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The Scribbler
“He’s back, Carrie. The Scribbler is back.” DI Gayther and his rookie colleague DC Carrie have been assigned a new caseload. Or rather, an old one … cold cases of LGBTQ+ murders dating back to the 1980s and beyond. Georgia Carrie wasn’t even born when the notorious serial killer began his reign of terror across the East of England. Roger Gayther was on the force that failed to catch him and remembers every chilling detail. Now, after all these years, there’s a sudden death featuring The Scribbler’s tell-tale modus operandi. Can Gayther and Carrie track the murderer down and bring him to justice before the slaughter starts again?
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2020
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Iain Maitland
88 books42 followersIain Maitland has been a professional writer since 1987. He has written over 50 books, mainly on business, and been published as far away as Russia, India, Japan, USA and Australia. He has also written for the Sunday Times, Which? and the Financial Times amongst many others.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 5, 2025
Detective Inspector Gayther, not far off retirement age, diabetic and rather rumpled, returns to a Norfolk police station from compassionate leave after the death of his wife.
He has been assigned some unsolved LGBTQ+ cases including a series of murders he once worked on some 30 years before. Despite the real need to address the issues, which were once not taken seriously, deep down he feels that this is a plan to sideline him.
He is joined by a recently qualified Detective, Georgina Carrie, and two direct entry detectives, fast track and still learning the ropes. Between them they make a decent fist of a cold case re-investigation but break all the rules of such a role.
The murderer, ‘The Scribbler,’ named after his trademark mutilation of the bodies of his victims, has started-up again after an apparent long hiatus, which is nothing of the kind as he has simply been going further afield. A pre-Soham failure to link up cross-border, similar-fact cases is clearly still haunting policing.
After many false leads and a warning from Gayther's superiors to drop the case as his approach has been generating complaints, the Scribbler is unmasked together with his horribly tragic, religiously fundamentalist and abusive back story.
This is a thoroughly decent, well paced thriller, with likeable protagonists, an interesting twist, and a little humour thrown in for good measure.
He has been assigned some unsolved LGBTQ+ cases including a series of murders he once worked on some 30 years before. Despite the real need to address the issues, which were once not taken seriously, deep down he feels that this is a plan to sideline him.
He is joined by a recently qualified Detective, Georgina Carrie, and two direct entry detectives, fast track and still learning the ropes. Between them they make a decent fist of a cold case re-investigation but break all the rules of such a role.
The murderer, ‘The Scribbler,’ named after his trademark mutilation of the bodies of his victims, has started-up again after an apparent long hiatus, which is nothing of the kind as he has simply been going further afield. A pre-Soham failure to link up cross-border, similar-fact cases is clearly still haunting policing.
After many false leads and a warning from Gayther's superiors to drop the case as his approach has been generating complaints, the Scribbler is unmasked together with his horribly tragic, religiously fundamentalist and abusive back story.
This is a thoroughly decent, well paced thriller, with likeable protagonists, an interesting twist, and a little humour thrown in for good measure.
May 16, 2020
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing two of Iain Maitland’s previous books, Sweet William and Mr Todd’s Reckoning, both of which impressed me greatly with Maitland’s ability to draw the reader into seemingly ordinary lives with a real darkness lurking beneath. Consequently, being offered the chance to review The Scribbler, the first of a projected series was hard to resist…
Aside from the darker content of the book, which I will come to later, the real hook with this one is how character driven it is. Maitland establishes the relationships between his main police protagonists incredibly quickly, instantly drawing the reader into the working relationship of the older and greyer DI Roger Gayther and his younger colleague DC Georgia Carrie. It was hugely satisfying to feel an instant camararderie between them, and the teasing nature of their interactions, denoted by the tendency of both to slightly mock the other afforded by their relevant age and experience. Hence, Gayther at times seems somewhat of a dinosaur when it comes to technology and youth culture, but with a wealth of knowledge, and Carrie is humorously immune to his outdated showbiz references, a little naïve with her keenness and her slightly gung-ho attitude, but also incisive. It was incredibly refreshing to encounter a detective duo not driven solely by emotional trauma, and there was a lightness of touch about Maitland’s depiction of them, that leads to a real sense of reader empathy with them as the plot progresses. Hold that thought, as there is real trouble ahead. Bolstered by a couple of wet-behind-the-ears trainee detectives, who Maitland hints will have a greater role as the series progresses, Gayther and Carrie were absolutely central to my enjoyment of the book.
