Dark Waters by G R Halliday
I would like to thank Mia from Vintage Books for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Harvill Secker
Published – 9th July
Price - £14.99 Hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook
THREE MISTAKES. TWO MURDERS. ONE MORE VICTIM TO GO . . .
Annabelle has come to the Scottish Highlands to escape. But as she speeds along a deserted mountain road, she is suddenly forced to swerve. The next thing she remembers is waking up in a dark, damp room. A voice from the corner of the room says ‘The Doctor will be here soon’.
Scott is camping alone in the Scottish woodlands when he hears a scream. He starts to run in fear of his life. Scott is never seen again.
Meanwhile DI Monica Kennedy has been called to her first Serious Crimes case in six months – a dismembered body has been discovered, abandoned in a dam. Days later, when another victim surfaces, Monica knows she is on the hunt for a ruthless killer.
But as she begins to close in on the murderer, her own dark past isn’t far behind …
On the blog I do like to move from genre to genre. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. I’ve a soft spot for books that hover on the edges. Crime we tend to think either of Holmesian logic puzzles or social commentary but sometimes the gory fascination with bad things that happen to people mean cases easily move across to horror. There is a rich seam of authors crossing the boundary John Connolly, Phil Rickman and Carol O’Connell come to mind. In Dark Waters we return to the Scottish Highlands for another nightmarish case for DI Monica Kennedy and her team only just recovering from the events of From the Shadows.
Six months from the last case DI Kennedy has been taking a sabbatical from the more serious crimes – taking time in the traffic department and trying to spend more time with her daughter Lucy. But a horribly disfigured corpse is found in the waters of a Highland dam; then another is found on the hills and it becomes clear something evil is out there. DI Kennedy is required once more. Meanwhile Annabelle an English woman visiting family decides to take her care on a remote mountain road for a spin…crashes…and finds herself severely injured and trapped awaiting a mysterious Doctor’s ministrations. She can hear his other patients too.
This story feels very much towards the horror end of a crime novel. Halliday’s Highlands are dark, wild and filled with places the laws of society don’t seem to apply. They seem to attract people who relish allowing their wilder sides to play. Whenever the team leave Inverness it feels like they’re in a different and more dangerous world. Gangs, thugs and monsters can all play here – and probably be all three at once. The mood of this novel is dark and oppressive. It is not a comfortable read. A big part of that is spending time with Annabelle and her entrapment in a dark and unpleasant cell and seeing her confined to a bed severely injured. Halliday does a great job of painting this woman’s life and we see her as a lost soul trying desperately to regain the confidence to read. Her scenes tend to be the most chilling and worrying.
Outside of the cell we get once more to see DI Kennedy in action. She is a fascinating character – literally standing out in a crowd with her six foot two height but also that she doesn’t seem to fit any world comfortably – police or her own local area. In this story we get to understand more of her childhood and her relationship with her father. This draws dark parallels with other characters and starts to make the case quite poignant for her too as she tries to set old ghosts to rest. I also liked in the story that we see the previous book’s traumatic ending was not forgotten. Kennedy’s team themselves are carrying the wounds of the book and we see them all act out of character. Only one book in and we already know how they should behave is a good sign of a new cast bedding into a series. One other stranger element which feels like this could be a growing thread is the eerie behaviour of Kennedy’s daughter Lucy who seems to see and dream things that she should have no awareness of. At the moment this makes the story hover on the verges of the supernatural and I’m intrigued if this is an eventual avenue for the books that may also explain some of the nastier elements lurking out in the mountains.
The tone is grim and almost hopeless as the team take steps into some very dark places. It does feel like another world in certain scenes and the finale is particularly heart racing as we realise what the true face of the horror involved is. Halliday has mixed in various old legends and crimes for the area and made it feel very textured – you’re walking into places and people with a past. Not everyone is willing to share either.
I think a book very much for those who enjoy their crime bordering horror. Strange imagery and characters who feel more like nightmares than villains abound, and the location really amplifies that feeling. Its an impressive two books to date and I’m intrigued what the long-term plan for the series and DI Kennedy will reveal as more secrets I suspect lie in waiting.
