Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90506 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
One night in November 2002, PC Billy Tyler is called to a mortuary in Suffolk to guard the body of a notorious child-killer. But in the eerie silence of the hospital, the killer's presence begins to assert itself. A vivid evocation of an extraordinary moment in crime history, "Death of a Murderer" is a dark and gripping meditation on the fears and temptations that haunt us all.

Customer Reviews

lacks a gripping edge
The book tells the story of a Police Officer who guards the body of a mass murderer, the officer is left with his own thoughts and imagination.

The book lacks a real gritty story, it is well written and captures peoples emotions but not much can happen to someone who is locked in a room with a few dead bodies.

There were parts that I thought the book was taking a twist only for the story to go back to the four walls of the mortuary.

A well written book that lacks a gripping edge.

Complex, disturbing and thought provoking - well worth the price of admission
Thompson's novels seem to have a slightly unreal feel to them: a sense characters don't quite talk to one another, a lack of connection, that things aren't quite as they should be. In this book, following the thoughts and reminiscences of a police officer as he guards the body of a famous murderess (the never named Mira Hindley), it works stunningly well. The crimes committed by the murderer stun one anyway - leave one feeling that their enormity is always slightly beyond you. The long late shift, sitting in a hospital morgue into the small hours, the conversations in hospital cafes, where strangers make connections they otherwise never would, even the feeling of disassociation between a couple married for many years, all seem to suit Thompson's style and vision perfectly.

The story examines how people were affected by Hindley and her and Brady's crimes. Generally, its interest is not with those directly affected by her - her victims, her family. Instead, it looks, through its microcosm of the central police officer, at the effect on people more generally. How do we react to those crimes? Did her childhood condition her to act as she did? Could a normal - otherwise loving - woman ever kill a child too? What might we do for love?

I agree with the previous reviewer that the story is, at points, rather too contrived. We can see the author pulling the strings rather too obviously. Generally, however, Thompson avoids this flaw. The relationship between the police constable, his wife and their daughter feels plausibly real. It anchors the story solidly and gives it its emotional heart. The result is a compelling novel.

Difficult subject matter - masterfully handled
Although the main character, Billy Tyler, is a policeman, Death of a Murderer is not a novel that fits into the crime or thriller genre. Thomson takes the death of Myra Hindley as the springboard for a fictional exploration of childhood, growing up, and humankind's propensity for violence and evil. Billy is a kind of Everyman, not a detective trying to solve a case. Thomson writes brilliantly, effortessly conjuring up new characters and scenes in crisp and evocative prose. The only reason for not giving it five stars is that some aspects of the plot feel a bit contrived. I've not read any novels by Rupert Thomson before but will certainly do so now.