A review of David Shaw Mackenzie's The Interpretations

I was recommended this book and was glad to have been alerted to its existence. The prose is spare and to the point and at times quite evocative, most notably when creating the olfactories for a fish processing plant. The book is a mystery and takes turns down a curious path. It starts with Gilfedder, a bit of a beast who fights with his co-workers. There is then a shoot out with the police, but really the web of mystery concerns Tom, the man he has violenced. After this tirade and assault Tom disappears and the book is all about why this has happened. We keep turning the pages because we want to know where he is, is he dead or alive? And if he is alive why has he had to disappear? The new bridge dominates the Scottish landscape and Reverend McFarren is someone who loathes it. The bridge has taken people's lives. There have been five suicides, all from the bridge, and the building of the bridge took lives too. It is thought Tom has jumped from the bridge, but is this really feasible? And if he is alive who is protecting him and why? All throughout the book we are questioning the motives of all the characters. They are entangled in a spider's web of deceit and it is only after time has passed can the mystery be solved. This book details well the sense of Scotland and its landscape, and the descriptions are vivid and realistic. The book has direction and surprise written into its pages and is certainly a page turner. Ideal summer read !