Product Description

Present-day murder has its roots in the eighteenth century and the mutiny on the Bounty in this highly acclaimed new psychological thriller. A 200 year-old-secret is now a matter of life and death. And it could be worth a fortune. It's summer in the Lake District and torrential rain has uncovered a bizarrely tattooed body on a hillside. Could it be linked to centuries-old rumours that surround Fletcher Christian, mutinous First Mate on the ill-fated Bounty, a legendary massacre on the strange island of Pitcairn, and Christian's possible return to England? Jane Gresham wants to know. An expert on Wordsworth, she has a theory that the Lakeland poet, a childhood friend of Christian's, had harboured the fugitive and turned his tale into an epic poem -- which has since stayed hidden. But as she follows each lead, death is hard on her heels. The 200-year-old mystery is putting lives at risk. And it isn't just the truth that is waiting to be discovered, but a bounty worth millions of pounds!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57607 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's a time-honoured tradition that the best crime writers begin to chafe at the constraints of their area of the genre and feel a need to stretch their literary muscles. With The Grave Tattoo, the estimable Val McDermid demonstrates that she, too, has felt the need of a change from her contemporary novels of crime and detection, and here takes on a truly ambitious panoply. Not that McDermid has been afraid to tackle unconventional subjects before--it's just that the scale of this novel is even more impressive. A corpse is discovered on a hill in the Lake District, adorned with bizarre tattoos. Wordsworth expert Jane Gresham finds herself distracted from her studies of the great Lakeland poet when another mystery surfaces, involving the Pitcairn Massacre and the events of the mutiny on the Bounty. Is it possible that Fletcher Christian, who led the rebellion against Captain Bligh, faked his own death and clandestinely returned to England? Jane makes a connection between the tattooed body and the tattoos on sailors who served in the South Seas--is this the body of Fletcher Christian? And Jane has another problem on her hands--a young girl who she has tried to help finds herself a murder suspect, and tracks her down to the Lakes. And as Jane closes in on a Wordsworth manuscript that may be a direct transcription of Fletcher Christian’s confession, she finds herself with someone else on her trail--an ex-lover with similar designs on the precious document.

As all this might suggest, McDermid has set herself a truly daunting task here, with a canvas so crammed with incident, colour and character. And when the reader learns that the central narrative is counterpointed with sections from the Fletcher Christian document, it's clear that we are a long way away from the medical and criminological puzzles of Wire in the Blood. It is to McDermid's credit that she draws so many strands together with such assurance.
--Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for 'The Grave Tattoo': 'Absorbing modern mystery!McDermid's mix of historical and literary clues with modern detection is handled with panache.' The Times 'One of the world's leading mystery writers!Thomas Harris crossed with Agatha Christie, if you will! a great read. England's heritage history has never been so chilling.' Observer 'A cleverly plotted thriller. It should gain her a crowd of new fans.' Guardian 'One of her best.' Literary Review 'One of our most accomplished crime writers!compelling.' Glasgow Herald Praise for 'The Torment of Others': 'One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' The Times 'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power. Utterly compelling' Glasgow Herald 'Serial killers, though meat and drink, to crime writers, are thankfully rare. It is a tribute to the power of Val McDermid's imagination that she made this one seem so believable' Daily Telegraph 'Complex, combative and nuanced' Express 'Val McDermid, as ever, is adept at engendering irresistible suspense, as the fearsome attractiveness of the ever more benighted and bloody predicament works its effect on readers' Times Literary Supplement 'There are some terrific twists. McDermid gives a new jerk to the storyline and the chase is on again' Scotland on Sunday 'No one compares to McDermid' Guardian 'This is McDermid on top form -- pass the valium' Daily Mail

Daily Express
'A substantially entertaining novel which grips the reader’s interest from the first page until the final deeply satisfying sentence’

Customer Reviews

A grave disappointment
This eagerly awaited new title from Val McDermid was a big disappointment, lacking the depth and tension of her earlier thrillers. The search for a long lost Wordsworth document had all the excitement of hunt the thimble.
I was left wondering if in fact this book had been written some years ago as it lacks the quality of Ms McDermid's more recent publications. This might also explain the incorrect references to St Catherine's House (BMD records moved to the Family Records Centre in 1997).

Surprisingly Good!
I do like being proven wrong.
I actually went along to the talk and signing of this book by the author at my local library. My two friends had stacks of previous titles they wanted Val to sign, I just went along for something to do.
I have only read one book by Val McDermaid, and because we arrived late into the lecture theatre and missed the beginning, I was quite sure that total would stay at one. Val was talking about the Lake District, Fletcher Christian, Mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Bligh, Wordsworth, etc, etc.........I think I had a little snooze at this point, I'd had a long day. Anyway, I revitalised myself slightly when Val was answering questions, (in between great swigs of Stella Artois, [Val, not me, I stuck to the free coffee and gypsy creams.]) and it wasn't a bad evening.
Back to the book - I managed to get hold of a copy to see what all the fuss was about, and knowing that there was some criminal element weaved into the plot, I thought it couldn't be all that bad.
I nearly read it one go. It had everything you would want from a great crime novel, especially if you are a geek, and you get to learn something new. If, like me, you know nothing of the mutiny and Fletcher Christian and Pitcairn, (I bet you're thinking now, 'eh?'), don't worry, its a top read, nice and easy, with beautiful language.

Also disappointed
When I first heard about this book, I though it a fascinating idea that Fletcher Christian may have returned to the Lake District to visit his friend Wordsworth. Unfortunately, from early on in the story, I was very disappointed with it. The integration of the present day story with the Fletcher Christian mystery did not work for me and the written passages supposedly from Fletcher's diary could have been omitted altogether. There were also too many characters and too many sub-plots. Many of the characters were unbelievable and several of the sub-plots were left unresolved. As far as 'whodunnit', it almost seemed as if the writer did not decide until the end who the villain would be - and then glossed over any inconsistencies!

Having read many of Val's books, I expected much more and found this frustrating rather than an enjoyable read.