Messiah

Although the words graphic and gruesome spring to mind after finishing this book, it was nevertheless a gripping read which I simply couldn't put down. The story begins in a house just off the Fulham Road. A man has been brutally murdered - he is found hanging from his stairs with his tongue cut out and a silver spoon in his mouth. Red Metcalfe is at the scene, observing the gruesome sight, without realising that not far away, in Wandsworth, another man lay dead.

This is the start of an investigation which lasts months, is littered with bodies and sends Metcalf and his team on numerous false paths. There is little hard evidence to go on - the killer is both clever and calculating. The result is that Red and the team become more and more show more frustrated as they are left to their instincts and wits to try and figure it out before the killer takes another life. As the story unfolds, Starling intersperses the action happening at the time (the book is set just before the turn of the Millennium) with Metcalfe's unhappy past history, using the horrific events with his brother to help the reader to understand Red's own personality.

The pace of the book gathers with each page, heading towards a breathtaking conclusion. Although I 'worked it out' before the author revealed the answers, it didn't detract from the cleverness of the plot and the intricate scheme around which it had been built. Clues are delivered everywhere, and it is only at the end that the entire story really pulls together and everything becomes clear. This is certainly not a book for the faint hearted, as the descriptions are particularly graphic, but it shows a mastery of storyline and an ability to keep you turning the page. A must read for crime lovers. show less

My friend, Jean sent me this book out of the clear blue. I think she thinks I would have turned my nose up at it because I don't generally like British mysteries. (She was right, but I've now learned my lesson.) This is one of the greatest books I've read in forever. It's a first novel and it's a gripper from beginning to end. Brutal murders, carefully planned and executed are turning up and Investigator Red Metcalf, renowned for his case solving, is stumped. But, that's only the tip of the iceberg for this one. It's creepy, it's crawly and my friend at Seattle Mystery Bookshop nailed it when he said that not many authors have the kind of guts for this kind of plot. I just read where Starling is only 29 - I'm looking for years and years show more more just like this one. show less

I had previously read Boris Starling's Vodka and noticed in some of the reviews people were talking about this, Messiah, as being on par with, or even better than Vodka in some cases, as such when I saw this was available at my local bookstore I grabbed it.

I am pleased to say it's an excellent read, there's plenty of gory crime drama within. In the story there's a serial killer on the loose killing people in the fashion of the way the apostle's died. Running parallel to this is the subplot surrounding the lead detectives life - that he was responsible for his brother being caught for a murder, and that he himself had killed a boy and walked away.

The unfolding narrative of the primary plot is well done, and the twists and turns it takes show more are executed brilliantly, it's not until the very end that things become clear, and even then there's still some more shocks to the story line within the pages.

Whilst the structure of the story means re-reading will be a lesser experience, the initial read is still great and it's well worth picking up if you enjoy crime and/or serial killer novels. show less

A re-read after many years. Above average serial killer thriller which I guess was in the right place at the right time to be a hit. The killer is made too obvious (despite some rule-breaking internal dialogue where the narrator effectively lies to the reader, which isn't the same as cleverly misleading us) and the over-the-top ending isn't really earned but I'm glad it was adapted to TV because that's how I discovered Ken Stott.

I remember reading this a few years back and being highly entertained by the story.

I haven't read it in a long time, but I seem to recall thinking while I read that I had the "whodunnit" figured out, and then of being convinced that I was wrong, and then of being shown that I had been right all along...

I'm sure that somewhere the author was chuckling about that. But that's ok... I like my thrillers to tease me a little bit.

The only reason this did not get 4 stars, though, is that I remember the reason behind the murders being a teensy bit weak. Although, its possible that my memory betrays me. I will update if I have the opportunity to read this again and find that is the case.

I found this book disappointing. From the moment the hit and run was narrated, I knew more or less how this book was going to end. The killings were horrific, but they lacked the sordidness and banality that seem to characterize every true crime serial killing I have read about. They were way too artificial. The hint in Tess Gerritsen's The Body Double about nomadic killings and dumping ground was more chilling than anything in this book. The human relationships in the book are not compelling. This may be my first and last Boris Starling.

What a superb and suspenseful thriller this was. I couldn't put it down.

Back Cover Blurb:
London is in the grip of a heatwave: airless days, strange steamy nights and a killer stalking the streets. Wealthy men are being murdered to some mysterious pattern, with no clues left behind, only corpses with silver spoons in place of their tongues.
Set against this merciless butcher is Detective Superintendent Red Metcalfe, an investigator with a celebrated ability to get under the skin and into the minds of the deranged killers he hunts. But as the city swelters and the body count rises, Red's own tortured past begins to turn against him - and the city is safe for no one. Sometimes, it is said, it takes a killer to catch a killer.....