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Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3)
 
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Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3) (Paperback)

by Robert Edric (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £7.19 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3) + Siren Song + Cradle Song
Price For All Three: £22.17

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  • This item: Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3) by Robert Edric

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  • Siren Song by Robert Edric

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Product details

  • Paperback: 389 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan (6 Jun 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552771449
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552771443
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,366 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review
" A veritable Stanley Kubrik of the world of fiction . . . Edric makes it impossible for the crime novel to be considered the country cousin of serious literature any longer.'
-- "The Times"
" Highly accomplished . . . Fans can look forward to his usual sharply realised characters operating in a tense, pressured environment."
-- "Independent"
Praise for "Peacetime":
" If other novels deserve this year's Booker Prize more than Peacetime then they must be very remarkable indeed."
-- "Spectator"

"From the Hardcover edition."

Product Description
Hull, autumn 2005 and private investigator Leo Rivers, finds himself at the overheated heart of an inquiry into the savage killing of several young women. Approached by the mother of the chief suspect, he soon discovers not only that this suspect is not involved in the killings, but that several hitherto unconsidered and scarcely credible connections link the murders to a single perpetrator. In pursuing his case, Rivers has to contend with an ambitious, career-minded Chief of Police, who will stop at nothing to make a name for himself, sacrificing not only Rivers but also his own colleagues along the way. Set against a backdrop of the Humber and the long and violent destruction of Hull's once-cherished fishing industry, Robert Edric reveals a world of exploitation and ambition; a world of old men who burnish their festering grievances and vanities; and a world of long-suppressed but finally uncontainable brutality, in this final volume of a trilogy of outstanding and acclaimed contemporary noir.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3)
84% buy the item featured on this page:
Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3) 3.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.19
Cradle Song
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Cradle Song 3.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.99

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Hull noir, 16 Jun 2005
By N. Quantrill (Hull, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Swan Song (Hardcover)
'Swan Song' is the third and final part of Robert Edric's 'cycle' trilogy. Although Edric does not describe himself as crime-fiction writer per-se, he skilfully demonstrates the strength of the genre. Although crime-fiction is generally criticised for not being 'literary' enough, Edric uses it as a vehicle with which to explore contemporary society. 'Swan Song' tackles head-on issues of prostitution and drug addiction, as well as taking a hard look at the consequences of the loss of the fishing industry on Hull.

Using Hull and the East Riding as a backdrop, private investigator Leo Rivers is hired to investigate the murder of a local prostitute by the mother of the chief witness. From this premise, Edric constructs a tight plot and as more murders are committed, Rivers is drawn into the police investigation for a possible serial murderer. Revealing a grim of loss and betrayal, the story raises questions about morality, complicity and culpability.

Edric is particularly successful at unpicking the motives of some of the story's main characters. Rivers tender relationship with prostitute, Emily Carr, is particularly poignant and thought provoking. His depiction of Chief Superintendent Lister, the man in charge of the hunt for the killer, adds an interesting sub-plot. Lister is a man who stops at little to further his own career ambitions, even if it means jeopardising the investigation, and this tension is skilfully drawn out.

However, the series' lead character, Rivers, is a little too weakly sketched. Due to Edric's sparse use of prose and description, the reader is given little clue as to how Rivers is motivated, other than by the paradox of him being a paid private investigator and of him being a private individual looking for some sense of a morally correct outcome. As the novel sets great stock in inviting the reader to consider the motives of its main characters, this is disappointing.

'Swan Song' is a fast paced crime thriller that is never short of being highly readable, despite its shortcomings. Edric is suitably skilled at providing clever plot twists and turns in all the correct places before the storyline is satisfactorily resolved. What stops Edric from joining the upper echelon of crime fiction writers is the relative lack of characterisation and a plot reliance on improbable opportunism. However, there is much to commend and as with all such crime fiction series, a growing familiarisation by the author with his lead character will lead to stronger novels in the future.

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