One would never have thought that Ruth Dugdall, author of The Woman Before Me (winner of the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger) could write an even more sinister and spine-chilling book than her lauded first crime novel, but with The Sacrificial Man she has done just that.
Once again featuring Probation Officer Cate Austin, Dugdall’s new novel – inspired by real events – delves deeply into the darker recesses of the human mind and questions that age-old philosophical dilemma: the sanctity of life.
In The Sacrificial Man, Austin is asked to suggest a sentence for criminal Alice Mariani, who has pleaded guilty to assisting her lover’s death under rather extreme circumstances. The problem is that Alice shows no remorse whatsoever; she believes she was simply fulfilling a romantic promise to the late Mr Smith. It is up to Cate to probe deeper into Alice’s psyche and try to understand why she agreed to such a macabre dying wish – eating Smith’s flesh.
In the first few pages Dugdall uses Alice’s voice in a direct appeal to the reader, asking you to be her ‘true judge’ and essentially choose sides.
‘Others are coming to judge me. Professionals will come and demand that I tell them my story. Whatever they conclude, bound by conventional thought, by their own mediocre experience of love, my deed will outlive me. Time alone will prove what is right. They can’t force this tale from me and I won’t trust them. But I’ve chosen you. You will listen. You are my judge, the true arbiter. And we have time …’
It is a shrewd narrative ploy on Dugdall’s behalf, as is her decision to choose the life and works of Romantic poet John Keats as Alice’s emotional mirror. Alice’s preoccupation with Keats’ love poetry enriches our sense of the macabre, obsessive and nonsexual ‘love’ between Smith and Alice, and allows us to see Alice’s preoccupation with Keats as a distorted affirmation for her actions.
‘More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above…’
This chilling portrayal of Alice is skilfully emphasised by the characters’ transition between first and third person – Alice tells the reader her present story while being a character in her own past. And once again, as in The Woman Before Me, Cate is on the periphery, but crucial in keeping the reader grounded.
This continuous transitioning between first and third person works well in leading the reader deeper into the disturbed recesses of Alice’s mind. But it also disrupts the rhythm of the story, and is at times disorientating.
Dugdall’s connection and insight into her female characters’ lives; her depiction of those pivotal childhood moments which govern the adults they one day become, is reminiscent of such writers as Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve. Her ability to translate real events into a gripping, chilling and enthralling work of fiction makes Dugdall a unique crime writer, ensuring that her first-rate crime fiction is well worth reading.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Sacrificial Man
By Ruth Dugdall
Paperback, 281 pages, RRP $29.99
ISBN: 9781922079091
Text Publishing
