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| The Grave Tattoo | 
 enlarge | Author: Val Mcdermid
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
Buy New: $31.95
New (10) Used (2) from $25.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 3222337
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 655
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0786295716
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780786295715
ASIN: 0786295716
Publication Date: June 7, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 A bit of a departure February 7, 2007
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
Val McDermid is an excellent writer, one of my favorites in the gritty mystery genre, so I did not hesitate to pick up The Grave Tattoo. This new offering is also a kind of detective story, with some truly nasty goings-on but involves more painstaking scholastic research than typical sleuthing. It reminds me of the line in "DaVinci Code" where Robert's reaction to being chased is "I need a library", one of my favorite quotes. In Tattoo, McDermid deftly combines history, forensics, suspense, literature, and danger into another compelling, atmospheric murder mystery. Both male and female characters are skillfully drawn in 3 dimensions, and the plot with its tantalizing backstory inexorably draws the reader in and won't let go. Definitely not a cosy or a romance, Tattoo should appeal to readers who enjoy a bit of intellectual exercise embedded within their entertainment.
 `Now it was her job to make him come alive all over again.' March 18, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
A bizarrely tattooed body is discovered in the UK Lake District. There are persistent rumours that Fletcher Christian secretly returned from his exile to Pitcairn Island and was harboured by William Wordsworth, a childhood friend, who turned his tale into an epic poem. Because the manuscript has remained hidden, there is no conclusive proof of its existence. Can the body be that of Fletcher Christian? Is the manuscript still extant? Who holds the key to the past? Wordsworth Scholar Jane Gresham would love to find the manuscript, as would many others and not all are as scrupulous.
Peopled with interesting characters, the research through the past in combination with some fast action in the present provides the potential ingredients for a good mystery. This book involves a number of different subplots, some of which are more satisfying than others. Overall, the total package worked well for me, and I enjoyed the read.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I think I'm going to re-read "Mutiny on the Bounty"! May 19, 2008
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
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 Jane Gresham, convinced that this body is actually Fletcher Christian, long thought to have died on Pitcairn Island, also believes that Wordsworth composed a final epic poem about Christian and the Bounty saga. Of course, if the poem had been published in Wordsworth's lifetime, Christian would have been apprehended and summarily hanged. So, if the poem and any documentary evidence exists as to its provenance, the Wordsworth family have been keeping it secret for over two centuries.
In "The Grave Tattoo", McDermid has created an enjoyable literary mystery that is skillfully blended with an imagined tale of Fletcher Christian's escape from a native uprising on Pitcairn Island and his secret return to the British homeland he so sorely missed. The additional story of Jane's friendship and growing love for a young 13 year old black girl, Tenille Cole (her neighbour in Marshpool, one of London's rundown public housing projects), rounds out the story nicely, adds a tinge of modern day reality, lifts the tale out of the somewhat stuffy world of pure academia and gives "The Grave Tattoo" overall a somewhat more US-centric thriller flavour.
Overall, an enjoyable if somewhat lengthy story that I think might have benefitted by a little editorial pruning and stepping up of some pacing. I'm tempted to make a return visit to Nordhoff and Hall's "Mutiny on the Bounty".
Paul Weiss
search for the lost manuscript December 30, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is one of Val McDermid's best books. A great mix between history (Mutiny on the Bounty),poetry (William Wordsworth), mystery (multiple murders) and action.
Jane Gresham, a specialist in the works of William Wordworth, is intriguid when a 200-year old body is found. She is sure that this is the body of Fletcher Christian, the person who started the mutiny on the Bounty. Furthermore, she is convinced that the only reason why Fletcher returned to England was to meet William Wordsworth, a friend of his family, and to tell him the real story about the mutiny on the Bounty.
The search for the lost manuscript, which is worth a fortune, can begin.
Because this is not just a detective story, a lot of people who have never heard of Val McDermid, will probably also want to read this book. It has everything to become a bestseller. A must-read.
not my cup of tea March 1, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have read Val McDermid before - Tattoo had a great premise - a search for a lost Wordsworth epic work about Fletcher Christian from Bounty fame. Christian, who was smuggled back to England, was friends with Wordsworth. Christian wanted to tell someone the real story - that couldn't be published in his lifetime without reprisals for both men - In present day, enter a Wordsworth scholar, a young black girl from the projects, and a trek to Jane's (the scholar) family home to find the mysterious manuscript and see if a man's body found well preserved in a bog that has south seas tattoos could be Christian - If only the characters and actions in this book matched the great premise and promise. Yes, there is action, but the writing is so flatline, it does not get you involved.
The inside cover of Tattoo promises this is on par with Dante Club, and Historian - that is a definite NO WAY.
I am sorry the book didn't connect - there is information on Wordsworth and Christian, and I am a fan of William Wordsworth, but it is not enough. There is no character development, no one to cheer for. The only beauty came from the bits and pieces of Wordworth's manuscript, but that's only a blurb before every chapter. The last pages were interesting, but it was too late.
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