Thomas juggles the narratives of multiple characters – each more self-obsessed than the last – with bitingly funny prose, but the overwhelmingly awful people make the book hard to digest at times. Despite the difficult concepts and
unlikeable characters, Thomas’ sharp writing and sharper wit provide enough to keep the book going. (Sasha de Buyl) Out Thu 2 Jul.
Ivor Punch is a former policeman from an unnamed Scottish island, prone to scribbling letters to public figures, most notably Barack Obama. This novel isn’t just about Ivor though; as the debut of musician Colin MacIntyre (Mull Historical Society), it’s perhaps unsurprising to find the island itself in the role of main protagonist. Numerous plot strands flit back
and forth over a century and a half through a dizzying array of the island’s inhabitants from the fictional to people who actually existed. Charles Darwin even puts in an appearance.
Ivor himself shifts from unlikeable to enlightening, but ultimately he is compelling enough to act as the link that holds everything together. The shadow of death looms large and is a striking theme, though a brief flirtation with the supernatural falls flat.
At times disjointed, the novel makes the reader work and actually delivers more on second reading. MacIntyre is a storyteller with a unique imagination though, and has created a heartfelt novel with some standout elements of dark comedy. (Kevin Scott) Out now.
4 Jun–3 Sep 2015 THE LIST 61