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Off My RockerRecommendations from a Book NutBritish Detectives
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Why is it that the Brits seem more civilized than do we? Perhaps it's only Illusion brought about by reading too many Golden Era British detective novels. Certainly the England reflected in Kate Ross’s books is a far different one from that reflected in Marjorie Allingham’s and the England reflected in Anabel Donald’s is different – and grittier – still.
Below, are a few British ‘tecs for your reading pleasure.
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Dancers in Mourning, by
Marjorie Allingham
Our hero, Albert Campion, scion of a noble house, is one of the more interesting British detectives. He is described thus, "There was a certain vacuity in his expression which…lent his whole appearance an indefinable quality, so that those who knew him were apt to find him hard to recollect and impossible to describe." But behind his horn-rimmed spectacles lies a very sharp mind indeed. In this tale, pranks are being played on dancer Jimmy Sutane, star of London's Argosy Theatre. When they follow Sutane to his country home, it becomes apparent that someone is out to get him. He calls in Albert Campion who deals with a case that tests his mind, his nerves, and his heart. Uncommon Murder, by Anabel Donald Alex Tanner grew up in a series of foster homes while her mother resided in mental hospitals. Her solace has been detective novels such as those featuring Kenneth Millar’s Lew Archer, who, in her thirteen-year-old fantasies, she resolved to marry. She wanted to be a detective herself. As she grows up she leaves her childhood fantasy behind in favor of making a living as a freelance television researcher. Trying to drum up work, she comes across a real mystery involving the family of Lord Sherwin, murdered during a hunt ball at his lavish estate. The family governess will reveal all if Alex will use her skills to find out what happened to Sherwin’s granddaughter, Zara. Blinded by her preconceptions of what the lives of people with families, especially wealthy families, must be like, Alex delves into a harrowing series of events and nearly loses her life. Alex is troubled, cynical, smart-mouthed, vulnerable and a very likeable character. Cut to the Quick, by Kate Ross Let us return to yesteryear – 1820 to be precise - when Julian Kestrel, of dubious lineage but impeccable linen – in fact a dandy of the 1st degree, rescues an inexperienced and quite drunken young man from the gaming tables. No good deed goes unpunished. After that one meeting, the young man, Hugh Fontclair, asks Kestrel to be best man at his wedding and to spend the 2 weeks preceding that date at his family estate. Family discord escalates, murder is done and Kestrel finds himself investigating in self defense as official eyes are inclined to turn toward him and his manservant – a reformed pick-pocket. Other authors of British detective novels are Catherine Aird, Jo Bannister, Marjorie Eccles, and Ngaio Marsh. |
