Last Seen in Aberdeen, M.G. Kincaid.
(out of print, check for used copies at our ABE store).
One of my favorite new writers of the last year or so is M.G. Kincaid, a Michigan writer who somehow manages to write
completely believable Scottish police procedurals, featuring Seth Mornay, an ex-marine and no-nonsense investigator. The
first novel was a very capable and enjoyable but fairly traditional, almost locked room, mystery; this novel reaches
further and is more ambitious. Centering on the disappearance of a ten year old boy, the story becomes more and more
complicated, with layers of greed, corruption, and family dysfunction. Mornay's own estranged father is under police
surveillance as a suspected drug trader; Mornay is pretty sure he's doing something illegal, and he's equally sure it isn't
drugs. The reason he's sure of that is teased out slowly and is a powerful indicator of why Mornay behaves the way he
does in his personal life.
Mornay's investigation of the missing boy takes his mind off his father (and his hospitalized former girlfriend) to a local castle where the 18 year old lady of the manor raises exotic sheep and lives with her stepmother and her stepbrother. Her stepmother's powerful fiancee is the bane of the local police and demands careful attention when a car of his - a Jaguar - is stolen off the property. Recounting the plot I can see the clever use of clues that Kincaid almost lays in front of the reader's face - but you still might miss them until you're thinking about the book later. Proving herself to have the ruthless nature of the truly mature and gifted novelist, Kincaid pulls no punches with this book. The last scene especially leaves you gasping and (very) eager for the next part of the story. This is a new writer to watch.
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