Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean

Narrated by Gary Furlong

OMG, this book! My good friend Em has been nagging me to read Bitter Legacy ever since it came out (in 2016) and I’ve honestly been intending to read it… but time and other commitments have conspired against me and I just haven’t got to it. So when I saw it was coming out in audio I eagerly snapped it up for review and am happy to report that it’s every bit as good as Em said it was. It’s a complex, brilliantly written and constructed combination of mystery and seriously fucked-up, angsty romance, Gary Furlong’s narration is superb and I was completely captivated by all fourteen-plus hours of it.

Detective Sergeant James Henderson is one of the Met’s (Metropolitan Police) rising stars. He’s on the professional fast-track, his instinct and ability to think his way around and through complicated situations contributing to a high success rate, and his modesty and congenial personality give rise to strong and comfortable relationships with his colleagues. He loves what he does and feels he’s in a better place professionally than he’s ever been… which is something of a contrast to his personal life, where he lacks confidence and is still smarting from the pain of his father’s rejection two years earlier after James finally came out and told him he intended to pursue a different career to the one expected of him.

Working as part of the South Kensington Murder Investigation Team, James is called to the scene of the gruesome murder of a young woman found dead in the hallway of her Knightsbridge home. An initial inspection of the crime scene reveals little that appears to be of relevance, although James does find a note of an address in Kensington, and heads over there the following day to see if he can find out the nature of the connection between the victim and the residents of 22 Selworth Gardens. When he arrives, he’s not surprised to see that there are several flats at the address and decides to start with the ground floor flat and work upwards. When he pushes the bell and is invited up to the first floor, he realises he’s made a mistake – but before he can identify himself and explain his presence there, the intercom shuts off and the door opens, so James makes his way up. He’s not pleased when he’s kept waiting by the occupant of the flat and is about to go downstairs to knock on doors when a voice behind him greets him and James finds himself looking at the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.

Photographer Ben Morgan has clearly assumed that James is one of the many who has answered his advert for a flat-mate. Although James does happen to be looking for somewhere else to live, he quickly proceeds to interview Ben to see if there is any connection between him and the murdered woman. When it appears there isn’t one, he leaves – but not before mentioning his own flat-hunting and asking if perhaps Ben might call him if none of the other applicants works out. It’s rather irregular, but the flat is beautiful and probably out of his league anyway. Just like Ben.

I’m not going to say more about the plot other than that it’s clever and utterly brilliant, and that the author really keeps listeners on their toes. One murder becomes two, and then more, and James is convinced that there must be something linking them to each other – he just can’t quite make that all-important connection.

Even more compelling than the procedural storyline is the complicated and difficult relationship that develops between James and Ben. James may be confident and successful professionally, but when it comes to personal relationships, he’s somewhat naïve, and (according to his last girlfriend) “emotionally innocent”; he’s always known he’s gay but has repressed it in an attempt to be what his father expected him to be, so while he’s had relationships, they’ve all been with women. He quickly develops a crush on the gorgeous Ben, who is a kind, funny and charming bloke as well as being lovely to look at, and it doesn’t take long for that crush to turn into something deeper. James is in seventh heaven when it seems that Ben may return his feelings – but his hopes soon come crashing down around him and he has to face up to the fact that he’s in love with a man who will never be his.

Before I go any further, I have to point out something that may be a deal-breaker for some, which is that Ben isn’t faithful to James while they’re sleeping together. BUT – Ben makes no secret of the fact that he’s promiscuous and isn’t about to change, and even though James knows this, he still can’t resist falling into bed with Ben and… hoping. James wants a monogamous relationship and Ben knows this – but he can’t keep his hands off James any more than James can keep his off Ben… both men are upfront about what they want, and know those things are diametrically opposed – and yet the pull between them is too strong to deny or resist. It’s a recipe for disaster. There were times I just wanted to slap James upside the head and tell him to get out and that he deserved better, but the author writes his thoughts and feelings so well that it’s easy to understand exactly why he acts as he does. And even though the story is told entirely from James’ PoV, Ms. Maclean does a terrific job of fleshing out Ben’s character and revealing him to be an entirely complex personality and – amazingly – making it difficult to hate him, despite all the hurt he causes.

The book’s setting – south west London – is vividly detailed and I loved the descriptions of the locale, the architecture and the transport (as a Londoner, I’m always pleased when an author can bring the place to life in a way that feels fully authentic) and I was also impressed with the way she portrays the workings of the case and the pressure James and the team are under.

Gary Furlong is a favourite narrator of mine, and I was really excited when I learned he’d signed up to narrate this book. He delivers an almost flawless performance, differentiating effectively between a large-ish cast of characters, providing convincing female voices and using a variety of regional accents where called for (he’s a dab hand with a Scottish brogue, as used for James’ friend and colleague Alec). Mr. Furlong brings exactly the right degree of emotional clout to the more harrowing scenes between James and Ben, as well as capturing the essence of both characters extremely well. I’ve had the occasional issue in the past with the way he reads narrative passages, feeling he could sometimes have been a little more animated, but I have absolutely no complaints on that score here. Everything about his performance works on every level, and I’d count this as one of his best to date.

A clever, compelling mystery skilfully combined with an angsty and powerfully intense romance, Bitter Legacy is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to this year. I can’t wait for the audio release of the next book, Object of Desire, early in 2020.

Caz

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