Broken Harbour

“I hit the M1 and opened up wide, letting the Beemer do her thing. Richie glanced at the speedometer, but I knew without looking that I was bang on the limit, not a single mile over, and he kept his mouth shut. Probably he was thinking what a boring bollix I was. Plenty of people think the same thing. All of them are teenagers, mentally if not physically. Only teenagers think that boring is bad. Adults, grown men and women who’ve been around the block a few times, know that boring is a gift straight from God. Life has more than enough excitement up its sleeve, ready to hit you with as soon as you’re not looking, without you adding to the drama. If Richie didn’t know that already, he was about to find out.”

This passage introduces the underlying reason Scorcher is characterized by control in all things and establishes the theme of Using Appearance to Shape Reality. The outward items like the physical appearance and driving the right car are part of this overall belief that life has “enough excitement up its sleeve.” The passage also foreshadows how Richie will change over the course of the investigation, if he doesn’t know it already.

“‘Grand,’ said the uniform. He would have done the chicken dance if I’d told him to, he was so relieved that someone was taking this thing off his hands. I could see him itching to get down to his local and throw back a double whiskey in one gulp. I didn’t want to be anywhere except inside that house. ‘Gloves,’ I said to Richie. ‘Shoe covers.’ I was already flipping mine out of my pocket. He fumbled for his, and we started up the drive. The long boom and shush of the sea rushed up and met us head-on, like a welcome or a challenge. Behind us, those shrieks were still coming down like hammer-blows.”

This passage characterizes murder detectives as different from uniformed police officers, as Scorcher wants to be on the scene of the murder, rather than desperate to get away from it. It also subtly shows the difference between the experienced detective, Scorcher, and the novice, Riche, through gesture. Scorcher flips his gloves and shoe covers out of his pocket deftly, while Richie fumbles for his. French uses simile in this passage to describe sensory details: She likens the sounds of the sea to a welcome or a challenge, but those sounds meld with Fiona’s wails, which are described as strong and harsh like hammer-blows. Vivid auditory details that are both natural and human are presented similarly, suggesting the connection between the landscape and what happened in it.