Do Unto Others by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by FernTHEY’RE RICH. THEY’RE POWERFUL. THEY’RE DEAD.
Settling into his new life, Detective Chief Inspector Harry McNeil is being kept busy, but life is going to become a lot busier.
The body of an MSP has been found slaughtered in an empty house in Edinburgh. But this is no ordinary crime scene. It’s one that Harry McNeil thinks he’s seen before. Down to the last detail, including the position of the bodies.
As they start the hunt, they’re looking for a killer who seems to know far too much detail of what goes on behind the scenes at a kill site. Somebody who doesn’t want to stop.
Then Harry recollects where he saw this crime scene before.
This killer is copying murder scenes from the past. But the past is very much going to catch up with the present…
Life is finally returning to normal for DCI McNeil, his new team is all settling down together, his home life is blissfully happy and his toddler daughter is happy and healthy. So when a particularly brutal and unusual murder scene sticks in his mind, it takes him a while to work out what his subconscious wouldn’t let go. He’s seen the exact same scene from another murder that occurred decades ago. Can his team sort everything out before another murder occurs?
I have been enjoying this long running series for a while now. While the cast of primary characters is quite large, there are a number of rambunctious and thoroughly enjoyable characters all working together. I was quite pleased that DSup Calvin Stewart played a fairly large part in this investigation as I quite enjoy him and feel his character has grown very much over the last few books. I was also pleased that for much of the book Stewart and McNeil were working two different cases. I really felt this dual approach to the plot helped the book feel a little more complicated and deeper than a lot of the previous books have felt.
Readers who pick this book up without having read any of the previous installments might struggle a little with the large cast of characters. While the plot and murders are clearly introduced and defined in this story there are a lot of characters and I do feel readers might struggle a bit to keep everyone in mind, especially as a few of the various Scotland units cross over a bit. That said, readers who have only read a few of the previous books should definitely know enough of the longer term characters that this shouldn’t prove too overwhelming and the enjoyable plot and good pace to the story should still leave this as a thoroughly enjoyable book.
Readers who enjoy a well plotted police procedural style of murder mystery – especially one set in Scotland – should find this book a really good read. I thoroughly enjoy this series and found this book to be a good addition to my collection.
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