Publication
Harper & Brothers Publishers (2007), 560 pages
Original publication date
2006
Collections
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Awards
British Book Award (Shortlist — 2008)
Theakstons Old Peculier Prize (Longlist — 2008)
Description
The award-winning and Number One bestselling Val McDermid crafts an electrifying psychological suspense thriller that mixes history, heritage and heinous crimes. A 200 year-old-secret is now a matter of life and death. And it could be worth a fortune. It's summer in the Lake District and heavy rain over the fells has uncovered a bizarrely tattooed body. Could it be linked to the old rumour that Fletcher Christian, mutinous First Mate on the Bounty, had secretly returned to England? Scholar Jane Gresham wants to find out. She believes that the Lakeland poet William Wordsworth, a friend of Christian's, may have sheltered the fugitive and turned his tale into an epic poem - which has since disappeared. But as she follows each lead, death is hard on her heels. The centuries-old mystery is putting lives at risk. And it isn't just the truth that is waiting to be discovered, but a bounty worth millions ...… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member edhead
The book has a fascinating premise based on a possible real life scenario - what if Fletcher Christian came back to England and told his cousin William Wordsworth about his life, and what if Wordsworth wrote his story? I found the mystery compelling and the story interesting, but it did drag a bit
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in the middle. Show Less
LibraryThing member Elphaba71
It had some mixed reviews on Amazon.co.uk, so I thought I'd make my own mind up. A Brilliant Phycological Thriller! set in the Lake District. Involving murder that takes place in the present day, but has connections to the past in Fletcher Christian & William Wordsworth.
It kept me hooked &
It's the first of Val McDermid's books I've read & it definately won't be the last.
It kept me hooked &
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guessing right till the end. It's the first of Val McDermid's books I've read & it definately won't be the last.
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LibraryThing member sandpiper
I picked this one up for a couple of quid in a charity shop, having read many of McDermid's other books and enjoyed them. I didn't realise when I picked it up that this book was quite a departure from her usual style. The lack of gore was quite refereshing ;-)
Jane Gresham is a university lecturer
There are several other story threads mingled with the main one. I found her ex-boyfriend Jake rather one-dimensional, but enjoyed reading about Tenille, the black teenager from Jane's London block of flats. Interspersed with the current day story are accounts from Christian himself of the period before, during & after the mutiny. These I lost interest in as the novel went on - I found myself skipping them in my eagerness to see how the plot progressed. There's a good twist at the end which I didn't see coming, but I felt the loose ends were a little too quickly wound up.
All in all, a good read. Took a little while to get going, but I stormed through the second half.
Jane Gresham is a university lecturer
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in English; her speciality is Wordsworth. She lives in London, but grew up in a small village in the Lake District close to where Wordsworth worked. When a body, dead for about 200 years, is found in a peat bog near her home village, she sets up to try and prove her pet theory - that Fletcher Christian returned to England years after the Bounty mutiny, and sought sanctuary with his old fried Wordsworth. She is convinced that Wordsworth wrote an unpublished poem about Christian. There are several other story threads mingled with the main one. I found her ex-boyfriend Jake rather one-dimensional, but enjoyed reading about Tenille, the black teenager from Jane's London block of flats. Interspersed with the current day story are accounts from Christian himself of the period before, during & after the mutiny. These I lost interest in as the novel went on - I found myself skipping them in my eagerness to see how the plot progressed. There's a good twist at the end which I didn't see coming, but I felt the loose ends were a little too quickly wound up.
All in all, a good read. Took a little while to get going, but I stormed through the second half.
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LibraryThing member jrepman
Stand alone with a Mutiny on the Bounty connection
LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
After a disappointing first try with McDermid's fiction, I was delightfully surprised with this novel. Intelligent, well-researched and creative, it beautifully combines history, myth, fiction, adventure and suspense. The ending was a little over the top (as endings tend to be to create that
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ultimate twist) but nothing to distract from the overall effect. A great summer read. Show Less
LibraryThing member richardgarside
Clever mix of themes - concise style and all in all a good read
LibraryThing member judithrs
The Grave Tattoo. Val McDermid. 2008. I read one of the author’s Tony Hill novels several years ago and really enjoyed it. This one was not as good as I remember the other novel being. Locals in the Lake District of England have long believed that Fletcher Christian, who led the mutiny on the
that the body could be that of Fletcher Christian. She returns to her home also in the Lake District to try to find the poem and/or proof that Wordsworth wrote it. Her ex-lover and others want to find the poem before Jane. When people who may have connections with Wordsworth are killed, Jane is accused of murder. Then book is not all that suspenseful and I suspect that other readers will figure who the villain is as I did.
