The Grave Tattoo, Val McDermid
The Grave Tattoo, Val McDermid
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The Grave Tattoo
A Novel

Author: Val McDermid

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 13 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/2007

Synopsis

In The Grave Tattoo, suspense master Val McDermid spins a psychological thriller in which a present-day murder has its roots in the eighteenth century and the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

After torrential summer rains uncover a bizarrely tattooed body on a Lake District hillside, a long-disregarded old wives' tale takes on a chilling new plausibility. For centuries, Lakelanders have whispered that Fletcher Christian, made infamous by Mutiny on the Bounty, staged the massacre on Pitcairn so that he could return home. And once there, what if he could tell his story to an old friend and schoolmate, William Wordsworth, who turned it into a long narrative poem—a poem that remained hidden lest it expose Wordsworth to the gallows for harboring a fugitive?

Wordsworth specialist Jane Gresham, herself a native of the Lake District, feels compelled to discover once and for all whether the manuscript ever existed—and whether it still exists today. But as she pursues each new lead, death follows hard on her heels. Suddenly Jane is at the heart of a 200-year-old mystery that still has the power to put lives on the line.

About Val McDermid

Val McDermid was a journalist for sixteen years and is now a full-time writer living in South Manchester. In 1995, she won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year for The Mermaids Singing. Her novel A Place of Execution won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

About Kate Reading

Kate Reading is the recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named by AudioFile magazine as a “Voice of the Century,” as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by such authors as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. AudioFile magazine reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate’s performances are a consistent pleasure."

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex on March 21, 2011

This is probably the weakest Val McDermid book that I've read, save for her more deliberately pulpy novels about plucky journalists and private investigators flouting the law to get results (heck, I'd probably read Kate Brannigan again in a second). Admittedly I can't work up the amount of apathy fo......more

Goodreads review by Paul on April 11, 2024

I think I'm going to re-read MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY! A 200 year old preserved peat body discovered in England's Lake District is covered with South Sea Tattoos of the sort that 18th century British seamen acquired during their travels throughout the far reaches of the British Empire. Wordsworth scholar......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on March 04, 2015

In September 2005, heavy rain is sweeping Britain and in the Lake District a body is revealed as the land moves on the ancient peat hags. This body in the bog is of great interest to Jane Gresham, a scholar of the local Lakeland poet, William Wordsworth. This novel reveals the mystery of what has be......more

Goodreads review by Lori on July 06, 2019

University professor and scholar Jane Gresham goes to the Lake District to explore a rumored Wordsworth manuscript containing a poem which may be worth millions. The visit was prompted by the discovery of a bog body in the area. Her own family resides in the area. The first member of the family whic......more

Goodreads review by Paul on July 05, 2022

This is Val McDermid does cosy mystery. Jane Gresham is an expert in Wordsworth, working restaurant shifts and teaching undergrads in London while converting her PhD thesis to a book on the subject, when the discovery of a two hundred year-old body in her native Lake District tickles one of her pet t......more

Quotes

“A world-class crime novelist at the top of her game.” —George Pelecanos, author of Hard Revolution

“Val McDermid at her very best.” —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Company Man

“It is difficult to find words to capture the masterful achievement that is Val McDermid's The Grave Tattoo.” —Laura Lippman

“If you haven't discovered her genius yet, you are in for a rare treat.” —Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of The Innocent

“Absorbing modern mystery...McDermid's mix of historical and literary clues with modern detection is handled with panache.” —The Times (London)

“One of our most accomplished crime writers...compelling.” —Glasgow Herald

“An irresistible combination of contemporary psychological thriller and historical mystery filled with the moody atmosphere of the Lake District.” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Harvest

“I've been a Val McDermid fan forever...like all her work, The Grave Tattoo is an experience...a visceral entertainment that leaves you panting right up to the shattering climax .” —Ridley Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdom Keepers

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