I would like to thank Netgalley and Allison & Busby for an advance copy of The Figure in The Photograph, a historical novel set in Glasgow in 1898.

Photographer Juan Camarón returns to his birth city of Glasgow from Cuba and accidentally solves a murder while experimenting with timer delayed photography. As a result he is asked to help in the hunt for a serial killer.

The Figure in The Photograph is an interesting read, chock full of historical detail on poverty in Glasgow and photography techniques. The novel has a good premise with the use of modern technology in a field that, at the time, relied on human interaction and experience. Unfortunately I am a crime fiction aficionado so the majority of the novel seemed tedious and superfluous to me, bogged down in detail that had nothing to do with the crime investigation. I did, however, enjoy the ending which the slog to get there did not herald. It was clever, quite exciting and more complex that I would have guessed. On that subject, guessing I also got the killer’s identity totally wrong.

I like the idea of placing an outsider at the heart of the novel as it lends a certain objectivity to any assessment of the conditions and milieu, although the first person narrative slightly dulls this. Juan Camarón was born In Glasgow, which explains his return for an inheritance, but spent most of his life in Spain. I can’t say that I saw anything particularly Spanish in his attitude or far that matter anything especially Victorian in his behaviour as he gads about Glasgow with a young, single woman.

The Figure in The Photograph is not really to my taste but it is well written and will appeal, I think, to readers of a more literary bent.

Juan and his father are wandering Cuba taking photographs of buildings when the war with Spain takes place and Juan's father is killed. Through a series photos that his father took at the time of his death Juan discovers it wasn't an accident. Juan heads back to Scotland where his mother's family lives. While there he realizes that serial photography can reveal interesting information. He and another man invent a timer for the camera but there are complications with their partnership.

Writing and editing books is an art form, and as many books as I have read, I know I don't have the knack to write one. There are serious issues with the flow of this book, it never draws you into the story, and you always know you are just reading a book. The premise was good, and I wanted to like the book, but it just didn't happen for me. I did read an uncorrected proof, so maybe in the editing it will improve. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #TheFigureinthe Photograph, I'm sorry, I couldn't have given it a better review.

The Novel is very easy to read and beginning was pretty good, however going forward I did find it very un-engaging. None of the characters seem to have a definition, even the main character.. I wouldn't be able to tell you anything about him really, nevermind the rest of them. Story doesn't seem to keep you hooked or wandering what is going to happen next. You're just reading through it waiting for something exciting to happen, but it doesn't.. And this whole invention of timer for the camera helping to catch a serial killer just sounds more than absurd to me. Description was promising, but sadly the novel itself has disappointed me.