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“Bounty,” secretly returned to his home in the district. They also believe that his friend, William Wordsworth wrote a narrative poem describing Christian’s story of the mutiny. The poem was never published for obvious reasons. When a “bog man” is discovered in the Lake District, Jane Gresham, a Wordsworth scholar thinks there is a good possibilitythat the body could be that of Fletcher Christian. She returns to her home also in the Lake District to try to find the poem and/or proof that Wordsworth wrote it. Her ex-lover and others want to find the poem before Jane. When people who may have connections with Wordsworth are killed, Jane is accused of murder. Then book is not all that suspenseful and I suspect that other readers will figure who the villain is as I did.
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LibraryThing member verenka
At first I thought that Val McDermid wants to cash into the Kathy Reichs/Patricia Cornwell forensic antropologist topic, but the book was a lot more than that. An interesting theory and a good mix of characters, backstory and a bit of action. I didn't actually read up on the Bounty on Wikipedia, so
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I don't know if it's a realistic theory, but it certainly was interesting and believable. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Clever working of background about the Mutiny of the Bounty and Fletcher Christian into a modern day mystery of an old body suddenly revealed in the Lake District. A Wordsworth scholar believes that there is a lost story of Fletcher Christian as told to Wordsworth and her hunt for it arouses the
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interest of others less scrupulous. Good plotting and characters, although I did guess the identify of one of those plotting, but it didn't spoil the story for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member Balthazar-Lawson
This is a different sort of story and for most of it it was less a crime story, that I was expecting, then a mystery treasure hunt story. There were parts of this I didn't like and it's hard to explain why, it just didn't grab me. Though the ending did get a bit better, more exciting and intense
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after a long drawn out hunt. Show Less
LibraryThing member pepe68
Engaging but not memorable. One identifies with the main female characters but the crime plot and the literary plot are not too fascinating. Sometimes it gets a bit repetitive and too landscapy. Nice read for a bleak evening but not a book to keep on the bookshelves.
LibraryThing member JalenV
In The Grave Tattoo, Val McDermid gives us three heroines. The first is Jane Gresham, a Wordsworth scholar with an idea that there's an undiscovered manuscript poem tied in with Fletcher Christian of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. The second is Tenille Cole, 13 years old, mixed race, smart, poetry
Two of the three are going to find themselves suspected of murders they didn't commit, but their actions make them seem guilty. The third will discover crucial evidence.
Throw in misunderstood motives, coincidence, a father one should avoid crossing at all costs, an ex whose a real jerk, a murder attempt on one of the heroines, and a harrowing climax for a really good mix. There were times I wanted to reach into the CDs and shake those coppers, yelling that they've got the wrong end of the stick.
There are also chapter openings about Fletcher Christian that were interesting in their own right.
If you dislike multiple viewpoints, this book has them. I enjoyed that. My favorite suspect didn't do it. At least I'm not a police officer, so I didn't hassle an innocent person. Ms. Reading's narration was fine. Not everyone gets a happy ending, but not every character deserves one.
Notes:
When one character greets Inspector R at the door with, Ah, an inspector calls, I think she's making a slight joke because An Inspector Calls is the title of a J. B. Priestly play. It's a modern classic. I've listened to an audio version and it was very thought provoking as well as very good. Its message should have been heeded by some of the characters.
A British abbreviation that might not be familiar to American readers is 'mod. cons.'. It's short for 'modern conveniences'.
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loving, with Jane her only real friend. The third is River Wilde, a forensic anthropologist who will be examining a body found in a peat bog -- one that might be Christian himself if old local rumors about his survival are true.Two of the three are going to find themselves suspected of murders they didn't commit, but their actions make them seem guilty. The third will discover crucial evidence.
