Eye for an Eye (DCI Andy Gilchrist Book 1)

A suitably convoluted plot from Frank Muir, David Monteath’s narration faultless as always. There are some exciting moments that should have the reader’s heart speed up a bit; and there are tender moments that might bring a tear to the eye. The geographical details might be a bit dated, but that does not take anything away from a cracker of a read.

Disappointed i haven’t found T F Muir earlier. What an excellent character Gilchrist is, loved the twists, the story and the body count. Looking forward to the next one !!

This is the second book l have read by this author, The first book was the murder list which I came across by accident in the library and what a great find. Very good and easy to read,l look forward to reading more of the same. Highly recommended.

The main theme of this book - the hunt for a serial killer who targets wife-beaters -has been discussed in other reviews, so I won't repeat it, but I must say I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the town of St Andrews (have never been there)almost more than the story, which was rather clichéd and not highly original.I do get tired of reading about maverick inspectors who are persecuted by a senior officer. It seems to pop up so frequently and this was the main irritant in this story. The outcome was pretty obvious early on too.Insp Andy Gilchrist is suspended by said senior officer because he is not catching the killer fast enough, and this suspension gives him time to catch up with his adult children and his dying former wife, as well as to rekindle a relationship with Beth, a novelty shop owner who is being stalked by an obnoxious creature called Sebastian. He sorts this problem as an added extra to his continuing investigation into the identity of the killer.Of course, as in all of this type of story, Andy gets his killer and also saves Beth from her stalker. There is nothing original in this book, but I enjoyed the excellent descriptive writing and it was nice to have such a predictable book, which I realise would not appeal to everyone, but it was the kind of book I was ready for after reading a couple of really tense thrillers.I have downloaded the next 2 in this series and rather hope for an increase in pace now that the problem of the nasty senior officer has been sorted.I'd recommend this for anyone not wanting a tense thriller and who enjoys a beautifully scripted book, with plenty of atmosphere and feeling for the setting.

Havent read anything by Frank Muir but bought the first three books featuring DI Andy Gilchrist. This is the first and I enjoyed it. It started off strongly with intriguing and chilling opening passages. Quite descriptive ( bordering on revolting but a well described attack!) and a gripping hook into the rest of the story.Crime thrillers are two a penny and it's a difficult genre to get right. This one works with a good plot, excellent and occasionally remorseless pace and enough turns in the story to keep the reader guessing well into the book. I also enjoyed the very strong sense of location, with St Andrews making a pleasant change from some of the better known settings in crime stories. As well as the murder mystery the story raises a couple of interesting moral issues, so there's food for thought about right and wrong. It explores themes including guilt, retribution and loss making it satisfying as a psychological thriller. I liked the Gilchrist character. He has the past with baggage, but it was sewn together well without being intrusive. My only reservation was overuse of reference to his sixth sense. I would have preferred alternative ways for the reader to understand that he works with intuition rather than having it pointed out so often. Some of the peripheral characters, although well drawn, added little to the plot, but may come to the fore in later books. I'll have to wait and see! Other than that, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next two in the series. Thanks Mr Muir.

I've been to St Andrew's many times and although I knew that it had a dark and dangerous past, I had no idea it was such a hotbed of violence, sexual shenanigans and multiple murder.At least, that's th...e St Andrew's of Frank Muir's debut novel.The local tourist board will no doubt prefer to punt the virtues of the town's history, its university and that game where they batter a wee white ball round the green and try to get it into the wee hole, but Frank gives us a whole new insight into this seaside resort.It's a dark tale, gritty and, in places, grotty. No-one could call the world of his hero DI Gilchrist in any way cosy. These are mean streets, man, and there are seriously deranged individuals rubbing shoulders with the tourists and the royal students.The dialogue is smart, crisp and snappy - just the way I like it - the characterisation deft. The setting is also vividly realised.There have been more DI Gilchrist novels released since this one - the latest just last week - and based on the evidence of this initial outing I will be returning to the dark wynds and sea sprayed streets of Fife.

Oooh - a cop story set in St Andrews! How could I resist? Not sure I believe that the Fife constabulary drive Mercedes sports cars though, but I dare say there might be one.I really don't believe that someone is brutally bumping off all the wife-beaters in the town though. How would anyone know whom to kill? Nor that there is a sex pervert murdering people as well, in an entirely unrelated series of killings. Nor that the cop with the Merc has a sixth sense which leads him unerringly to the right answer.Naturally the cop is at odds with his superior. This happens all the time, but luckily he can redeem himself by single-handedly catching the baddie in the nick of time.Sounds like I didn't enjoy it? Well in fact I did - I just found the murder rate for a town of 15000 was unfeasibly high - something like 20% of the whole of Scotland. And I struggled to see why the cop reached the conclusions he did on apparently no evidence. And oddly there don't seem to be any students about, a bit odd for a university town in term-time.

Good story. Needed more accuracy. Enjoyed it despite this.