The Exiled by William Meikle

The Exiled by William Meikle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When several young girls are abducted from various locations in Edinburgh, Detective John Granger and his brother Alan, a reporter, investigate the cases from different directions. The abductor is cunning, always one step ahead, and the only clue he leaves behind at each scene are the brutalized corpses of black swans.

When the brothers' investigations finally converge at a farmhouse in Central Scotland, they catch a glimpse of where the girls have been taken, a place both far away yet close enough to touch. A land known throughout Scottish history with many names: Faerie, Elfheim, and the Astral Plane. It is a place of legend and horror, a myth. But the brothers soon discover it's real, and, to catch the abductor, they will have to cross over themselves.

To catch a killer, John and Alan Granger will have to battle the Cobbe, a strange and enigmatic creature that guards the realm, a creature of horrific power that demands a heavy price for entry into its world. The fate of both realms hangs in the balance…and time is running out...

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It’s a fast pacing book, The beginning before you learned the truth about the other world was best when everything still was a mystery. I liked the thought about another world that is guarded by a mythical creature. 2/3 of the book was good. They are racing against the clock to stop the killer from finishing the sacrifices’ and becoming too powerful to stop.

The last part of the book was unfortunately not that interesting. You learn the “truth” about the world. Well, as much as it is possible to learn and you get a final fight between the brothers and the killers. But my interest in the book faded the last 1/3 of the book. I just couldn’t care less what happened to Alan and John.

I wanted to know more about the other world, where it just humans that had crossed over to the other side or had it been another race (or races) of people living there before. Who build the fortress and the cathedral? What’s the story about Jonas and James? What is so special about Alan, John, and Sandra that makes the three of them able pass over to the other side easy? I wanted to know more about Simon and Cobbe, how did Simon learn about Cobbe, did he just invent the story about Cobbe or did someone tell him about the creature? Too many questions, too little answers for my taste.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!