Having grown up in England’s Lake District, Jane has heard tales of Wordsworth and the other poets who lived in the area during the early 19th century. An unseasonably rainy summer has lead to the uncovering of a well preserved body in a peat bog. The body is remarkable in that it has several distinctive tattoos. Though it is readily determined that the body is not a recent death, its actual age and circumstances require examination by experts. Jane, who now lives in London, immediately thinks of Fletcher Christian who spent several years in the South Pacific and may well have had tattoos. If, indeed, the body is Christian’s it would support Jane’s theory that he had returned to England and may have had some contact with Wordsworth.

There has long been talk that Wordsworth had written a poetic account of Fletcher Christian’s mutiny from the famous ship and his time in the South Pacific. Jane believes that the account does exist and is currently held by the surviving heirs. Her dilemma is to ascertain who the heirs are and who could possibly be secretly harboring this important piece of literature. Obviously, Jane is not the only literary scholar who has noticed the possible literary significance of the body in the bog and academics can be as unscrupulous as any other segment of society.

Although all of Val McDermid’s books are a joy to read due to the talent of this writer, her stand alone novels give her the freedom to truly display her ability to fashion unique characters as well as create and describe a setting so perfectly that the reader can actually envision the place and sense the atmosphere. She is not hampered by the constraint of fitting a known character into a new situation because her readership has no knowledge of this new individual. In addition, the problem to be resolved can be anything rather than having to fit within the known interests, professional expertise or location of an individual already known to readers.

Excerpts from Fletcher Christian’s journals precede each chapter keeping the reader in touch with the events of the 19th century while still allowing the author to continue on with her present day narrative. This device seamlessly connects the two ongoing plots for the reader.

The story encompasses not only the race to find a lost manuscript, but deals with a variety of family relationships of characters from all segments of society. The setting of the Lake District or Wordsworth’s supposed lost manuscript aside, one does not easily forget that British society, customs, and world view are distinctly different from their neighbors across the pond. This insight gives a richness to the novel that makes it all the more enjoyable.

The fact that this is a stand alone novel allows readers unfamiliar with Ms. McDermid’s work to plunge right in without feeling they are missing part of the back story. However, after having read this novel, new readers will without doubt feel compelled to seek out her earlier works which are numerous.

--Andy Plonka