Thanks to Harper Collins and Edelweiss - AboveTheTreeline for the free ARC Kindle e-book.

[b: The Riverman: A DCI Lorimer Novel|33236238|The Riverman A DCI Lorimer Novel (William Lorimer)|Alex Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480827113s/33236238.jpg|53950256] by [a: Alex Gray|508126|Alex Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1270676510p2/508126.jpg] is a big fat juicy read. I have read several other of the DCI William Lorimer novels and enjoyed each one.

The writing is good. Most of the characters are well developed along with the plot, and sub-plots. There are twists and turns, and the novel remained mysterious until the end.

I enjoyed the historical information about the River Clyde, the bridges, and how this part of the world has experienced many changes.

Maybe the author just rode me around in such comfort that I could not keep my eyes open, but I could not read more than a few chapters before nodding off. It was not boring. It just never got my adrenaline up.

[b: The Riverman: A DCI Lorimer Novel|33236238|The Riverman A DCI Lorimer Novel (William Lorimer)|Alex Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480827113s/33236238.jpg|53950256] kept my interest. I could not leave it lay. I will recommend this for our library collection. ( )

It is always good when I start a book in the middle of a series and it's not a problem at all getting into the story and the characters are easy to like. The Riverman starts off interesting with the dead body that's fished out of the water, and after that, we get a prequel to what happened before the man was fished out of the water. The book moves between a lot of different POV's, both the police and people around the dead man. At first, it seems that it's either a suicide or a drunken mistake that made the man drown, but Detective Chief Inspector William Lorimer feels that there is more to the case and soon he starts to suspect that someone had a good reason for killing the man.
It was refreshing to read about a policeman that seems to have no vices and a stable home life. I do love damaged characters, but once in a while is it nice to read about a man that seems to have most of his life under control.
I'll be seeking out more of this series. ( )

'The Riverman' is a competent murder mystery, but lacks any features which make it stand out from its myriad companions in that genre. The case itself is the strongest component, although the denoument requires some suspension of belief, with a variety of suspects and sufficient twists and turns in the investigation without too many wild goose chases or irrelevant diversions. The choice of a corporate environment was also interesting, and the characters there were mostly well drawn and sympathetic, showing that many choices in life, in work and in crime are not matters of black and white.

Unfortunately, this did not extend to the investigating team. DCI Lorimer must be one of the lease interesting detectives in crime fiction, and most of the supporting team barely merited a cursory description (aside from copious references to Brightman's beard). Lorimer is extremely dull, characterised by his aparent lack of interests aside from his job and his equally bland wife, and his ability to behave completely properly and virtuously at all times in work and in life. Unlike with the suspects, decisions for him are always clean cut, and he always comes down on the right side. The only personal moments focus on a tedious subplot in which Lorimer's wife wonders whether he is cheating (of course, he is not). Detectives with troubled personal lives, drinking problems, or musical passions may be tropes but they help the reader to identify with the character and take an interest in the progression of his story. There is none of that with Lorimer; indeed he could easily have been replaced with a different detective with no significant changes to the plot or resolution of the story.

I was also disappointed by the location. The marketed as "Glasgow's answer to Iain Rankin" the references to location were purely geographical and conveyed none of the character of the city. ( )

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12782320 ( )