A review by karlou
Blood Rites by David Stuart Davies
4.0
Blood Rites has an unusual opening -it starts with the ending; a man returns home, it's December and he's annoyed to discover he'd forgotten to set the central heating timing. So far, so normal yet his movements very soon become much more sinister, it would appear he's just murdered somebody. It seems that this latest victim wasn't his intended choice but he considered it necessary to kill them in order to continue his terrifying sounding blood rites...
The action then goes back three months and we meet DI Paul Snow, a dedicated police officer who is slightly detached from the other officers and clearly keeps himself to himself. The reason for that soon becomes clear, as although he is dating local head mistress, Matilda, he is not being true to her or to himself. His relationship with Matilda has reached a crossroads, she is expecting them to become more intimate but Paul has not had sex for years. He knows he would have no chance of climbing the career ladder if his homosexuality became common knowledge and so he has been celibate at least a decade. Blood Rites really has two plots that intertwine; one is a police procedural as Paul Stone investigates a spate of murders and attempts to discover who the serial killer is; the concurrent plot is a domestic drama about Paul's inner turmoil - should he try to make a relationship with a woman work despite knowing he isn't sexually attracted to her? He enjoys her company, particularly after living a lonely existence for so long. Would such a relationship be fair to either of them though? And what will happen when he finds himself attracted to a man?
There is an episodic feeling to the crime aspect of the story. We learn that the murderer was a victim of crime himself at first and is then inspired to embark on his murderous spree. As he commits each new murder it is interesting to consider the dilemma between justice and vigilantism. I actually guessed the perpetrator fairly early on but Stone's painstaking investigation is still a gripping read. Blood Rites is set in the 1985, so without the scientific advancements available today, Stone has to mostly rely on his hunches and logic to solve the case. The era is also important when it comes to understanding Paul's torment. Even in the 1980s, attitudes to homosexuality were still often in the dark ages, whether outright bigotry or the more insidious institutionalised homophobia that meant many people like Paul were forced to live a lie in order to protect themselves. It seems shocking now of course but having grown up in that decade I remember the way gay men were portrayed as effeminate jokes in TV shows, the furore over gay kisses in soaps, the cruel tabloid exposés... As the quote in the foreword from John Fraser states,
'Homosexuals then had three choices.
One. To conform to society's expectations. To marry and have children.
Two. To be celibate.
Three. To live a double life, fraught with danger - of violence or blackmail - and to live it alone.'
As Stone's personal life starts to unravel he seeks solace in his work and eventually makes an important discovery. I suspect the shocking ending will be divisive and some people will be left disappointed, it's certainly not what I expected but actually I really appreciated reading such a memorable conclusion. Blood Rites is the third Paul Stone novel but it's my first and I didn't feel I missed out having not read the previous books. The empathetic characterisation and well-crafted plot complement each other beautifully to create a compelling and poignant story that really touched me and I look forward to reading more from David Stuart Davies in the future.
The action then goes back three months and we meet DI Paul Snow, a dedicated police officer who is slightly detached from the other officers and clearly keeps himself to himself. The reason for that soon becomes clear, as although he is dating local head mistress, Matilda, he is not being true to her or to himself. His relationship with Matilda has reached a crossroads, she is expecting them to become more intimate but Paul has not had sex for years. He knows he would have no chance of climbing the career ladder if his homosexuality became common knowledge and so he has been celibate at least a decade. Blood Rites really has two plots that intertwine; one is a police procedural as Paul Stone investigates a spate of murders and attempts to discover who the serial killer is; the concurrent plot is a domestic drama about Paul's inner turmoil - should he try to make a relationship with a woman work despite knowing he isn't sexually attracted to her? He enjoys her company, particularly after living a lonely existence for so long. Would such a relationship be fair to either of them though? And what will happen when he finds himself attracted to a man?
There is an episodic feeling to the crime aspect of the story. We learn that the murderer was a victim of crime himself at first and is then inspired to embark on his murderous spree. As he commits each new murder it is interesting to consider the dilemma between justice and vigilantism. I actually guessed the perpetrator fairly early on but Stone's painstaking investigation is still a gripping read. Blood Rites is set in the 1985, so without the scientific advancements available today, Stone has to mostly rely on his hunches and logic to solve the case. The era is also important when it comes to understanding Paul's torment. Even in the 1980s, attitudes to homosexuality were still often in the dark ages, whether outright bigotry or the more insidious institutionalised homophobia that meant many people like Paul were forced to live a lie in order to protect themselves. It seems shocking now of course but having grown up in that decade I remember the way gay men were portrayed as effeminate jokes in TV shows, the furore over gay kisses in soaps, the cruel tabloid exposés... As the quote in the foreword from John Fraser states,
'Homosexuals then had three choices.
One. To conform to society's expectations. To marry and have children.
Two. To be celibate.
Three. To live a double life, fraught with danger - of violence or blackmail - and to live it alone.'
As Stone's personal life starts to unravel he seeks solace in his work and eventually makes an important discovery. I suspect the shocking ending will be divisive and some people will be left disappointed, it's certainly not what I expected but actually I really appreciated reading such a memorable conclusion. Blood Rites is the third Paul Stone novel but it's my first and I didn't feel I missed out having not read the previous books. The empathetic characterisation and well-crafted plot complement each other beautifully to create a compelling and poignant story that really touched me and I look forward to reading more from David Stuart Davies in the future.