Throw in misunderstood motives, coincidence, a father one should avoid crossing at all costs, an ex whose a real jerk, a murder attempt on one of the heroines, and a harrowing climax for a really good mix. There were times I wanted to reach into the CDs and shake those coppers, yelling that they've got the wrong end of the stick.
There are also chapter openings about Fletcher Christian that were interesting in their own right.
If you dislike multiple viewpoints, this book has them. I enjoyed that. My favorite suspect didn't do it. At least I'm not a police officer, so I didn't hassle an innocent person. Ms. Reading's narration was fine. Not everyone gets a happy ending, but not every character deserves one.
Notes:
When one character greets Inspector R at the door with, Ah, an inspector calls, I think she's making a slight joke because An Inspector Calls is the title of a J. B. Priestly play. It's a modern classic. I've listened to an audio version and it was very thought provoking as well as very good. Its message should have been heeded by some of the characters.
A British abbreviation that might not be familiar to American readers is 'mod. cons.'. It's short for 'modern conveniences'.
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LibraryThing member grandpahobo
This is a very engaging and well crafted mystery. It is reminiscent of the Inspector Rutledge mysteries of Charles Todd.
LibraryThing member SamSattler
I have long been a fan of psychological crime thrillers, but for whatever reason, The Grave Tattoo is my first experience with a Val McDermid title. Now having read it, I can certainly see why critics of the day considered it to be McDermid's breakthrough effort, and I look forward to reading more
This intricately plotted novel seems to have something for every kind of mystery fan. Its core plot involves the 200-year-old body pulled out of a Lake District peat bog that a forensic scientist has cleverly nicknamed “Pirate Peat” because of the intricate tattoos still visible on the body. Interesting as the body already is, there is a strong possibility that it could turn out to be an even more important find than it appears to be at first glance. Local lore says that Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian somehow survived the aftermath of that famous incident, made his way back to his home area, and disappeared there for good. Could this be the famous sailor’s body?
Wordsworth scholar Jane Gresham, who grew up near where the bog body was found, believes there is more to the Fletcher Christian story. Her research indicates a strong possibility that Christian told his story to William Wordsworth, an old classmate of his, before he disappeared. She believes it likely that Wordsworth wrote down what he was told by Christian before producing a long lost poem about his old friend's adventures. Jane knows how successfully the Wordsworth family guarded its privacy and reputation, so it makes sense to her that the poem and notes would have been hidden away rather than being made public during the author's lifetime. But they are out there somewhere, she thinks, and if it can be proved that Pirate Peat is really Fletcher Christian, it will prove that she is on the right track.
Intriguing as this story line is, it is easy for readers to lose themselves in McDermid's side plots involving Jane's friends and family. The most intriguing thread involves the thirteen-year-old mixed race girl whom Jane has befriended in the infamous London housing project she is forced to live in – being a Wordsworth scholar and college lecturer does not seem to pay particularly well and London rents are high, after all. Tenille is a pet project of Jane's, a kid she is trying to save from the future that already seems destined to be hers.
Wordsworth's papers, if they exist and can be found, will be worth millions to the right collector, and as is always the case, some are willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on something so precious. Jane’s life gets complicated when characters from all the side plots start showing up in the Lake District for reasons of their own. Suddenly nothing makes sense to Jane. If she is to find the documents she is so certain exist, she will need lots of help – but whom can she trust? Her brother seems to be in a race to find the papers before she does; the police are accusing her of hiding a murder suspect; and people are dying all around her.
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of her work.This intricately plotted novel seems to have something for every kind of mystery fan. Its core plot involves the 200-year-old body pulled out of a Lake District peat bog that a forensic scientist has cleverly nicknamed “Pirate Peat” because of the intricate tattoos still visible on the body. Interesting as the body already is, there is a strong possibility that it could turn out to be an even more important find than it appears to be at first glance. Local lore says that Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian somehow survived the aftermath of that famous incident, made his way back to his home area, and disappeared there for good. Could this be the famous sailor’s body?
Wordsworth scholar Jane Gresham, who grew up near where the bog body was found, believes there is more to the Fletcher Christian story. Her research indicates a strong possibility that Christian told his story to William Wordsworth, an old classmate of his, before he disappeared. She believes it likely that Wordsworth wrote down what he was told by Christian before producing a long lost poem about his old friend's adventures. Jane knows how successfully the Wordsworth family guarded its privacy and reputation, so it makes sense to her that the poem and notes would have been hidden away rather than being made public during the author's lifetime. But they are out there somewhere, she thinks, and if it can be proved that Pirate Peat is really Fletcher Christian, it will prove that she is on the right track.