Just dwelling on character a little bit longer, I was also impressed by the roundness and depth that Maitland affords to his bad guy of the piece, the serial killer himself. Whilst trying desperately to avoid any spoilers, what I will say is that the author avoids those terribly cliched black and white depictions of a monster in human form, and instead builds up a picture of a damaged soul with deep psychological disturbance, that makes his actions as clear to us, as plainly as his own damaging motivation. There is a core of morality at his centre, and as we gain insight into his familial connections and his upbringing, we find our perception of him changing and, dare I say, softened. In common with Maitland’s previous books, his characters are exceptionally well-defined with surprising undercurrents and reveals that cause us to assess and reassess them as the story unfolds.
With the book centring on cold cases, and more specifically murder cases and disappearances involving LGBTQ+ victims, Maitland has successfully ploughed a new furrow. I have certainly read crime novels involving LGBTQ+ victims and detectives, but none that combine these additional elements. As we bear witness to a catalogue of failings and oversights on the original cases, where crimes of this sort were invariably not afforded the same time and resources as others, we begin to appreciate the small steps that the police have made since then to rectify these prejudices. Gayther and Carrie hold no such prejudice, and despite some internal pressure begin to unravel the complexities of these cases, the poignant secrecy and shame of the victims, and the detectives’ progress towards the apprehension of the perpetrator himself. The Scribbler is well-paced, engaging and punctuated by both episodes of extreme pathos, and by turns, unexpected humour, leading to a compelling and incredibly satisfying crime read. Watch out for that ending which will bite you on the nether regions… Highly recommended.
Aside from the darker content of the book, which I will come to later, the real hook with this one is how character driven it is. Maitland establishes the relationships between his main police protagonists incredibly quickly, instantly drawing the reader into the working relationship of the older and greyer DI Roger Gayther and his younger colleague DC Georgia Carrie. It was hugely satisfying to feel an instant camararderie between them, and the teasing nature of their interactions, denoted by the tendency of both to slightly mock the other afforded by their relevant age and experience. Hence, Gayther at times seems somewhat of a dinosaur when it comes to technology and youth culture, but with a wealth of knowledge, and Carrie is humorously immune to his outdated showbiz references, a little naïve with her keenness and her slightly gung-ho attitude, but also incisive. It was incredibly refreshing to encounter a detective duo not driven solely by emotional trauma, and there was a lightness of touch about Maitland’s depiction of them, that leads to a real sense of reader empathy with them as the plot progresses. Hold that thought, as there is real trouble ahead. Bolstered by a couple of wet-behind-the-ears trainee detectives, who Maitland hints will have a greater role as the series progresses, Gayther and Carrie were absolutely central to my enjoyment of the book.
Just dwelling on character a little bit longer, I was also impressed by the roundness and depth that Maitland affords to his bad guy of the piece, the serial killer himself. Whilst trying desperately to avoid any spoilers, what I will say is that the author avoids those terribly cliched black and white depictions of a monster in human form, and instead builds up a picture of a damaged soul with deep psychological disturbance, that makes his actions as clear to us, as plainly as his own damaging motivation. There is a core of morality at his centre, and as we gain insight into his familial connections and his upbringing, we find our perception of him changing and, dare I say, softened. In common with Maitland’s previous books, his characters are exceptionally well-defined with surprising undercurrents and reveals that cause us to assess and reassess them as the story unfolds.
With the book centring on cold cases, and more specifically murder cases and disappearances involving LGBTQ+ victims, Maitland has successfully ploughed a new furrow. I have certainly read crime novels involving LGBTQ+ victims and detectives, but none that combine these additional elements. As we bear witness to a catalogue of failings and oversights on the original cases, where crimes of this sort were invariably not afforded the same time and resources as others, we begin to appreciate the small steps that the police have made since then to rectify these prejudices. Gayther and Carrie hold no such prejudice, and despite some internal pressure begin to unravel the complexities of these cases, the poignant secrecy and shame of the victims, and the detectives’ progress towards the apprehension of the perpetrator himself. The Scribbler is well-paced, engaging and punctuated by both episodes of extreme pathos, and by turns, unexpected humour, leading to a compelling and incredibly satisfying crime read. Watch out for that ending which will bite you on the nether regions… Highly recommended.
May 15, 2020
DI Gayther and DC Carrie together with two young detectives still completing their training form the team looking at cold cases, particularly LGBTQ+ murders from years gone by, when they weren't investigated very thoroughly. One particular case has caught his attention, especially as a new death bears some of the hallmarks of the original killings.
