Crime Fiction

There’s a flurry of crime fiction being devoured here at the moment, and this is a new title that I wasn’t expecting to be able to add to my read list quite so soon. The latest instalment from Richard Osman and The Thursday Murder Club – The Last Devil to Die. This book was released less than two months ago and amazingly I managed to pick up a copy of the hardback in a charity shop only a month after the release date. I’m guessing it was someone very keen to read it who did so rather quickly rather than it being someone who didn’t enjoy the book!

If you’ve read any of the first three books in the Thursday Murder Club series then you will know just how adorable the main characters are. To many of us Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim feel like old friends and their relationships with each other, and those around them – like my favourite Bogdan – are utterly delightful. Osman’s character development is simply brilliant. If you’ve not yet discovered these feisty pensions and their friends then you really do have a delightful time ahead of you.

One of the things I like most about the Thursday Murder Club titles is the amount of humour they contain. Again I found myself laughing out loud at some points of the book and on several occasions reading passages out loud to my husband as I just had to share how funny they were.

If you’ve not tried Osman’s books then please don’t be put off by the humour in there. Alongside the laughs they contain a brilliant bit of crime fiction. Lots of twists and turns and plenty to keep your brain active trying to work out who is guilty and who isn’t when you’re not reading.

What sets The Last Devil to Die apart from the other titles in the series is, for me, the beautiful compassion around dementia and love that is a thread through the whole book. The subject is treated so delicately and respectfully, yet at the same time Osman manages to address some really difficult facts about living with and loving someone with dementia. His writing in those particular parts of the book is stunningly. It’s full of emotion, but at the same time really accessible writing too. I know some people talk about how he’s writing for the masses and has only seen success as an author because of his pre-existing fame, but when you read these sections I defy anyone who says he isn’t a skilled author. It’s beautiful.

As for the crime part of story itself – what a wonderful tale it is once more. Lots of action, some great new characters and an insight into the darker side of the antiques world. And a nice mention for the WI too. Although I’d love to see Richard Osman take Elizabeth and Joyce along to a real modern day WI – I think Joyce would be struggling to describe a night of burlesque dancing or making nipple tassels in her diary afterwards!

Richard Osman has said he’s going to have a bit of a break from writing about the Thursday Murder Club and move on to some new characters for a while before coning back to Coopers Chase. Whilst I can’t wait for him to return to see what they all get up to next, I’m also intrigued and excited to see what new characters he’ll come up with. He’s said it will feature a father-in-law / daughter-in-law detective duo so fingers crossed they don’t let us down.

If you’ve read the other Thursday Murder Club titles then please do pick up The Last Devil To Die next – you won’t regret it. And if you’re yet to visit Coopers Chase where Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim live then what are you waiting for? You don’t have to read the books in order, but it is the best way to do so. The first book is a tad slower than the other three, but that allows a bit more time fro the characters to develop and by book 2 they are racing along!

The Last Devil To Die is available online to buy here. It is currently only available in hardback or airport large size paperback. The normal sized paperback will be out on 9th May 2024. The other Thursday Murder Club titles in order are:

Disclaimer: I paid for all my copies of the Thursday Murder Club books – or received them as gifts from family. Links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links and if you click through and buy anything from them it will cost you no more than if you went to Amazon under your own steam, but I will receive a small bit of commission from your purchase. Thank you for any purchases made.

Over the years I have read a lot of crime fiction. Everything from vintage “cosy” crimes from the British Library Crime Classics series, through to gritty American detectives running round cities after serial killers, but I’ve never before read anything quite like The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

A different style of crime fiction

It’s not so much the setting of her novel ( an English town with events centred around an amateur dramatics society) but the way the book is presented that sets it apart from others. Rather than a narrative, the book is basically a series of different forms of communication between characters. Let me explain.

The book starts with a quick covering letter from a QC (Roderick Tanner), who is a senior partner at a legal firm, to two women – Femi and Charlotte. It’s a brief note basically saying that it’s best that they don’t know anything else before reading what he has enclosed. He points out that only a limited number of emails, texts and messages could be recovered so the correspondence is not complete, however what there is is presented in roughly chronological order. He’s also included extras like newspaper clippings and social media activity. And that’s it. As the reader you know nothing more as you start this book.

