IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

On Dangerous Ground - Lesley Horton

This is  Horton's second book in her series featuring DI John Handford and DS Khalid Ali; the third, “Devils in the Mirror” was published by Orion in September 2005.

Handford and Ali made their debut in ”Snares of Guilt” – a book I enjoyed so very much.  Thus, I looked to forward to reading “On Dangerous Ground”…

In a nutshell: A young girl’s body is found in Bradford, and the circumstances make it seem like another in a series of murders.  But there can be no “series” for these crimes, as the common denominator is that the first two victims were child prostitutes and no one managing the city will acknowledge that child prostitutes exist on their turf.  Handford just happens to be in the vicinity when the most recent body is found and he’s busy with an investigation concerning a young boy’s death by hanging, which is not all it seems.  But, Handford’s presence at the time of discovery of the girl’s body and his reputation based on previous cases propel him into an investigation and a situation he’d prefer to avoid.  And for DS Ali too, that investigation is too close to home, but for other and more personal reasons…

This is a story that again ploughs into the gritty reality of inner city life, within a city of significant multi-cultural existence.  Horton explores that gritty reality and is also not afraid to explore the tensions that exist within a community of mixed cultures.  It’s “no holds barred” here; Horton delves, explores and enlightens us.  It’s not just about plot – which is a cracker – it’s also about understanding how lives are lived.  She doesn’t just tell you that there are child prostitutes; she also provides insight into how those children arrived at their destination and how they live, when in it.  Neither is Horton simply aiming to educate us; what she tells us is always strictly important to the plot – what we learn, we learn along the way and we can only have a better understanding as a result.

“On Dangerous Ground” is a page turner.  And again, like “Snares of Guilt” we are with the police as they discover facts and clues and, more importantly, make mistakes in interpreting them.  When I read a Horton novel, I really feel like I am a fly on the wall in the police room.  That, I think, for Horton, is her unique selling point.  She tells it like it is, almost like a documentary, but without the need to accompany detectives through their hours of review of reports and form filling.  We get the main points and we get them at a good pace and we also see how they can be interpreted incorrectly.  With Horton, the police are human, just like us.

Both Handford and Ali have some personal issues to face in this book, either related to work or entirely independent.  Horton again explores the tension of one set of values against another with extreme sensitivity.

I honestly think that Horton has carved a sub-genre niche of her own.  I’ve come across no other book type that delves into this arena, let alone in such an accomplished way.  She lets you see the mistakes that the police can make and also probes the pressures that exist when two cultures collide in one city, and in one police force, and in one friendship.  She also lets us know how it can ultimately work; when we manage to see across the divide of culture and view ourselves as simple human beings, seeking the same goals. 

A focus on society yes, but also a great plot, great characters and extremely good writing.  If you've not read Horton yet, I recommend you start with the first in the series, "Snares of Guilt", as it would be such a shame to miss out on so much wonderful writing.

Some bad news re smaller and specialist booksellers in the UK...

The world of bookselling is ever changing and the proposed takeover of Ottakar's by HMV/Waterstone's, now at the Competition Commission for review, is seen by many, especially writers, as a threat to the breadth and wealth of choice that the reading public will have access to in the future.

In the news in the past week is that an independent Dorking bookseller is to close.  During the last month it was also brought to my attention that Macavity's, the specialist online crime fiction bookseller has closed for business.  (This why I have removed the link on the side bar.)  My sympathies to the Dorking bookseller and to others experiencing the same scenario.  Macavity's case, however, is a real shame and one I feel more personally.  They had a really good site and I'd only just come to experience their superb level of service.  I wish them the best for whatever they do in the future.

Readers are, in the main, too far removed from the production and distribution chain to feel the same way about the proposed takeover as writers.  So let's take a look at what it means at the consumer end of the chain for a change.

