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I was honestly pretty surprised by the twist that McMurdo was actually an undercover inspector. When the flashback began I was pretty sure that McMurdo would turn out to be Douglas (which turned out to be correct). I figured that if he was on the run, it was likely that he changed his name. I thought that Doyle was going to make it so that people were after Douglas for a different reason, I completely didn’t expect it to be because he “betrayed” all of them. Knowing all of the crazy things that McMurdo/Douglas went through earlier in his life, it makes sense that he always carried a gun around with him and that he never felt at ease.
I thought it was pretty cool how McMurdo was able to easily get in with the Scowrers and quickly gain popularity. The fact that he was an undercover agent made it all the more interesting as it showed just how good he was at his job. The only thing that I wonder is if he really had to divulge the fact that he was undercover to the Scowrers when he trapped them all in his house. I feel like it would have been possible to have the cops arrest him along with the others (but he wouldn’t actually be under arrest). That way they wouldn’t have wanted to come after him once they got out of prison. I suppose that they might have suspected that he ratted on them, but then again, everyone was rather fond of McMurdo, so maybe he could’ve finessed it to where they didn’t suspect him.
I really liked the character Brother Morris. I didn’t find him particularly interesting during the story and only saw him as a potential traitor, which is exactly what Doyle wanted me to think. Brother Morris is the only person that knows that a detective is on their case, but he’s the person who the Scowrers trust the least. McMurdo is the detective and should be the one who is trusted the least, but he’s trusted the most out of anyone. The fact that the Scowrers put all of their trust in the wrong person was pretty tragic, but it definitely made the story all the more interesting by adding a nice twist.
I also thought it was really intriguing how easily and swiftly McMurdo was able to climb the ranks of the Scowrers, surpassing even those who had been members for many more years than he. Looking back now, I guess this just proves how absolutely dedicated he was to his cause of taking down the group and how he would not allow any amount of pain or fear to get in his way.
ReplyDeleteI really like your questioning of Doyle's choice to have McMurdo reveal his identity to the group. I didn't think of this while reading originally, but you make an extremely valid point that his life afterwards would have been so much less stressful and dangerous. This is a very interesting idea to consider, especially in relation to McMurdo's "death" and if they would have figured it out and gone after him anyway.
Excellent points! I didn't see Douglas being McMurdo as quickly as you did, actually I was kind of surprised at the end of the novel when Doyle revealed that to all. I also agree with your points about McMurdo's aptitude for his work, and how well he played the game with the Scrowers without blowing his cover. And Brother Morris was also definitely the most rational member out of all of the Scrowers. Of course no one listens to him, but Doyle strategically places his character in the novel as a means to show the rational side of the story, compared to the murderous and intense nature of the Scrowers' actions in the novel.
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