Intriguing as this story line is, it is easy for readers to lose themselves in McDermid's side plots involving Jane's friends and family. The most intriguing thread involves the thirteen-year-old mixed race girl whom Jane has befriended in the infamous London housing project she is forced to live in – being a Wordsworth scholar and college lecturer does not seem to pay particularly well and London rents are high, after all. Tenille is a pet project of Jane's, a kid she is trying to save from the future that already seems destined to be hers.
Wordsworth's papers, if they exist and can be found, will be worth millions to the right collector, and as is always the case, some are willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on something so precious. Jane’s life gets complicated when characters from all the side plots start showing up in the Lake District for reasons of their own. Suddenly nothing makes sense to Jane. If she is to find the documents she is so certain exist, she will need lots of help – but whom can she trust? Her brother seems to be in a race to find the papers before she does; the police are accusing her of hiding a murder suspect; and people are dying all around her.
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LibraryThing member brakketh
This one really didn't grab me. The search for a lost manuscript didn't keep my attention and the murders seemed very background with little sense of threat.
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
What do William Wordsworth, the eminent English poet, and Fletcher Christian, the lead mutineer against Captain Bligh on the Bounty, have in common? According to Val McDermid in The Grave Tattoo the two were contemporaries, schoolmates and friends. It had long been rumoured in the Lake District
Meanwhile, Jane has found some tantalizing evidence that a maid in the Wordsworth household was given the papers about Fletcher Christian. Her initial attempts to trace the maid were frustrated by the fact that there were no records about her after she married. Her friend and colleague, Dan, comes up to help out and her brother, a local school teacher, has a crucial bit of evidence from his students. Unbeknownst to Jane, her ex-boyfriend, Jake, is also on the trail of the documents for his boss and new lover. When the descendents of the maid start dying soon after Jane talks to them, suspicion falls on Jane who is already suspected of harbouring Tenille. Someone is killing the descendents and if it’s not Jane, who is it?
I thought this book was fascinating for both the plot line about uncovering the lost documents and the who-dun-it aspects. Jane is a feisty and gutsy character. Her concern about Tenille shows she also has a tender side. Tenille is also a great invention as a young black woman who talks like a rapper but feels like a romantic poet. Even some of the minor characters are well-drawn; Dr. River Wilde, the forensic anthropologist who is examining the body from the peat is shown as a respected scientist and a sensual woman; DCI Ewan Rigston of the local police force is a no-nonsense officer but he doesn’t jump to conclusions.
I was caught totally off guard by the revelation of the murderer. If I have any quibbles about the book it is that I am getting a little tired of the device that has the murderer die before they are even charged. However, it does tie everything up in a nice neat bundle.
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that Christian did not die on Pitcairn Island but instead had come home to England. There were even rumours that Christian had visited his old friend and told him his story. When a body turns up in the peat which carries South Sea tattoos, Jane Gresham is intrigued. Jane is a native of the Lake District and a Wordsworth scholar so she is familiar with the rumours. She even found a document in the Wordsworth Museum that hints there was a record kept of the meeting. Jane convinces her University to give her two weeks’ study leave to try to find more evidence. Just before she leaves her young, black neighbour, Tenille, is almost raped by her guardian’s boyfriend. Tenille confides in Jane because she is the only adult in Tenille’s life who cares about her. Jane offers Tenille the use of her flat and talks to the gangster who is rumoured to be Tenille’s father. Jane believes the father will frighten the potential rapist and then Tenille will be safe. Later that evening when Tenille figures the coast will be clear she goes home and finds her attacker dead on the couch. A shotgun, which obviously killed him, is on the floor and Tenille picks it up. She then realizes that her father must have shot him and she decides to set fire to the flat to burn up any incriminating evidence. Unfortunately she was seen leaving the flat and her fingerprints are still found on the shotgun. So Tenille decides to follow Jane to the Lake District in the hopes that Jane can sort this problem. Meanwhile, Jane has found some tantalizing evidence that a maid in the Wordsworth household was given the papers about Fletcher Christian. Her initial attempts to trace the maid were frustrated by the fact that there were no records about her after she married. Her friend and colleague, Dan, comes up to help out and her brother, a local school teacher, has a crucial bit of evidence from his students. Unbeknownst to Jane, her ex-boyfriend, Jake, is also on the trail of the documents for his boss and new lover. When the descendents of the maid start dying soon after Jane talks to them, suspicion falls on Jane who is already suspected of harbouring Tenille. Someone is killing the descendents and if it’s not Jane, who is it?