Book buying already operates similarly to the music industry.  If you don't make it into the top ten, or even straight in at number one with a new CD, you're history.  With books, the new ones published are on display in the shops, but after a certain length of time, forget it.  It will hard to buy the book in the shops.  The next wave of the newly published will be on the shelves and stands.

Just discovered an author new to you?  Want to work your way through that wonderful backlist of novels they've already written?  There are other shelves in the shops, but it's unlikely you'll find them there.  Space is limited.  You may have to make a special order at full price, or try Amazon, which is, in reality, a veritable treasure trove, both for new and now, used books.

So here comes the trap.  It's all about selling, turnover and making profits.  Not such a bad thing perhaps, but what would you choose to sell, if you had the choice?  A new author, untested and untried?  Big risk, there.  Or an established author's new book?  An author who's churned out one bestseller after another for the last fifteen years?  The latter is a done deal.  The author may even be tired, but people will still buy.  The author's name is now a brand.  Based on past offerings they are still perceived as a "known quantity" by readers, as reliable as the weekly purchase of washing up liquid.

A couple of years back, Orion did a "New Blood" promotion for crime fiction.  More recently, Macmillan has launched a new writing initiative, a new imprint.  How much harder will this prove to be in the future, if the range of booksellers is even more limited?

And when it comes to price, we all want the best value, or cheapest we can achieve.  Less booksellers in an already limited market means less competition.  Already, we have the appearance of a cartel operating in the UK.  The books on the shelves at our supermarkets do not differ greatly at anyone time and the prices differ by only pennies in most cases.  You'll see those same books as the main promotions in the book shops at the same time, possibly at the same price, possibly slightly more expensive, but it is very unlikely they will be cheaper.  So, choice is already limited when it comes to the UK retail space devoted to books.

Where is the competition in three branches of the same bookseller in one city?  Where is the competition in three branches of different booksellers in the same city, selling the same selection at the same price, more or less?  Where is the competition in supermarkets having the same range of books as the booksellers' current best offers, at about the price, usually less, especially when they are the bestsellers? 

And in the future:

How would the work of a mid-ranging selling author survive, be noticed and improve in sales alongside recognition of their work, if they have no special author promotion?  How will new authors with good work make it onto our shelves?

Then, when it comes to existing service levels, my experience is this.  In the supermarkets no one can tell you when a certain book is actually due in.  In the book shops, staff are few and far between and not particularly interested in your queries or maximising their selling through human contact - by that, I mean engaging with a customer when a query is raised.  And these are the specialists for such a product!

UK supermarkets are now under the spotlight at the Competition Commission for dominance in the grocery market, where critics have long accused them of driving local convenience stores out of business.

As a reader, I don't believe the proposed takeover of Ottakar's by another larger chain is a good thing.  The only evidence of competition I see at the moment is that Ottakar's may carry a slightly different range of books/offers than Waterstone's.  This is a good thing that can only disappear if the name Ottakar's disappears from our high streets.  I can't even comment on the likes of Borders as I don't even have a branch near me; existing competition hasn't worked too well there either has it?

Bringing a book to the market place is not the same as bringing a piece of soap.  We need to ensure what we have at the present time is made better and not worse.

Cold Kill by David Lawrence

I loved “The Dead Sit Round in a Ring”, Lawrence’s debut novel in this series, for its originality.  “Nothing Like the Night”, the follow up, was OK, but I was neither overly impressed nor particularly thrilled.  Thus I approached “Cold Kill” with some trepidation, as I hate to be disappointed.  I needn’t have worried; it’s a page turner with an original writing style and more akin to the first in this Detective Sergeant Stella Mooney series than the second.

In a nutshell: As Christmas approaches, Mooney’s case puts her in London’s Holland Park with the viciously assaulted body of a young woman.  The next day, Richard Kimber walks into the police station and confesses to the murder.  But, ultimately, the team does not have quite enough evidence for a conviction and Kimber is released.  Neither is the murder a one-off, so it seems.  But who exactly is responsible and for what?

