Muerte de una asesina relata los pensamientos de Billy Tyler, un policía de mediana edad, que pasa la noche en un hospital de Suffolk, custodiando el cuerpo de Myra Hindley, una asesina famosa en la vida real. La elección de Rupert Thomson de una asesina real le permite explorar y analizar cuestiones complejas sobre el carácter inglés. Sin embargo, ésta no es una novela sobre Hindley sino acerca del propio Billy Tyler, unos de los policías-personajes más convincentes que ha dado la literatura.Billy Tyler no pasa por un buen momento. Su carrera profesional se ha visto limitada al ser incapaz de asumir nuevas responsabilidades. Además su vida sentimental y familiar está deteriorada por la mala relación con su suegro y su dificultad de tratar con su hija discapacitada. Haciendo gala de una gran habilidad, Rupert Thomson crea un drama que se desarrolla en las doce horas que Billy Tyler pasa con el cadáver de Myra Hindley. La disección que hace de la mente de un hombre vulgar es tan profunda e interesante que la presencia del cadáver de Hindley quede relegada a un segundo plano. Todo el misterio de esta novela gira entorno a los secretos de Billy, aquellos pensamientos tan íntimos y -en ocasiones- oscuros, que sólo se pueden explicar a un muerto en mitad de una noche.Pasadas las horas, y en un giro narrativo arriesgado pero magistral, el fantasma de la asesina se aparece ante Billy. Lejos de perder los nervios y dejarse llevar por el terror, Billy entabla una conversación con el fantasma de la asesina.

A police constable assigned to morgue duty to watch over the body of a woman who was convicted of torture and murder of children spends the night contemplating his lost youth, lost love, crumbling marriage, his daughter with Down's Syndrome, his own transgressions: in short, he re-lives most of his life.

This is one of those British novels where there is no story involved; rather, the novel uses its 'a day in the life of' scenario to throw open the most intimate moments and thoughts of the protagonist without any real beginning or end to the story. There is no plot here, and not really worth reading. ( )

It is difficult to know what to expect from this book - my cover is a half-shot of the famous Myra Hindley picture, and the quotes on the blurb talk about "a chiller to read with the lights on" and "an extraordinary moment in crime history".
I did not think it was either of those things, more the story of a policeman's life and the difficulties he faces now in staying married when the first spark has gone and in bringing up a child who needs a lot of support and attention.
For me, this was a book which struggled to find a voice - Billy the policeman was the common thread but it was too fragmented and unfocussed for me.
I am in the minority here though - it is easy to read so worth a try - you may feel differently. ( )

An unusual but compelling read. Rupert Thomson uses the death of Myra Hindley in 2002 as the background for this novel. Her death plays a part of the novel but the main focus is the narrator, PC Billy Tyler. Billy is a police officer and is asked to guard her body in a hospital mortuary in Suffolk. The narrative takes place over a twelve hour night shift and during this lonely time the reader is witness to Billy’s reflection on his life from childhood to modern times.

Aspects of it don’t flow as well as others, for me his relationship with childhood friend Raymond overshadowed an exceptional storyline yet it was a necessary part of the plot. He explores in detail his relationship with Sue his wife and we also witness an intimate and emotional analysis of his relationship with his daughter Emma. A little too much was made of previous relationships but as with Raymond they were necessary to give the reader some understanding of the choices Billy made in his life.

The novel is easy to read and will be interesting to those who have an understanding of this time in crime history. If all the texts this author writes are written as well as this, then it could be worth hunting them out. The only reason I’ve awarded this book 4 stars instead of 5 was simply because I tired of reading about Raymond. ( )

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