The second page is a text message conversation between Femi and Charlotte where it seems they are as puzzled as the reader about why they are not being provided with any background. After that all of us (readers, Femi and Charlotte) are just left to start reading the information provided.

Reader or researcher?

For the reader it’s a strange experience. A bit like starting off a research project, trying to keep track of who everyone is, who is saying what, and to whom. About a dozen or so pages in there’s another note from the QC as he’s asked his secretary to draw up a list of some of the people involved and their relationships to each other. This is a page where I found myself folding over the corner and referring back to it frequently as I continued to read email exchanges between characters.

As the book continues the reader gets some text conversations between Femi and Charlotte as they read the pack alongside us, and some updates from Tanner as he produces additional information and documentation at various points. You’re not always sure what you’re reading about, or why you’re reading it, but I found my interest piqued and I struggled to pull myself away from all the emails and other messages between people. It’s far from a relaxing read as a result, but more like a puzzle book where you’re playing detective to try to find out who did what. However it takes a while to even understand what has been done! It’s an incredibly clever way of twisting the genre of crime fiction.

Who did what, and to whom?

Towards the end Femi and Charlotte start to draw their theories together and produce papers suggesting what might have happened, who was guilty and why. They have a few different theories and as they are presented it can be a bit tricky to keep remembering what you actually know, and what is just being suggested by the women. Tanner also keeps popping back to explain why they are working on this case and from what angle.

I realise that much of what I am saying here will sound very mysterious, and it has to remain that way if you’re going to read the book yourself. As Tanner said himself to Femi and Charlotte at the start, it is best to “know nothing” before reading everything. What I will say though is that if you strip away the way in which the “story” here is presented, there is underneath it all an excellent crime fiction story that I think would stand on its own two feet well against other books of the genre in terms of characters and plot line. It’s slightly twee in places, but when you see how popular Richard Osman’s books are you know there is a very definite market for that type of modern cosy crime fiction book.

A Christmas Sequel

I’m delighted to spot in a recent Waterstones newsletter that there is a Christmas sequel out this year – called The Christmas Appeal – in which a now retired Roderick Tanner gets back in touch with Femi and Charlotte as the am dram group at the centre of The Appeal appear to have found themselves tied up in another crime. If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in on Christmas Day then I’m guessing this will be the perfect book!

Where to buy The Appeal

The Appeal is available from all good bookshops and you can buy it online here. Janice Hallett has written a total of four titles now and call can be found here.

Disclaimer: I was handed a copy of The Appeal by my mum, who herself bought it as it was the chosen book for a book group on a cruise she went on earlier this year. Links in this post to Amazon are affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon from one and make a purchase it will cost you no more than usual, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for any purchases that you do make.

Back in April I spoke about my personal challenge of trying to read the whole of Ian Rankin’s Rebus series again from the start, and, in-between other books, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. It’s strange though because in a way Rebus feels like an old friend, but the early Rebus books don’t quite have the fully formed character that we all got used to. Then again, they say that life’s experiences shape a person and I’m going back and seeing exactly what shaped John Rebus into the man he is in those later books.

When I started with Knots and Crosses it felt strange going back and meeting him all over again. Then the second book, Hide and Seek (which I don’t seem to have written about), is a whole different type of book again. It delved into the occult a bit and if I’m totally honest I found it a bit slow going in parts. The third book – the one I searched charity shops for for absolutely ages – Tooth and Nail couldn’t have been more different though. The pace of this book felt incredibly fast, even more so compared to the dragging of Hide and Seek, and it felt like I got through it in mere days, leaving me hungry for more of Rebus’ adventures.

Down South

The most striking thing about Tooth and Nail is that it’s not set in Scotland. Rebus has come south to London to help the Met Police catch a serial killer and, apart from a day trip flying back to Glasgow to give evidence in court, all the action is set there. And boy is there a lot of action!