I thought this book was fascinating for both the plot line about uncovering the lost documents and the who-dun-it aspects. Jane is a feisty and gutsy character. Her concern about Tenille shows she also has a tender side. Tenille is also a great invention as a young black woman who talks like a rapper but feels like a romantic poet. Even some of the minor characters are well-drawn; Dr. River Wilde, the forensic anthropologist who is examining the body from the peat is shown as a respected scientist and a sensual woman; DCI Ewan Rigston of the local police force is a no-nonsense officer but he doesn’t jump to conclusions.
I was caught totally off guard by the revelation of the murderer. If I have any quibbles about the book it is that I am getting a little tired of the device that has the murderer die before they are even charged. However, it does tie everything up in a nice neat bundle.
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LibraryThing member thorold
An entertaining murder mystery with a - slightly contrived - historical back-story, in which the discovery of a 200-year-old body in a peat bog provokes various more or less devious characters to rush around the Lake District in pursuit of a possible Wordsworth manuscript, accompanied by a string
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of suspicious deaths. I had the feeling that there were rather too many different subplots going on at once, but McDermid is of course an old pro at this game and can keep any number of balls in the air at the same time, so it all comes together in the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
What if mutineer Fletcher Christian didn’t die on Pitcairn island, but returned to his native England? Worsdworth scholar Jane Gresham secures a leave of absence from her job at a London university to explore the connection between a 200-year-old body discovered in the peat near her Lake District
McDermid combines elements I love in a good mystery – history, literature, a strong sense of place, with a little bit of genealogy. I wasn’t surprised by the revelation of the villain’s identity near the end of the book. There were so few suspects that it was easy to figure out who it must be. And Jane really didn’t do much investigating. She mostly reacted to events as they unfolded. I was happy enough to go along with the ride.
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home and a Wordsworth manuscript that may have been hidden nearly as long. Jane isn’t the only person with an interest in the manuscript. As the deaths pile up, Jane herself may be in danger.McDermid combines elements I love in a good mystery – history, literature, a strong sense of place, with a little bit of genealogy. I wasn’t surprised by the revelation of the villain’s identity near the end of the book. There were so few suspects that it was easy to figure out who it must be. And Jane really didn’t do much investigating. She mostly reacted to events as they unfolded. I was happy enough to go along with the ride.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
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
I found the book quite boring. Although there's a bit of a genealogy theme in the book, it wasn't strong enough. The killer's obvious identity did not add to my enjoyment nor did Jane's lack of sleuthing. I expected to enjoy a book with historical, literary, and genealogical elements in an enjoyable setting more than I did. I know many readers enjoy Val McDermid's writing, but I suspect she's not for me. While I made it to the end this time, I previously put down another book she authored whose plot caught my attention because I could not connect with the writing. I debated doing so this time but kept at it to see if it improved. For me, it didn't. I think I'll remove any other McDermid books from my wish list.
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which may hold the manuscript turns up dead before she visits. As she visits others, the death toll mounts. Both a young woman Jane shelters and Jane herself become suspects.I found the book quite boring. Although there's a bit of a genealogy theme in the book, it wasn't strong enough. The killer's obvious identity did not add to my enjoyment nor did Jane's lack of sleuthing. I expected to enjoy a book with historical, literary, and genealogical elements in an enjoyable setting more than I did. I know many readers enjoy Val McDermid's writing, but I suspect she's not for me. While I made it to the end this time, I previously put down another book she authored whose plot caught my attention because I could not connect with the writing. I debated doing so this time but kept at it to see if it improved. For me, it didn't. I think I'll remove any other McDermid books from my wish list.
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0007142870 / 9780007142873
Physical description
560 p.; 4.33 inches
Pages
560