A Place of Execution (original 1999; edition 2001)

by Val McDermid

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On a December night in 1963, 13-year-old Alison Carter took her dog for a walk, and was never seen again. For newly-promoted Detective Inspector George Bennett, the case launched a superstar career. Bennett's obsession with the case turned up enough evidence to hang his suspect even though her body was never found. Filmmaker Catherine Heathcote turns her camera to Bennett and struggles to understand why questions from forty years ago have different answers today.… (more)

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Member:	superblondgirl
Title:	A Place of Execution
Authors:	Val McDermid
Info:	St. Martin's Paperbacks (2001), Edition: First Edition, Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
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Work Information

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid (1999)

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▾Member reviews

English (35) Spanish (2) Dutch (2) Swedish (2) Italian (1) All languages (42)

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Showing 1-5 of 35 (next | show all)

Excellent writer

samba7 | May 23, 2024 |

i really didn't like this book, and won't read any more of this writer. admittedly, the resolution of the mystery was ingenious (and in truth the author wrote it from a story that someone else told her, so no wonder it never really felt like hers) but i solved it at the beginning of the book, which i try never to do. meanwhile the writing was stiff, and so were the characters too. others may of course have enjoyed it thoroughly, and i wish them well. (

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macha | Feb 7, 2024 |

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2023/08/2023113-place-of-execution-val-mcdermid.h... (

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tamaranth | Aug 21, 2023 |

This is a standalone by Val McDermid, set in the Peak District of England. Most of the action takes place during 1963, bracketed by subsequent events in 1998. I'm a McDermid fan in general, but this one stood out for me especially because of the way she describes Derbyshire and the world in general in 1963. (

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BarbKBooks | Aug 15, 2022 |

A beautifully crafted police procedural within a highly entertaining cast of characters. Val McDermid can not only hold the reader's attention with an edge of the seat thriller but expertly disguises the real human story behind the killing of Alison Carter until the closing chapters. Her writing style is nothing short of brilliant showing once again why she has few equal to her as a crime writer. (

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runner56 | Sep 5, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
McDermid, Val	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Brinkman, Sophie	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Durand, Gérard-Henri	Traduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Glynn, Paddy	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Grinde, Heidi	Overs.	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Martín, Francisco	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Paddy Glynn	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Page, Michael	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Struys, Wouter van der	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Styron, Doris	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Publisher Series

Knaur Taschenbuch (61911)

St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries

Is contained in

Wire in the Blood | A Place of Execution | The Last Temptation by Val McDermid

A Place of Execution | The Distant Echo | The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid

Is abridged in

Hannelore Hoger liest "Ein Ort für die Ewigkeit" von Val McDermid by Val McDermid

Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher 238 : Ein Ort für die Ewigkeit. Julie und Romeo. Feindliche Übernahme. Wiedersehn in alter Frische. by Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest Select Editions 1999: The White House Connection • A Walk to Remember • Ice Reich • A Place of Execution by Reader's Digest

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Winner – Mystery/Thriller – 2000)

Anthony Award (Winner – Novel – 2001)

Barry Award (Winner – British Novel – 2000)

Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist – Gold/Silver Dagger – 1999)

Dilys Award (Winner – 2001)

Edgar Award (Nominee – Novel – 2001)

Macavity Award (Winner – Novel – 2001)

Notable Lists

Time Magazine’s 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

A Place of Execution

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1999

People/Characters

George Bennett (Detective Inspector)

Important places

Derbyshire, England, UK

Pavilion Gardens

Manchester Evening Chronicle, Manchester, England, UK

Duke of York (pub)

Scardale, Derbyshire, England, UK (fictional)

(show all 7 items)

Important events

Related movies

Place of Execution (2008 | IMDb)

Epigraph

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 precints 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 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

Dedication

To my evil twin; laissez les bon temps rouler, cher.

First words

Like Alison Carter, I was born in Derbyshire in 1950.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Walters, Minette

Original language

Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Englisch

Canonical DDC/MDS

823.914

Canonical LCC

PR6063.C37

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

A Place of Execution

▾Book descriptions

On a December night in 1963, 13-year-old Alison Carter took her dog for a walk, and was never seen again. For newly-promoted Detective Inspector George Bennett, the case launched a superstar career. Bennett's obsession with the case turned up enough evidence to hang his suspect even though her body was never found. Filmmaker Catherine Heathcote turns her camera to Bennett and struggles to understand why questions from forty years ago have different answers today.

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