Esta entrada es bilingüe, desplazarse hacia abajo para ver la versión en castellano
HarperCollins paperback reissue, 2006. First published in Great Britain in 1999. 604 pages. ISBN: 978-0-00-721714-4.
One December evening in 1963, Alison Carter, a thirteen-year-old girl, took her dog for a walk in the remote hamlet of Scardale in Derbyshire, she never returned. The police search yielded no results, Alison had vanished. Detective Inspector George Bennett and Detective Sergeant Tommy Clough were in charge of the investigation. They spared no effort to find Alison in spite of the lack of cooperation from the villagers. Thirty-five years later, in 1998, George Bennett agrees to talk to journalist Catherine Heathcote. She grew up in Derbyshire and wants to write a book about the Alison Carter case. When the book is ready, George Bennett wants to cancel the publication at all costs, without further explanation.
A Place of Execution is the first Val McDermid standalone book and the first of her books that I read. It is a dark psychological thriller, a grim tale of a deception masterfully narrated with a great sense of place. The novel is set in the Peak District and unfolds in two parts. The first one covers the events that took place in the past in 1963 as in an extended flashback. The second part is much shorter and the action shifts to the present in 1998. I was left wondering why I waited so long to read it. Brilliant.
My rating a 4 out of 5.
Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community then read English at Oxford. She was a journalist for sixteen years before becoming a full-time writer. She divides her time between Cheshire and Northumberland. In 2010 she received the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing. A Place of Execution was awarded the LA Times Book of the Year Award, and was chosen by the New York Times as one of the most notable books of the year. A Place of Execution was adapted into a successful ITV drama with Juliet Stephenson.
A Place of Execution has been reviewed by Sarah at Crime Pieces, Karen G. Anderson at January Magazine, and Dorte at djskrimiblog.
- Harper Collins
- MacMillan
- Val McDermid Website
- World Book Club Val McDermid – A Place of Execution – BBC
- Browse Inside A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
Un lugar de ejecución – Val McDermid
Una tarde de diciembre de 1963, Alison Carter, una niña de trece años de edad, sacó a su perro de paseo en la remota aldea de Scardale en Derbyshire y no regresó. La búsqueda de la policia no consiguió ningún resultado, Alison había desaparecido. El detective George Bennett y el sargento Tommy Clough estaban a cargo de la investigación. No escatimaron esfuerzo alguno para encontrar a Alison a pesar de la falta de colaboración de los habitantes del pueblo. Ahora, treinta y cinco años más tarde, en 1998, George Bennett accede a hablar con la periodista Catherine Heathcote. Ella creció en Derbyshire y quiere escribir un libro sobre el caso de Alison Carter. Cuando el libro está terminado, George Bennet, quiere cancelar su publicación a toda costa, sin más explicaciones.
Un lugar de ejecución es el primer libro independiente de Val McDermid y el primero de sus libros que leo. Se trata de un siniestro thriller psicológico, la triste historia de un engaño magistralmente narrada con un gran sentido del lugar. La novela está ambientada en el Peak District y se desarrolla en dos partes. La primera cubre los acontecimientos que tuvieron lugar en el pasado, en 1963, a modo de un extenso flashback. La segunda parte es mucho más corta y la acción se traslada a la actualidad, en 1998. Me quedé pensando por qué he esperado tanto tiempo para leerlo. Brillante.
Mi valoración es de un 4 sobre 5.
Val McDermid nació en Escocia en el seno de una comunidad minera y se licenció en Inglés en Oxford. Antes de convertirse en escritora a tiempo completo trabajó como periodista durante dieciséis años. En la actualidad reparte su tiempo entre Cheshire y Northumberland. En el 2010 recibió el CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, por sus extraordinarios logros en el campo de la novela negra. Un lugar de ejecución fue galardonado con el Premio al Libro del Año por Los Ángeles Times, y fue seleccionado como uno de los libros más destacados del año por el New York Times. Un lugar de ejecución fue adaptada con éxito por la ITV como serie de televisión, protagoinzada por Juliet Stephenson.
Un lugar de ejecución ha sido reseñado en Un cadaver en mi blog, en Detectives literarios, y en Elemental, querido blog.
A Crime is Afoot 
I remember enjoying this book very much too, Jose Ignacio. I had not remembered or noticed the TV version – rarely as good as the book but I might give it a try one day. Val McDermid’s other standalones are very good too, I think, though she did go through a more gruesome phase than she is going through now.
Thanks for your comment Maxine, I would like to hear your opinion if you have a chance to watch the TV series.
I really enjoyed this book Jose and it is set on my doorstep in the Peak District. It had a nice twist that I didn’t see coming and I thought the difficult subject matter was handled well.
Thank you Sarah for remind me about this book. I’ve surfed through the Peak District webpages, seems great for hiking.
Oh hey, I bought this one after reading Sarah’s review of it. Can’t wait to read it.
Me too Keishon, I didn’t hve to buy since it was already on my shelves, but I too was encourage to read it thanks to Sarah’s review.
I am reading a place of execution.
Well written, but extremely dull and slow for a book of this kind.
The lack of imagination showing one more time the story of a Young Girl Who disappears, the sexual abuse( original!!!) , Always the same story of sexual predators bores me to death.
Well written, no rythm.