Burnt Bones

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

Michael Slade’s earlier books feature some unusually bizarre
psychopaths as protagonists. In Burnt Bones, the pattern continues in
the form of Mephisto, who has sold his soul to the devil (and even named
his powerboat “Faust”). Mephisto lives on one of the Gulf Islands
that lie between Vancouver Island and mainland Washington State. On the
island, he pursues his hobbies: raising insect-eating plants,
researching the ancient history of the British Isles (especially
Scotland), and collecting archeological artifacts.

Mephisto becomes obsessed by the idea that a relic from the days of the
Picts’ assaults on Hadrian’s wall was stolen by a Campbell during
the Highland wars. In an effort to find the relic, he kidnaps and
tortures two local Campbells. They are reported missing, and their
bodies are eventually found, one in British Columbia and the other in
Washington State. The RCMP, the Washington State Police, and eventually
the FBI are called in.

Interspersed with the story of transborder police cooperation is a
review of ancient British history, with an emphasis on the stone circles
built by the ancients (particularly Stonehenge). Mephisto delights in
taunting the police, and more violence ensues before a resolution is
reached. This meticulously researched thriller is Slade at his horrific
best.