This was a nicely woven plot of many threads and twists to keep you guessing.  Nothing I could predict came into play until it was made obvious, in which case the final chase commenced.  Lawrence always manages to bring London, at its worst, to the table, homing in on Notting Hill where homes of £2m+ sit alongside sink estates.  He mentions the contrast a lot in this book, but his plots home in on the activities and lives of those based in the estates, albeit “Cold Kill” takes a twist out of there.

Mooney knows those estates because she grew up in one of them.  She understands the life and the risks.  She chose the lawful path as opposed to the dealing and violent path.  But the lawful path does not exclude her from the violence.  Mooney is a DS and it is her job to bring the criminals to justice.  In “Cold Kill” she appears to have an even bigger job of it, where her team is suffering from a pre-Christmas virus, including her boss, who makes it to the office to deal with the paperwork, whilst taking painkillers, cough medicine, whisky and the more-than-odd-fag to treat his symptoms.  Mooney spends her time tracking a killer and avoiding the sneezes.

In “The Dead Sit round in a Ring” Mooney was embroiled in a relationship but having an affair.  She left George, her architect/boat designer behind and established a relationship with the journalist, John Delaney, which goes on in “Cold Kill”.  But a journalist is always after a good story, and when Richard Kimber is released, the journalist, Delaney, interviews him, thus threatening their relationship and the case.

As an aside to this, it is worth noting that crime fiction often includes consideration of contemporary social issues.  Like Mark Billingham’s "Lifeless", this book considers the homeless in London where Delaney is working on a feature in the run up to Christmas.  This sub-plot works alongside the main one, but eventually paths collide.  It’s not as detailed as Billingham’s in terms of how the homeless live, but that’s because the authors write differently and produce a different type of book, though not too dissimilar when it comes to crime in London.

In addition to being the author of these novels, David Lawrence is also a scriptwriter and also, the poet David Harsent.  He has also previously published under the name of Jack Curtis.  It is perhaps the scriptwriting that comes through the most in the Stella Mooney novels where Lawrence treats us to very short passages that flit and float from character to character, allowing us to see into their everyday lives, on the spot.  As a reader, expect to be a fly on the wall, or even on the shoulder of a character.  Lawrence’s view is within that spectrum. The reader, like the author, is a fly or roving camera.  That’s what makes these books different.

Mooney’s love life is not settled in this book.  A flirtation can remain a flirtation or materialise into something else.  Delaney can be the guy in her life or be something else.  George, her previous partner, the boat designer and now in Seattle, can be a friend and a memory or something else.

The ends to tie up, here, are like straw.  But it happens.  Lawrence, it has to be said, works a mean and calculated path.  A big “thumbs up” to this book.  I am serial-killered out; it’s so boring and over-stretched a topic.  This looked like it would go the same way from the synopsis and early pages, but never mentioned “serial killer” as such.  It didn’t need to.  And the twists provided led it into question anyway.  This was a calculated original.

Not a rework of plots past, but like “The Dead Sit Round in a Ring”, very original.  And very worth reading.

More on Lawrence/Harsent/Curtis here.

And for more, I suggest you just stick “David Lawrence, David Harsent, Jack Curtis” in Google.  That’ll keep you going!  But if you can, read the books.  The Stella Mooney series is different and definitely worth a read!

Rebus on TV, this time Fleshmarket Close...

Now, I watched "The Falls" just after reading the book.  I watched the episode based on "Fleshmarket Close" tonight, a really long time after reading the book.  So what I am saying is this:  I cannot remember the detail of the book so much and thus I am likely to be far less critical of the latest episode than I was before.

And so it is thus...

