The Death Pit

by Tony Strong

Book Overview

Scholar Terry Williams has come to Scotland to study the life of Catherine McCulloch, a 17th-century woman accused of "congress with the devil" and burned at the stake as a witch. But at the moment... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385333153
• ISBN13: 9780385333153
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 387 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

WOW!

Solid follow up to a very good debut. Strong plot, and a rabid page-turner. I did not put this down from the moment I picked it up and it was 23 of the most satisfying hours I ever spent with a mystery. The odd and obvious red herrings are thrown in for good measure but were entirely unnecessary, the end took me completely by suprise and I loved that. Tony Strong has done what is becoming increasingly more difficult; He breaks the mold of the standard who-dunnit and comes up with writing which is enthralling and fresh. I don't like to give away plot lines in books but I will give one bit of warning here. This novel contains a rape scene that is so graphic and disturbing I had to skip through it. But aside from those few pages the book is two thumbs way up!

I wish he'd written more...

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"!

Gruesome story line, but very difficult to put down.

I tend to steer away from books with too much violence, sordid sex, and especially torture, but I could not put this book down. It was a fascinating study of witches now and in the 17th century. The murder mystery itself kept me turning the pages, along with all the interesting characters in the book. I haven't read Mr. Strong's first book, but will definitely have to pick it up.

Great sequal to THE POISON TREE

Oxford Scholar Therese "Terry" Williams decides to go to Inverness to complete her research into Catherine McCullough, an alleged seventeenth century witch burned at the stake. Upon arriving in town, Terry's research efforts are sidetracked when she learns of the mutilated corpse of a local resident Donna Fairhead , found in a pig burial site. Terry soon finds out that the victim belonged to a Wiccan coven.Terry sees similarities between the death of Donna to that of Catherine, though three centuries separate the pair. She begins to make inquires to see if the link can be brought into full focus. As she digs deeper, Terry realizes that the seventeenth century Scottish destruction of witches appears on the brink of repeating itself unless she can unlock the secrets that Catherine has left behind in her letters.THE DEATH PIT is a wonderful amateur sleuth tale with elements of a historical mystery. It stars a brave heroine not afraid to uncover the truth regardless of where it may lead. The exciting story line centers on an interesting who-done-it with much of the clues occurring in the past. As with her first novel, THE POISON TREE, this tale is clearly owned by Terry. Tony Strong makes a strong case that he is heading to the top of the sub-genre with this invigorating novel.Harriet Klausner