The hunt for serial killer Wolfman sees Rebus back in the same city as his ex-wife and daughter and I think Tooth and Nail strikes a really good balance between the drama that you’d expect in a crime fiction book alongside some really tender moments with Rebus’ thoughts about his old family and what he now misses. Certainly there is a vulnerability to him away from his familiar stomping ground that I don’t think we’ve seen before.

Gruesome and over the top?

One thing that really did surprise me in Tooth and Nail was just how gruesome it becomes in some of the descriptions of the actions of the serial killer Wolfman. Definitely more so than in the first two Rebus books. It felt a bit shocking in a way, but I now need to remind myself as to how much bloody detail Ian Rankin goes into in later books, as I simply can’t remember.

Without giving too much away, I can say the the main climax of the book results in a chase across central London taking in some of the major landmarks and finishing in a very high profile place indeed. Whilst it gave readers a really good image of where the action was taking place, at the same time it also felt rather unrealistic. I know Wolfman was supposedly one of London’s most prolific serial killers ever, but even still, this part of the book felt a bit more like a film setting than a book.

My thoughts

Out of the three Rebus books I’ve read so far this year, Tooth and Nail has to be my favourite as the pace of the story was much more like what I remember Rebus books to be like. I also think this is a story I’ve read before. One of Wolfman’s “calling cards” was definitely very familiar to me and with this second read I possibly looked more carefully at the clues along the way.

The book was originally released under the title Wolfman, and actually I think that first title helps you get a bit more ready for the gruesome scenes that the book contains. They certainly seemed horror-like in places and that’s the general vibe that the title Wolfman gives me. I’m still left wondering why this book is one of the hardest to find in charity shops though. Or maybe it’s just a quirk of the charity shops I’ve been looking in.

Tooth and Nail is available to buy online here.

Like Crime Fiction?

If you’re interested to see what other crime fictions I’ve been reading lately then you can see my reviews here.

Oh how I looked forward to this book. I loved Fathomless Riches when I read it years ago and follow Richard on Twitter and really enjoy his TV and radio appearances. As a crime fiction fan the promise of this book just seemed like a marriage made in heaven. But unfortunately, whilst I enjoyed Murder Before Evensong, I just didn’t love it like I hoped to. It’s such a shame, but I can’t quite put my finger on why it didn’t work for me.

Introducing Canon Daniel Clement

Murder Before Evensong is the first book in the Canon Daniel Clement series and there’s no doubt in where Richard found some of his inspiration for this main character. Daniel is Rector of Champton and has been in post there for eight years. He lives in the vicarage with his widowed mother Audrey and his two dachshunds. If you follow Richard at all you’ll know about his love of dachshunds.

In the book Daniel announced his plan to the parish to install a lavatory in his church. Not something that sounds too contentious, but at the same time something you can see some people getting their knickers in a twist about. Daniel didn’t realise just how much opposition he was going to receive in Champton though. Why are locals so against having a toilet handy for during those long sermons?

As Daniel tries to understand why it soon becomes apparent that the prospect of a new toilet isn’t the only problem. Anthony Bowness, cousin of Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton, is found murdered inside the church. Stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs left behind by Beth church flower arrangers. The police descend on Champton to try to find the murderer, but Daniel realises that understanding his local community will be the key to working out who is responsible.

Cosy crime fiction, but…

Murder Before Evensong has all the element of a classic English crime novel. A village setting with a member of the clergy involved, alongside a posh aristocratic family makes it sound like something from Cluedo or an Agatha Christie book. Being a man of the cloth, Rev Richard Coles obviously knows his religious stuff and there was a lot of “church stuff” in there. Bits about church services and practices and even references to the bible that I’m afraid passed me by a bit. As someone who isn’t a regular church goer I didn’t understand it all, or necessarily see its relevance to the plot. A few bits to fit in with the Canon’s role maybe, but there just seemed to be more of it than was necessary for the storyline.

As you’d expect in any English village there are a lot of “characters” living there, but these village characters didn’t really translate that well to characters in a crime book. Not even in a cosy crime novel as this is. I found them a bit dull to be honest with you. I know that when this book was announced there were a lot of comparisons with Richard Osman, but his characters in The Thursday Murder Club wipe the floor with the residents of Champton I’m afraid.

