- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Books; New edition edition (4 May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553505432
- ISBN-13: 978-0553505436
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.6 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 932,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
As he did so well in his first thriller, The Poison Tree, Tony Strong again takes us into a closed-off world and exposes its most private secrets in his second novel, The Death Pit. Even though the Scottish town of Inverness seems a long way from the rarefied literary circles of Oxford (where the first story took place), both are small town environments that engender gossip and illicit goings-on.
A flourishing modern coven of witches seems a natural part of the Scottish landscape--especially since nearby Babcock Castle was the scene of a notorious 17th-century trial and the burning of Catherine McCulloch, a woman accused of witchcraft. But when the body of one of the women in the coven is found dismembered in a foul pit where diseased pigs are discarded, some of the residents blame the witches and take violent action against them.
Terry Williams, a PhD candidate, has come to Babcock Castle to study McCullogh's papers, and finds herself caught up in the mystery when she discovers a link between the past and the present. Strong is a sly writer who knows how to create sympathetic, believable characters and place them in a tightly controlled atmosphere where sex and danger charge the air. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
When young academic Terry Williams goes to the Scottish Highlands, she's simply intending to edit the letters of Catherine McCulloch, burnt as a witch in the 17th century. But then the body of a woman is found on a farm, dumped into the death pit. She is one of the modern-day witches.
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First Sentence
The woman who stepped shivering off the train onto Platform Two of Inverness railway station was in her late twenties. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
The woman who stepped shivering off the train onto Platform Two of Inverness railway station was in her late twenties. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superior Crime Fiction from a great writer,
By
This review is from: The Death Pit (Paperback)
Readers of "The Poison Tree" will already be familiar with the heroine of the excellent "The Death Pit" , bisexual feminist Terry Williams. Bloody-minded , short- tempered and intense, it is a credit to Tony Strong's writing that she is actually likeable. The novel centres around Terry's investigation of modern day and 17th Century witchcraft in a remote part of the Scottish highlands and how it relates to a series of grisly murders. The characterisation in the book is quite superb , the writing intelligent and the plot unfurls majestically.There is a wealth of historical detail as well as the numerous twists and turns in the plot and sexual liaisons. We are led into a wonderful portayal of life in a Wiccan commune , discover the minutiae of pig farming and ultimately head off on a trip to Europe as the mystery unravels. This is an excellent novel , gory and disturbing at times , but well worth a read .
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been so much better,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Death Pit (Paperback)
It's readable enough, I suppose, but I expected more. The modern-day mystery failed to keep me interested, and I solved the seventeenth-century one as soon as Terry read the letters. She's supposed to be an Oxford history grad, she really should have spotted something as obvious as that. (I should add that I'm an Oxford historian myself, come from northern Scotland and have an especial interest in witchcraft, which is why I bought this book in the first place.) Furthermore, the device to tie the two stories together was just that: a device. A very contrived one.Nor were the characters consistently presented, and I couldn't like Terry; and the Wiccans! I'm not objecting to the way Strong undermines their beliefs, as I disagree with Wicca's historical pretensions myself, but did he have to caricature them as a bunch of freaks who think with their genitals? It really wasn't fair. I don't think I'll be reading any more Strong.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A second excellent book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Death Pit (Paperback)
I wish Tony Strong had written more books!I loved the last one, and this second is equally as good, if not better! He has an unquestionable grasp of the english language. I found his prose style refreshing and compelling. The characters are all well drawn and interesting. The plot is an absolute cracker. He mixes the two strands with effortless ease, and they run on parrallel brilliantly. He juggled them excellent, and each one adds flavour to the story. The conclusion is excellent, just as exciting as that of his previous novel. I sped through this book in two days, and i loved every page. the visit to the orphanage is incredibly harrowing, and i felt very moved by it. I also adore the way these two books are both, essentially, classic mystery novels, but they have a brilliantly dark contemporary twist. Excellent, yet again Tony. I cannot wait to read "The Decoy"! (again, Mr Strong, if you're reading this, many congratulations!)
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