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A PLACE OF EXECUTION
Val McDermid
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers in 1999
Copyright © Val McDermid 1999
Val McDermid asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780007217144
Ebook Edition © MAY 2009 ISBN: 9780007327591
Version: 2020-05-20
Praise for A Place of Execution
‘This book changed everything I thought I knew about crime fiction’ Belinda Bauer, bestselling author of Snap
‘Every now and then, a writer transforms the landscape of the literary canon: Val McDermid is one such writer … It both moves and shocks, and yet compels us to read on. A Place of Execution reveals her as a master of her craft’ Fiona Cummins, bestselling author of Rattle
‘From the first pages, we know we’re in the hands of a master. This book will earn its author a place in that rare pantheon – the truly literary suspense novel’ Jeffrey Deaver
‘One of the best detective stories I’ve read’ Ruth Rendell
‘Just mesmerizing’ Joseph Knox, bestselling author of Sirens
‘A brilliant book. Val McDermid develops each character and location exquisitely, while the story blazes to an astonishing ending’ Holly Watt, award winning author of To the Lions
‘Beautifully written … It may be that McDermid will write better novels than this in the future, but I do not see how’ Daily Telegraph
‘A substantial book and an impressive one, possibly the best McDermid has written and it takes this most accomplished writer into higher territory’ Sunday Telegraph
‘A Place of Execution is a wake-up call to crime writers everywhere. A terrific and original novel, brilliantly executed’ Mirror
To my evil twin; laissez les bon temps rouler, cher.
You shall be taken to the place from whence you came, and thence to a place of lawful execution, and there you shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead, and afterwards your body shall be buried in a common grave within the precincts of the prison wherein you were last confined before your execution; and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.
The formal death sentence of the English legal system
LE PENDU: THE HANGED MAN
Divinatory meaning: The card suggests life in suspension. Reversal of the mind and one’s way of life. Transition. Abandonment. Renunciation. The changing of life’s forces. Readjustment. Regeneration. Rebirth. Improvement. Efforts and sacrifice may have to be undertaken to succeed towards a goal which may not be reached.
Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune Telling S. R. Kaplan
Contents
