As Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet Sir Walter Scott wrote "Oh what a tangled web we weave"... In the second novel of her DI Marjory Fleming series, Author Aline Templeton has woven a very tangled web indeed. The quiet fishing village of Knockhaven is teeming with secrets — adultery, drug trafficking, underage sex, shady business practices, revenge, and murder...or was it an accident? It's up to DI Fleming to find the truth, and if it was murder....who is the victim? The Darkness and the Deep — just as the name implies — is a dark tale set in a rural area of Scotland where the primary livelihoods — fishing and farming — have suffered major economic blows. As a result, sadly, the drug trade is flourishing at the hands of men who would have formerly earned their living honestly.And somehow, the evil, invisible men had found them and now there was a direct channel of destruction straight to the heart of the rural community Fleming had grown up in and loved so well.As the wife of a farmer, Detective Inspector Marjory Fleming has been affected both personally and professionally by these difficult times. She is struggling to recover from the damage to her marriage to a farmer as well as the damage to her standing in the community, damage resulting from her being the officer in charge of enforcing a government policy which seems unnecessarily destructive to rural life. Just when it appears Marjory may regain her position of respect in the community, a series of tragic "accidents" strikes Knockhaven. When DI Fleming and her team fail to quickly determine the perpetrator, a motive, or even more basic, the actual victim, she is once again placed in a negative spotlight.Most crimes, even the most trivial, fitted a pattern of one sort or another, had a signature that defined their perpetrator, but these contrived to be anonymous, leaving a blank where the personality should be.DI Fleming is an unlikely heroine. Juggling the roles of wife, mother and public servant, she must deal with a husband still reeling from the devastating blow to his livelihood as a farmer, a daughter who has been ostracized by her teenage friends and shows every sign of developing an eating disorder while supervising the varied abilities and personalities of her subordinates who've had their tight knit group invaded by a talented and ambitious outsider more interested in competition than team work.Such jockeying for position was all very amusing, unless it was your thankless task to make them work together.Was it her imagination, or was that a look of surprise or even irritation on Kingsley's face? Surely he couldn't have imagined that he was the only one who would think of such an obvious point?The author has created a very strong character in DI Fleming. Although she relies heavily on "gut feeling", the intangible that isn't covered in handbooks, and is not above consulting a psychologist friend for guidance and insight into the personality of a killer, Marjory Fleming's primary goal is justice.Justice: that was always the itch under her skin. It didn't matter how often it was explained to her that a court case was about proof, not guilt or innocence, she clung stubbornly to her conviction that her job was to seek the truth.Readers will find the plot of The Darkness and the Deep complex but easy to follow. In the initial phase of the investigation a number of likely perpetrators come to light and there are some very entertaining interviews between these characters and DI Fleming's investigators since not only do the police suspect them all, but they all suspect each other! The bottom line to which they all return at some point is "who was the actual victim"? The words of a dying man will offer a clue eventually leading the investigators to the answer and to the killer. Mystery fans will love the convoluted nature of this story and I suspect most, if not all, will be kept guessing (as we love to be!) to the very end. Just when you think you have it all figured out.... :-DDisclaimer: I received a copy of this book directly from the author. I was not paid to read or review this book. All opinions are my own, and I was never influenced by anything or anyone.
THE DARKNESS AND THE DEEP (Police Procedural-Scotland-Cont) – VG+ Templeton, Aline – 2nd in seriesHodder & Stoughton, 2006- UK Hardcover*** Marjory Fleming is a farmer’s wife, mother of two and the DI in a small coastal town in Scotland that has a volunteer lifeboat rescue crew. On return from a nighttime rescue with a replacement coxswain, the boat mistakenly enters a rocky inlet and all are killed. Thoughts of it being a tragic accident are quickly removed when lights are found which mimic the lights indicating entry to the harbor. It’s up to Marjory and her team to determine which member of the team was the target, the motive for the deception and the killer. *** Templeton has, once again, given us a very well written, traditional police procedural. She introduced each of a realistic company of the characters establishing their relationships. Marjory is a fully-developed character with all the elements of her life clearly outlined. The crime is suspenseful and terrifying but there is also humor in Marjory’s dealing with her DS, whom she fines every time he quotes Robert Burns and her dealing with the new officer from England. The story moves quickly with excellent dialogue, not even the Scottish slang slowed me down and I could figure out their meaning from the context. The unveiling of the murderer is one where I felt I should have seen it but it was so subtle, I didn’t, which I loved. I have become a huge fan of Ms. Templeton and strongly recommend you give her books a try.
Do You like book The Darkness & The Deep (2008)?
Aline Templeton's crime series set in Dumfries is a superb example of the police procedural. DI Marjory Fleming is a good, strong, believable character who is neither a ball-breaker nor one of those women who can run a murder enquiry but not care for her family .It is well worth reading the series in order as this is one of those few series where characters *do* grow and develop, and there *are* consequences of people's action. If you enjoy reading Peter Robinson and Stuart Pawson I think you should give your self a treat and try Aline Templeton.
—Vivienne Smith
This police procedural, set on the west coast of Scotland, proved to be pretty good. The writing shows a good ear, especially for dialog--the author uses Scots phrasing and vocabulary to good effect without making it a dialect exercise. The numerous characters are varied and interesting enough, and I doubt most readers will guess who dunnit. And actually that's my main quibble--not that I couldn't guess (I rarely can), but that the killer is really rather an implausible choice and even the most alert reader will find no clues scattered along the way. Pretty much every clue given is a red herring. However, overall the book is a good read and I'd be happy to read another in the series.
—Spotsalots
Marjorie Fleming has her hands full when the town's lifeboat crew is lost when they're lured to Fuil's Inlet instead of the town harbor. In addition, a new DC has joined her team, and his belief that he knows more than his new colleagues makes it difficult for her. She and her family are just beginning to get back to normal after hoof and mouth disease devastated their family farm as well as those of their neighbors. An on-going drug investigation may be connected with the lifeboat tragedy, or it a revenge killing based on infidelity? This was another gripping story!
—Deb
