Charles Maclean (2) (1946–)

An informed, engrossing account of how a society in isolation, self-sufficient and self-sustaining, gradually succumbed to the encroachment of modernity. St. Kilda was evacuated in 1932. The islanders declined through emigration, declining trade in goods that were no longer in demand, increasing dependence on the external world and insufficient population to maintain the culture.

The history of the island is a repeat of the cycle of change that all cultures experience: adaption to the environment, a cultural flowering and then, the inevitable decline in the face of new external factors.… (mer)

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*Complimentary copy received in exchange for an honest review

The Watcher is a deep psychological thriller with mind numbing twists and turns, reminiscent of the good 80's style psycho-horrors where nothing is quite as frightening as the human mind.

I honestly wasn't sure if I would be able to read this book to completion. The Event that takes place at the beginning that sets up the rest of the story is utterly and completely disturbing and I literally had to take a break from the book after reading it to let it settle.

Once I got back to the tale though, it was a steady influx of madness and paranoia, mystery and intrigue, and had me wondering over and over again who the hero and villain really were, or if there were actually any at all!

It's definitely a tale that will have your mind working overtime to try and figure out what's really going on, and even when it's all said and done, if you're like me, you still won't be sure what exactly happened, which all leads to the beauty of the doubt that Charles Maclean weaves into his story.

While not the best horror/thriller I've read recently, it was solid and compelling, and I'm glad I had the chance to read it.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Watcher 3 1/2 Skulls.… (mer)

Martin Gregory rentre chez lui par le train de 16 h 48. Cadre moyen, marié, sans enfants, mais avec deux chiens qu'il adore, c'est un banlieusard que rien ne distingue de quelques millions d'autres banlieusards. Jusqu'au jour où il commet un acte sanglant, inexplicable, inexcusable, inexpiable. Tout le monde est surpris, indigné, affolé. A commencé par sa femme. Et par lui. L'analyse à laqelle il accepte de se soumettre dévoilera petit à petit que Martin Gregory n'est pas l'être qu'il croyait être. Son geste a indiscablement été commis sous l'empire d'un dédoublement de sa personnalité. Mais s'il se révélait que Martin Gregory n'avait pas deux personnalités, mais trois, cinq, sept ?
Et si, en plus, il se croyait investi d'une mission salvatrice ?… (mer)

HOME BEFORE DARK is the first thriller from UK Author Charles Maclean. It's the story of a wealthy man, who had it all. A thriving business, a beautiful wife, doted on daughter. Until his daughter is murdered while studying in Florence. Frustrated by the slow and ineffectual police investigation, Ed Lister starts his own. Doing some of the investigating himself, he is led to a mysterious website, which prompts him to offer a million dollars to a computer expert in the quest to crack the weird online clues that seem to be trying to lead Ed forward.

HOME BEFORE DARK did seem to take a long time to get into. The early parts of the book, that setup the plot and give you an opening feeling for the characters - particularly Ed - didn't quite seem to work and there was definitely a feeling of having to consciously stay with the thing. Perhaps that is partially because this could be a film script in the making, with the conspicuously touristy settings (Florence / Paris / London / New York), and with elements of the action themselves - murder on a train seeming like the quintessential noir movie scene these days. Perhaps it is also because it could take the reader a little while to pick up on a couple of things - why our killer is present all the time, stalking, menacing; and that Ed is ultimately an unreliable narrator. Interestingly enough it is the pursuit of what it is that Ed is trying to hide that frequently becomes the focus, rather than the death of his daughter.

Being a thriller there are some elements of the plotline that readers will simply have to accept - the lack of police involvement in the investigation, a bit of male-jep (for a change), a psychopathic killer with a "history" and a husband with a guilty secret or two tucked away. Perhaps one of the things that remains with this reader the most about the book is the way that the women are all elusive. Ed's wife is around but not really involved; his daughter is dead and whilst mourned and seemingly the instigator of all the angst and pursuit, not discussed or fleshed out that much. The only female character that has much presence at all is a cyber-character who may not necessarily exist or even be female for that matter. There's also a few technology aspects that pushed the boundaries of credibility to stretching point, but let's face it, a thriller isn't necessarily bound by the rules of reality.

As a thriller, once the pace got moving and the story started to get complicated, HOME BEFORE DARK definitely got more interesting and ever so slightly creepy. Not exactly "leave the lights on for a week after you've finished it" frightening, and with some slight quibbles about some aspects of the book, fans of thrillers could find HOME BEFORE DARK an interesting twist on the unreliable narrator.… (mer)