Tue 19 Oct 2010
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: BARTHOLOMEW GILL – Death on a Cold, Wild River.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[2] Comments
BARTHOLOMEW GILL – Death on a Cold, Wild River. Peter McGarr #10. William Morrow, hardcover, 1993. Avon, reprint paperback, 1994. Macmillan, UK, hardcover, 1993.
The first thing that struck me about this was a dust jacket that would have been quite appropriate for a fishing novel, but was about as mysterious as a poached trout. Morrow needs a new art director.
Peter McGarr, head of Ireland’s Murder Squad, is suspended pending completion of a investigation of the circumstances detailed in The Death of Love, in which an Irish politician was assassinated.
He reads of the death by drowning of Ireland’s foremost lady fisherman, and is devastated; she had been his lover before he met his wife. He goes to console the father and attend the funeral, and is shown evidence that the death may not have been accidental, after all.
He gingerly — because of his suspension — begins to dig around, and finds that she was both rich and not universally loved. There’s a poacher who thinks she turned him in; a Scottish lady who coveted her lucrative catalog business; and an American who wanted to be her partner; and who knows, maybe others.
There’s a lot of fishing lore here, particularly salmon fishing, which will interest many (though not me). Gill does his usual competent job of narration, primarily from McGarr’s viewpoint, and the prose and plot were fine.
This isn’t a bad book at all, you understand, and I enjoyed reading it. It’s just that it doesn’t quite live up to Death of a Joyce Scholar and The Death of Love. The characters don’t seem as sharply etched, and there doesn’t seem to be the same depth of feeling, and the same peculiarly Irish sensibility.
It’s “just” a decent mystery novel by a good writer. I’m disappointed only because I’ve come to expect a bit more from Gill and McGarr.
Editorial Comment: Barry wasn’t able to show the cover of this book by Gill in his printed zine back in 1993, but I’m pleased that I’m able to now, some 17 years later. What do you think? Was he right, or was he right?
October 20th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Barry nailed the cover and the novel in this one. It read a bit as if Gill chose to give himself and McGarr a book off and enjoy some second hand salmon fishing. Which is to say it was still a fine read, but not up to standard in the series.
But that cover. FIELD AND STREAM yes, a mystery no — maybe if the salmon had a dagger in his mouth …
October 20th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I have in hand only one image of the hardcover edition, which is the one Barry was referring to. It’s still a little too dark, even though I’ve been trying to improve it, but it serves its purpose.
I also thought you might be interested in the paperback cover. No dagger, but while crudely rendered (in my opinion) it is an improvement: