The Art of Dying is the latest in the DI Westphall series by Douglas Lindsay. DI Westphall has moved to quiet town of Dingwall on the Scottish coast. During his investigation into three murders that leave plenty of questions as to how they are connected, he is plagued with mental messages driving him to deal with how the deadly force he used in his past work has affected him psychologically. The book is part of a series, but makes an excellent stand alone read.
The author has a distinct writing style that follows the main character’s thoughts, an old style detective noir, hard boiled and unsentimental. Some of DI Westphall’s thoughts and dreams seemed a bit disjointed at first as he processes them. His confusion about them was a major part of the storyline. Because they fit the storyline I didn’t mind that there were a few stop reading and think moments. Although I see how some readers may find this distracting. Ultimately the author does make clear what is going on with DI Westphall’s dreams in one short paragraph!
Overall, the author wove the murder investigation and subplots well, pulling what was important together in the ending, and leaving a few openings to continue the series. My rating is 4 Stars: I really liked it! There were a couple of spots where the main character was a bit long on reflection. For reference my version of a 5 star review is “I absolutely loved it! It will stay with me for a long time and/or I would read it again in the future. Highly recommended.”
As a reviewer for NetGalley, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
