The Dark Winter is the first book in the Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy series by David Mark, about a Scottish police detective located in the Northern England city of Hull.
A better title for the first book would be “The Unjust Distribution of Miracles” as the story is about a sequence of murders of people who are the lone survivor of horrible incidents, although it takes quite awhile (longer than it took this reader) for Aector to figure out the connection(s) between the killings.
Despite the lack of difficulty of the central mystery, the book has several strengths. The first of these lies in the author’s string characterization of the book’s protagonist, who it is slowly revealed to be in an uncomfortable situation on the job, having been assigned to a new station after he discovered and revealed the corrupt and criminal activities of a popular (or feared?) high-ranking police supervisor. That and being Scottish in northern England and physically imposing (6-foot-5 and “hefty” and red-headed) makes Aector stand out in most situations. He clearly loves his pretty, pregnant wife Roisin and his young son Finlay. He has a female boss whom he both seems to be afraid of and also (sexually) attracted to, at various points in the book.
Another strong feature of The Dark Winter is the inclusion of several exciting action scenes, including one in the penultimate scene which are surprising, gripping and well-written.
A better title for the first book would be “The Unjust Distribution of Miracles” as the story is about a sequence of murders of people who are the lone survivor of horrible incidents, although it takes quite awhile (longer than it took this reader) for Aector to figure out the connection(s) between the killings.
Despite the lack of difficulty of the central mystery, the book has several strengths. The first of these lies in the author’s string characterization of the book’s protagonist, who it is slowly revealed to be in an uncomfortable situation on the job, having been assigned to a new station after he discovered and revealed the corrupt and criminal activities of a popular (or feared?) high-ranking police supervisor. That and being Scottish in northern England and physically imposing (6-foot-5 and “hefty” and red-headed) makes Aector stand out in most situations. He clearly loves his pretty, pregnant wife Roisin and his young son Finlay. He has a female boss whom he both seems to be afraid of and also (sexually) attracted to, at various points in the book.
Another strong feature of The Dark Winter is the inclusion of several exciting action scenes, including one in the penultimate scene which are surprising, gripping and well-written.
Overall, the spare, effective prose of The Dark Winter makes it an excellent entry in the crowded field of British police procedural murder mysteries. At well under 300 pages in length (my copy from Blue Rider Press was a mere 292 pages despite Goodreads listing it at 304) The Dark Winter packs a memorable wallop appreciably larger than other books up to twice its size from authors with bibliographies twice as long.
RATING: 4.5 STARS.
Title: The Dark Winter.
Author: David Mark.
Paperback: 292 pages.
Publisher: Blue Rider Press.
Date Published: October 25, 2012.
Date Read: November 28, 2018.
GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★½☆ (4.5/5.0).
OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.67/4.0).
PLOT: B+.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A.
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