DEATH IS NOT THE END. FOR GRACE McGILL IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
When people die alone and undiscovered, it's her job to clean up what's left behind - whether it's clutter, bodily remains or dark secrets.
When an old man lies undetected in his flat for months, it seems an unremarkable life and an unnoticed death. But Grace knows that everyone has a story and that all deaths mean something more.
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C S Robertson was published in hardback on 20 January 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour.
I have the privilege of reading some outstanding crime fiction and this book is up there with the best. Some of our finest crime writers hail from Scotland and CS Robertson rightly takes a place amongst them. This is intelligent, compelling writing. It's a story that is chilling, disturbing and so very original. I read this in two days, it consumed me, the characters took me hostage and the plot totally thrilled me.
Grace McGill is a woman in her mid-thirties, she lives in Glasgow in a sparsely furnished flat. Her only love is George, her cat who is a prickly character who shows her the affection that is lacking from anywhere else. Grace rarely interacts with people, she reluctantly visits her boorish, alcoholic father who lives nearby, but that is never a pleasure, it's a duty that she feels bound to do.
Grace's biggest pride is her job. She cleans the homes of people who have died alone and lain undiscovered for weeks, sometimes months. For some, this would be a macabre, stomach churning task, but for Grace it is a matter of honour. A way for those people to be remembered, a way that she can ensure that they are honoured. Grace often takes mementos from these dwellings, hoping to pass them on to the relatives who didn't care whilst they were still living.
Grace also creates miniature models called dioramas. Every spare moment is spent recreating the rooms in which strangers died. Almost shrine like, but beautifully detailed, a work of art.
There have been two recent assignments that really bother Grace. She's found something at the scenes that convince her that the deaths are related, and suspicious. Grace is a determined character and begins to delve deeper into the backgrounds of the deceased. What she finds only brings trouble for her, she finds herself embroiled with people who would stop at nothing to silence her. Grace does not stop though and the tension increases with every page as the reader follows her on her journey.
This is such an original premise for a crime novel. Grace is a masterfully created character who evokes every emotion possible from the reader. Sadness, pity, sometimes anger, her complexities are many and this author does an amazing job of bringing her to life.
Glasgow itself is a character in its own right, along with the holiday resort of Bute. The author's intimate knowledge of the area adds such depth to this story.
It's as story that takes surprising, yet satisfying twists and turns along the way. Never failing to surprise and shock and always delivering a brilliant reading experience.
Just brilliant and highly recommended by me.
becoming a full-time author. He interviewed three Prime Ministers, reported on major stories including 9/11, Dunblane, the Omagh bombing and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He was pilloried on breakfast television, beat Oprah Winfrey to a major scoop, spent time on Death Row in the USA and dispensed polio drops in the backstreets of India.
His gritty crime novels are set on the mean streets of contemporary Glasgow. His first novel, Random, was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA New Blood Dagger, longlisted for the 2011 Crime Novel of the Year and was a Sunday Times bestseller. Murderabilia was longlisted for the 2017 Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize. The Photographer was longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize.
He now shares his time between Scotland and California and can usually be found on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic.
www.craigrobertsonbooks.co.uk
www.craigrobertsonbooks.co.uk
Twitter @CraigRobertson_
Instagram @craigr62
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