The Scribbler, so named because of his unique calling card, murdered closet homosexuals - middle aged men with wives and families at home. The police got a reasonable description of him as some potential victims managed to escape, but he was never caught and seemingly disappeared. And now Gayther wonders if he's back. Gayther, Georgia Carrie and the newbies trawl through old case paperwork whilst investigating this recent death. Meanwhile...we meet the man with the latex gloves...
Both main characters are well described. Roger Gayther is not your average hero. He's older, in poor health, unfit and delightfully unPC. I laughed out loud when, replying to the two young coppers, he struggled to find an answer which didn't include the following: 'snowflakes', 'millennials', 'PC bloody crap', 'balls' or 'bollocks to all that'. His attempt at describing Jimmy Krankie to the much younger Carrie made me chuckle too. Carrie is young, fit, enthusiastic and determined. They are an odd couple, but they like and respect each other, and work well together.
The man with the latex gloves is creepy as hell. It was easy to picture him in my head from the description given. And as we learn more about him and his history, he also comes through as a rather tragic figure, although this takes nothing away from the terribleness (not sure that's a word!) of his actions. His set up brought to mind a couple of movies but I'm not going to say which ones for fear of spoilers.
I can't tell you too much more without ruining the story for you. What I can tell you is that it's a slow burner. Until it isn't. The early part of the book reads like a pretty routine police procedural before going a whole other place in the latter section. The tension ramps up as does the action. The creepy factor too. Maitland's writing style, in this book anyway, took a wee bit of getting used to. He's very direct, frequently using short staccato sentences, sometimes just a word or two, often reflecting the thinking of his characters. But I soon settled into his rhythm.
The Scribbler is a slow burning, tense and downright creepy thriller. Likeable, engaging protagonists and an unusual villain. The denouement is bloody, violent and shocking, providing more than one OMG moment. Well worth a look.
The Scribbler, so named because of his unique calling card, murdered closet homosexuals - middle aged men with wives and families at home. The police got a reasonable description of him as some potential victims managed to escape, but he was never caught and seemingly disappeared. And now Gayther wonders if he's back. Gayther, Georgia Carrie and the newbies trawl through old case paperwork whilst investigating this recent death. Meanwhile...we meet the man with the latex gloves...
Both main characters are well described. Roger Gayther is not your average hero. He's older, in poor health, unfit and delightfully unPC. I laughed out loud when, replying to the two young coppers, he struggled to find an answer which didn't include the following: 'snowflakes', 'millennials', 'PC bloody crap', 'balls' or 'bollocks to all that'. His attempt at describing Jimmy Krankie to the much younger Carrie made me chuckle too. Carrie is young, fit, enthusiastic and determined. They are an odd couple, but they like and respect each other, and work well together.
The man with the latex gloves is creepy as hell. It was easy to picture him in my head from the description given. And as we learn more about him and his history, he also comes through as a rather tragic figure, although this takes nothing away from the terribleness (not sure that's a word!) of his actions. His set up brought to mind a couple of movies but I'm not going to say which ones for fear of spoilers.
I can't tell you too much more without ruining the story for you. What I can tell you is that it's a slow burner. Until it isn't. The early part of the book reads like a pretty routine police procedural before going a whole other place in the latter section. The tension ramps up as does the action. The creepy factor too. Maitland's writing style, in this book anyway, took a wee bit of getting used to. He's very direct, frequently using short staccato sentences, sometimes just a word or two, often reflecting the thinking of his characters. But I soon settled into his rhythm.
The Scribbler is a slow burning, tense and downright creepy thriller. Likeable, engaging protagonists and an unusual villain. The denouement is bloody, violent and shocking, providing more than one OMG moment. Well worth a look.
July 3, 2020
Almost feels like it's playing out in real time, but with pace. The characters are well drawn and feel real, particularly in the sense that I got frustrated with one of them in a way I probably would in real life. To the extent I felt quite annoyed with them and started doubting the quality of the storytelling. In truth, of course, it was an example of how well crafted the characters are.
Anyway, the bits with the antagonist are particularly well done.
Good story, deep characters, great pace. Loved it. Can't wait for the follow-up.
Anyway, the bits with the antagonist are particularly well done.
Good story, deep characters, great pace. Loved it. Can't wait for the follow-up.
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November 17, 2020Brilliant book gripping story
Highly recommended, loved this book easy to read beautifully written and i could relate to the Suffolk setting. Could there be a sequel...I do hope so.
Highly recommended, loved this book easy to read beautifully written and i could relate to the Suffolk setting. Could there be a sequel...I do hope so.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews