Reviewed by Nachiketa Rai

This is the first time I have read a Chris Brookmyre novel. A comparison with the content of his earlier books brings out that Brookmyre has made a departure from the earlier leitmotiv and introduced a new set of characters in the present story.

The plot of Where the Bodies Are Buried opens into the life of a young aspiring actress who, after the death of her mother, has to resign to the option of working as an investigator for her Uncle Jim’s private investigation agency. In her bumbling ways she is not much of a help to the one-man agency her Uncle runs. But when her Uncle disappears without a trace she has to don the mantle of a serious investigator and tread down an unknown and treacherous path.

Somewhere else in the city, Catherine, the superintendent detective, is trying to balance the dark side of her work with the calls of the domestic life. Her hatred of organized crime and its perpetrators has cost her a career advancement despite her enviable record at bringing them down.

With multiple murders intertwined with the disappearances of people long ago and a slew of corrupt and double-faced colleagues introducing red herrings into her plans, she is often chasing to reach a dead-end.

The two ladies are joined in their efforts to untangle the knots by an ex-conman who was supposed to be long dead. With suspicion turning to trust , they lean on him to guide them through this quagmire.

The initial half of the book has the story moving at an ambling pace and when the plot thickens, one is overwhelmed with too much happening at the same time. Brookmyre, however, succeeds in intriguing the reader at every turn and there is a promise of a clever plot. The story ends with a compelling end to the turn of events and one can look forward to a sequel.

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