Spoiler Discussion (Dec 2018) Value Read - The Body in the Marsh, by Nick Louth

[Beth]

Am only half way through but am finding DCI Gillard's love for Liz, who has been out of his life for decades, a bit unbelievable.

[AngryGreyCat]

Beth wrote: "Am only half way through but am finding DCI Gillard's love for Liz, who has been out of his life for decades, a bit unbelievable."

I thought of it less as realistic adult relationship love and more of she was "the one that got away" from his youth. Looking back he idealized her and the time they had together. Also it is difficult for many people to find out that someone they knew and was there age contemporary is dead. I think the combination of the fact that he was not in a god place relationship wise currently, the idealization of the past relationship with Liz, and the realization of mortality came together to make his emotional responses all over the place.

I enjoyed this but I assumed relatively early on that Liz was still alive. I didn't expect the lengths that were gone to in order to achieve the deception.

[Erunyauve]

I had a bit of a 'Gone Girl' feeling from the start (I was a bit suspicious of Sam, actually), and as the forensics started to pile up, I was more certain. The key bit Gillard should have got was the salt water contamination of bones found in a fresh water marsh. I thought his torch for Liz rather blinded him to the obvious.

I didn't think it was terribly unrealistic for him to feel the way he did - as AngryGreyCat notes, it was an idealised relationship of his youth that took on more mythology as he grew older. His more recent relationships have failed, and that first love looms that much larger. She was the one who left him behind (and probably never gave him a second thought), whereas more recent relationships have ended with his own indifference, indecision, or bad timing. (No, you can't date a witness in the case you're currently working. Seriously.)

I left him at the airport on Friday and waited until Monday to see whether he would chuck everything for her or not, as this gave me something to look forward to over the weekend. I think the way it turned out rather underlined the truth about that youthful love - he never knew her at all.

[Beth]

Finished. I still found that he infatuation with Liz was tiresome and clouded his vision right to the end! I think that's why I got bogged down half way through.

It is a well planned plot though!!!! It wasn't until he saw her at the airport that I began thinking back to figure out how she could have done it!!!!

The sinister person she was, was certainly different from the person in his memory!

Realistically, Would the CSI people have missed the bleeding in the bedroom?

[Pauline]

I did manage to finish it! I thought it was quite good, and I enjoyed reading it. But it does seem to me that the less than 'top' authors tend to be much better on plot than character/relationships. I kept reading to see what happened, but I thought the depiction of the relationship between Craig and Sam was a bit amateurish. Craig's feelings about Helen were quite irritating and unconvincing, but I think this was more a weakness of the author than because it was implausible. I've come across similar things in real people . But overall a good read.

[Beth]

Perhaps it's because the author is new that I didn't buy into Craig's relationships

If you were arresting someone for murder and an elaborate scam would you oblige them by taking a drink offered?? That's like turning your back on Lizzie Borden with an axe in her hand!

For me,the book would have been better if the previous relationship with the devil-woman was not part of the plot

[Erunyauve]

David wrote: ""Devil Woman" is a bit harsh, I think had I been in her shoes I may have considered doing the same.
For me it was not the relationships it was the old Sherlock Holmes adage, "Once you eliminate the..."

Yes, she actually turned out to be worse than she needed to be, I think. She was a more interesting character before she was revealed to be a psychopath.