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George the Riverman has fished hundreds
of people from the Clyde River that flows though Glasgow,
Scotland: some alive, some dead. When he discovers the latest
corpse, DCI William Lortimer is on the case. The murdered
man is Duncan Forbes, partner of the accounting firm of Forbes
Macgregor, which was celebrating Michael Turner’s transfer
to the United States. Duncan attended the party, but his wife
Liz swears that her husband couldn’t have been drunk
and fallen in the river – he gave up drinking years
before. The pathologist, Dr. Rosie Fergusson, confirms the
death is suspicious. Then the Strathclyde Police receive a
hysterical call from a female saying she didn’t mean
for it to happen and subsequent comparison proves that voice
doesn’t belong to Liz. Lorimer believes that the human
resources manager at Duncan Forbes recognizes the voice, but
she’s murdered before he can pursue that avenue further.
We soon learn that Michael Turner, Duncan’s protégé,
discovered something amiss with the accounting firm. Alec
Barr, head of the Glasgow office, was not about to let Michael
become a whistle blower and reassigns him to the United States.
Michael disappears, only complicating the mystery.
I love International crime novels and thought I’d try
this mystery set in Scotland a try. I’m so glad I did.
The story slowly introduces the characters who play important
roles in the mystery, and it’s the characters that kept
me hooked. The underlying tension between the various personalities
and their relationships took precedence over the actual crimes,
adding a unique twist and dimension to the story for me. I
especially loved the character Soloman Brightman, a psychologist
and profiler, whose insight brings about leads that ultimately
help solve the murders. The Riverman was exciting and multifaceted,
which made this a fascinating and engrossing read.
Notes:
Alex Gray has been awarded the Scottish Association of
Writers’ Constable and Pitlochry trophies for her crime
writing. A regular on the Scottish bestseller lists, she is
the author of thirteen DCI Lorimer novels.
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