I know you're not supposed to judge a book by the cover, but doesn't a good book design make you look in the first place? You may read the blurb and decide against it, but at least you looked. So it was the cover which drew me to Scottish author Gillian Galbraith's third mystery novel featuring Detective Sargeant Alice Rice, Dying of the Light. "Chilling realism" hails Edinburgh Evening News on the front cover. And doesn't the photo just ooze gritty realism? A nice, stark city street background--all shades of black and gray with just a splash of color in the woman's sweater, which is nicely coordinated with the color used for the author's name. And I like how there is an entire figure (not just a headless body that seems so favored by publishers these days, but this is crime fiction not chick lit, so we're off the hook in that respect). Her face is turned away from the camera and she's walking off the page, which creates an interesting balance and makes you wonder where she's going. It's all nicely done, I thought. I looked, and I bought!
I do occasionally pick up mysteries haphazardly without regard to what came first. Sometimes I think it really doesn't matter, but I wonder if in this case a little more background would have made this a richer reading experience. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the book, only I'm still curious to know more about Alice Rice and wondering how much was revealed early on and simply understood as fact by book three. The series in set in Edinburgh and Alice has a flat in Broughton Place. Honestly I don't feel that I know all that much about her, which is what I think is bothering me. I'm not sure how old she is, though her height is remarked upon more than once along with her slender figure. She has a boyfriend named Ian who is a painter and makes a few appearances in the novel. She has a dog who is often looked after by a neighbor. Another neighbor has Alzheimer's and Alice is often waylaid by her, and while she'd like to hurry up the stairs to avoid run-ins she's kind enough to stop and ask after her.
The novel opens with a prostitute losing a court case against a man who she thought was a friend, but who decided to partake of her services one night without her consent. It would appear an almost impossible feat to win a rape case if you happen to be a prostitute. Prostitution features heavily in this story. Leith, Edinburgh is host to a red light district and unsavory activities continually seem to occur there, which anger the more 'respectable' residents of the neighborhood. As a matter of fact a number of them band together to make the women's lives miserable who happen to be plying their trade. It's a cold, bleak Edinburgh. Even the women would prefer to be inside, so when they're splashed and have food thrown at them, are physically harassed, they're already feeling the weight of disapproval. But life becomes downright dangerous when they start turning up murdered. They're not interfered with, but they are stabbed and left in a position that mimics someone praying.
Suspects abound. The man who raped one of the women is one of several whose photograph appears on a leaflet of men who have beaten or otherwise harmed the women. Emotions are running high with the group trying to push the women out of the area and put them out of business. Would they go so far as to murder them? Maybe not, as they lament the women, who have become scarce thanks to the murders, will only come back out of the woodwork when the murderer is caught. Blood on two of the bodies leads DS Rice to an unlikely suspect. I tend to get so wrapped up in the telling of the story, forgetting that the most likely killer is going to be someone already introduced that I'm a little surprised when the detective forms a theory that seems so plausible that it might be true and how did I miss the clues I wonder.
I may feel a little hazy on just what Alice Rice is really like, but I did get a sense of what her work environment is like and the conditions under which she works. How frightening would it be to stick your hand in the pocket of a dead woman who was not only a prostitute but drug user, and prick your finger on a needle? Alice works mostly among men, though her DCI is a tough as nails woman who spends most of the book suffering from a nasty cold and with a foul mood in attendance. Galbraith also paints a realistic yet sympathetic portrait of the women who must walk the streets to make a living which mostly means providing for their children. I liked the book enough to go back and find a library copy of Galbraith's first book, Blood in the Water, which I hope will give me more of a sense of what Alice is like. I think the series definitely has potential and am curious to read more. This is what has spurred my 'Edinburgh as a literary destination' mode (or anywhere in Scotland really), so you may see more here as I find more authors writing about the place. Unfortunately Gillian Galbraith's books are not published here in the US, so getting my hands on book three should be a challenge. Until then, though, I have Alice's first story to enjoy.