I'd never read one of McDermid's books before, so approached this one with anticipation. I know she's highly regarded, for one thing, and for another, the plot of this one sounded right up my alley.
Jane Gresham, a Wordsworth scholar from Cumbria, thinks a recently discovered bog body may be that of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian, who instead of dying in Polynesia secretly came home to Cumbria. Since Wordsworth and Christian were at school together, Gresham hopes that Wordsworth wrote an epic poem about Christian's adventures and that she can track it down.
The historical and literary what-if's in this plot grabbed me immediately, as did the forensics investigation. What did not grab me, though, was the sub-plot of the abused child, Tenille, who lives next to Gresham in a dismal London housing project. I found myself skimming and skipping the passages involving her -- I simply cannot stomach stories of abused children, no matter how plucky they may be.
Plus Jane's brother Matthew and her former lover Jake are both thoroughly unpleasant people, casting a pall over the story. I finally gave up about halfway through and skimmed the ending.
McDermid is indeed a very good writer -- I only found a couple of places I mentally reached for a blue pencil, a pretty good average for me. (This is one reason I find it hard to read fiction, as a writer myself I'm much too critical of word usage, plot twists, etc.) I can only say that this simply wasn't the book for me, and my disappointment is my problem, not McDermid's.
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