Looking for more

This was a chance buy. It's not Rebus, nor is it a Serrailer but....!? I was quickly drawn in, probably as much by the narrator as the initial plot but soon could not leave it alone. DI Gilchrist has as many personal issues as we come to expect but he also seems very human - struggling with communicating with his children and ex-wife. I was put off a bit by the reference to Prince William studying at St Andrews, a bit unnecessary in my opinion and it will date the book terribly. Am heading off to search for more in the series for my next credits.

28 people found this helpful

Excellent story

The first time I have come across this author ... and what a find. An excellent story, kept me guessing right to the end. More than just a writer, he is a wordsmith too and some of the language was almost poetry! I believe he won an award with this book and it was well deserved. Will look for his other book now, A hand for a hand.

Must also mention the narrator who really did bring this story to life. He was a pleasure to listen to. Will watch out for him too.

Highly recommended!

56 people found this helpful

Muir's misogyny disguised by a great reader

Monteath's reading is lovely - great accents, nice effort at injecting character into Muir's wooden ones. But this, unlike the rest of this series, does have a plot and isn't too obviously all about tits and torturing women. Just about listened to the end and did want to know what happened so some vague plot too. Not as awful as the next in the series which is just the usual women torture and blah.

9 people found this helpful

Not great, needlessly graphic

As a fan of tartan noire I thought I’d give this series a chance. However the story was weak, I guessed the killer after the second chapter, and the needlessly graphic accounts of sexual assault and animal cruelty added nothing to the plot. I won’t be listening to any others in the series.

8 people found this helpful

Enjoyable listen

Would you consider the audio edition of Eye For An Eye to be better than the print version?

I think the audio book helped increase the tension of the story and provided more graphic descriptions than e written word would elicit.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eye For An Eye?

The graphic details of the murder in the opening chapter left a lingering, if shiver inducing memory in my mind

What aspect of David Monteath’s performance might you have changed?

Some of the voices seemed to be unnecessarily loud which seemed to me a little,out of sync with the rest of the narration. Otherwise the narrators voice was easy to listen to and enjoyable.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A tale of vengeance and betrayal that will keep you guessing to the end.

7 people found this helpful

Very enjoyable start

To be fair this is my kind of series, dysfunctional Scottish detective tracking down vicious killers. Gilchrist is a little different in that he is younger and better looking than many of them but you won't find any genre-shattering bombs within these pages.

However, it's very well written, well narrated and so I have gone on through the rest of the series which I'm happy to confirm keeps up a consistent standard making it well worth investing in.

22 people found this helpful

Well worth your time..

An Eye For An Eye is a very enjoyable 'who-dunnit'.
Gilchrist, struggling to get to grips with the 'stabber' case, realises that he's more embroiled in the motives of the serial killer than he first thought.
A very good suspense novel, which keeps you guessing right until the end.
Well narrated by David Monteath. I'll certainly be looking out for books by TF Muir again.. Recommended.

12 people found this helpful

AH HA!

The story seemed compelling and the performance was very good but I had to stop listening as it felt like it was written by Alan Partridge. He's trying to put St. Andrews on the map, there's randomly name dropping companys and products (Badedas shower gel) and there's a mild whiff of misogeny around the main characters sexual advances on women.

4 people found this helpful

Good Characters, Compelling Story, and New Setting

Would you listen to Eye For An Eye again? Why?

I wouldn't listen to it again, but that is because I hate the slow recolection of what will happen next.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eye For An Eye?

It was interesting to experience a brooding and seedy side of St Andrews to contrast with my own experiences of the town.

Have you listened to any of David Monteath’s other performances? How does this one compare?

As usual an excellent performance from David Monteath.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would hve liked to have a single sitting but had to break it down to a few 1 to 2 hour sessions.

Any additional comments?

The following volumes of this series while still exciting stories, well presented, become a little unsatisfactory as Gilchrist and his friends and family are constantly at the focus of violent crime. The rogue non-conforming policeman character also wears a bit thin. I will still listen/read the remaining books.

7 people found this helpful

More than a bit over-rated.

Being a fan of Henning Mankel, Ian Rankin, and Michael Connelly, and having read some of the review comments about this book, I came to it with high expectations. Sadly, I was very disappointed, so much so that I didn't actually finish the book.



I take the point made by the previous reviewer that there is a literary, almost poetic, quality to some of Muir's writing, especially descriptions of landscape, weather and so on. On the other hand his description of peoples' emotions and their responses sometimes seemed laboured and unconvincing. There are passages early in the second half of the book when Gilchrist, full of self loathing, and a sense of failure in all aspects of his life speaks in silent monologue about these feelings. The result is rather banal and histrionic rather than painful and sad, as it should be. Attempts to portray this kind of painful and tragic failure are also present in the scenes where Gilchrist is in contact with his grown up children and his terminally ill ex wife, but again I was unconvinced by the author's descriptions of the emotions involved.



As to the story itself, I found it verging on being gratuitously violent. By the time I gave up there had been something like ten murders plus a couple of rapes, which, for me, is several too many and to my mind smacks of not being able to keep the plot moving without another body. Finally I thought the narrative a bit over-intense. It could have done with a bit more wit and irony.

40 people found this helpful