The book was also (slightly weirdly) set in the 1980s. After reading Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain I thought this might be another excellent way to delve into a bit more of 80s social history, but no. You’d almost miss that it was set in the 80s were it not for a few mentions of 80s TV shows and Eurovision. Oh, and the fact that no one has a mobile phone. IT almost made me wonder why it was set then if it wasn’t being made a bigger part of the story.

Oh I feel all a bit sad about Murder Before Evensong. It had so much promise, but just didn’t live up to it. Such a shame as the cosy crime genre is one that I really enjoy, but I struggle to see how Canon Clement could stretch his detective skills to a second book, let alone a whole series. I guess a charity shop a few years down the line might have the answer to that.

Where to buy Rev Richard Coles’ books

Murder Before Evensong is available to buy online here. I would however recommend his earlier autobiography Fathomless Riches which is excellent. It is followed by his story of his life as a priest (which I haven’t read yet) in Bringing In The Sheaves. I’ve also heard many people speak high about the book he wrote after the sudden death of his partner David: The Madness of Grief.

I seem to have accidentally managed to curated my film and tv watching with what I’ve been reading lately. Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain couldn’t have fit in more perfectly if I’d tried. It may have been accidental. but it’s led to me realising just how much I don’t know about the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s, even though I was a child living in South Yorkshire at the time. Let me backtrack slightly.

Miners’ Strike Viewing

My run of delving back into the 1980s started with the film Pride on Netflix. Covering the true story of the lesbian and gay activists that supported the Miners and ended up being matched with the Welsh mining village of Onllwyn. It’s an unlikely partnership and there was quite a lot of prejudice to overcome before firm friendships were made. All this culminated with the Miners coming to march at the 1985 Gay Pride march in London to show solidarity with those that had supported them during the strike.

Pride was quickly followed by Sherwood on BBC 1. This TV series is set in a Nottinghamshire former mining village but in modern times. Two murders take place, but this is a village that was torn apart years ago by events surrounding the Miners’ Strike and the police realise that they have to unpick the present as well as the past to find the killers.

A Darker Domain

Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain is also set after the strike, but this is instead looking at an old Scottish mining community. DI Karen Pirie works in the cold cases team and is already investigating the kidnap of the richest man in Scotland’s daughter and grand-son twenty years ago, when she is then intrigued by a woman coming in to report a miner who went missing at the same time, during the Miners’ Strike. Mick Prentice’s disappearance was not reported at the time though and many thought he’d simply left Scotland to head south to Nottinghamshire as a scab. The shame that brought to his family left behind meant that his disappearance was just taken at face value by many. Now his daughter wants to find Mick as he may be the only chance of saving her ill son’s life.

But just as Karen is starting to unravel some of the circumstances surrounding Mick’s disappearance a discovery in a villa in Tuscany throws some light on the kidnap case. Torn between the two investigations Karen soon begins to realise that there might be links between them, and progress on one of them might help in the other case.

My thoughts

A Darker Domain reminded me of why I fell in love with Val McDermid’s writing. The background information from the 1980s is so utterly fascinating and so well researched that as a reader you are transported back there and it’s like being immersed in a lesson in social history.

Intertwined with the social history is a decent, solid crime fiction story that it is very easy to get completely caught up in. Some other reviewers have said that they felt the ending let the book down and whilst I agree that the ending doesn’t seem quit was strong as the rest of the book, I feel that is more because the rest of the book is so strong and all that just coming to an end is just a bit of a disappointment. I certainly didn’t feel that it wasn’t in keeping with the rest of the book in any way.

Returning to Val McDermid

When I first discovered Val McDermid it was via her Lindsay Gordon and Kate Brannigan series – both of which I now want to go back and re-read. Somehow some of her later series passed me by a bit, especially the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan one, but when I picked up 1979 earlier in the year it really showcased her ability to capture social history so well in her stories. As soon as 1989 comes out in paperback I’ll be trying to pick up Allie Burns’ story again and I’m already looking forward to being transported back to 1989.

Where to buy A Darker Domain

A Darker Domain is available to buy online here. All Val McDermid’s books are here.