I still rate Stott as Rebus (very highly) and Claire Price as Siobhan.  And I know they have to find a way to give every detective a quirk, a difference etc., but honestly, in this series and particularly in this episode, they way overdid it on sexism.  There were so many bad comments to Siobhan from supects, but even Rebus treated the poor woman as a PA, and a drudge, if I'm honest here.  No PA today would accept a request to bring the latest forensic report to the Oxford Bar so Rebus could take a look at it.  No PA today, or Detective Sergeant come to that, would accept a direction to "pay the man" to look after the boss's car.  And Siobhan has it bad financially.  She scooped the cash to pay "the man" as well as the round of drinks in the Oxford Bar when Rebus wanted to review that forensic report.  I hope the expenses policy is in her favour!

Really, if you watch an episode of Morse from the 80s, the women are power-shouldered
(if not full power-suited), but still making a life for themselves without the hindrance of sexism that was so evident then.  They were fighting it all and Dexter met it full on, with good plots to match.

Now we have "Rebus", a series of the new millennium, with Siobhan a victim of a culture of blatant sexism.  Not quite within the date I think...  Get a grip writers, please.  And don't concentrate on the legal cases you see in the news.  Those are the now and the "big fight" was then; the book was in between.

Oh, how I hated seeing Siobhan as the perfect drudge  - she was never that and will never be that.

But for the rest of it - OK, honestly.  Good telly.  Not sure about the plot being worthy of the book, but that's book to telly and one and a half hours of escapism on the screen.

I enjoyed the telly version.  But I still hate the character of Siobhan being treated in that way...

Otherwise, thumbs up!  I enjoyed it.

The next Rebus on TV...

...is coming up on Monday, 6 March at 9pm on ITV1.  It's the Fleshmarket Close episode.  (And it clashes with Dalziel & Pascoe, the first part of which is on BBC1 at the same time, the second part on Tuesday evening.)

Perception of Death by Louise Anderson, a reader review...

You never know what to expect with a new author and a debut novel.  I am pleased to report that I was very entertained with this book.  Like an insect flying into a fan, I was sucked in, somewhere within the first few pages and the speed of the fan blades never abated.  This was a page turner, all the way to the end.  And I survived the fan blades, too.

The story is told in the voice of Erin Paterson,  a Glasgow lawyer, and starts with the very professional Erin having a bad day, a very bad day.  But this is also crime fiction land and that bad day gets worse, extending to weeks and all aspects of her life.  Indeed, poor Erin is surrounded by a somewhat dysfunctional family, has enough policemen knocking on her door to create a fan club and has a professional life about to belly dance in “up” mode only. 

Erin's a smart lawyer, a sassy lady with a sharp tongue and dry humour.  Her day starts with her forgetting a file for an important meeting, going home to retrieve it and finding her boyfriend in their bed with the cleaner.  An altercation follows, in which she surprises even herself by hitting him on the head with a statue and then kicking the man when he’s down.  Ouch.   But when the first policemen have finished with her – charges dropped, she was provoked you understand – the second visit relates to something far more sinister.  Lucy Granville-Grant was brutally murdered and, at about the time of her death, a call was made from the victim’s mobile to Erin's.  So starts a story involving a serial killer on the loose, doubts over the suicide of Erin''s elder brother Leland and Erin’s brushes with a journalist who has a hidden agenda, or does he?

Oh, there’s more.  A massive amount is packed into this one story.  I’d like to say that on finishing the book, it’s possible to put it down and take a deep breath.  Alas, no.  It’s a short breath.   We are left with the hint of a loose end, which sets us up for reading the next book in the series, “Death’s Sister”.

One last thing; surely this is the only novel to carry an acknowledgement to a firm of chartered accountants?  “To all at Martin, Aitken & Co., Accountants.  Especially to Jim McInroy, Jim Copeland and Adrienne Airlie – unbelievably you make accounting fun!”  Fun?  Heavens, I did it for years and opted out.  Any firm that can make "accounting fun" is rollicking good by me, but I’d still decline the party invitation… If you lot can make accounting fun, you deserve a Nobel Prize as far as I’m concerned.  I prefer murder and intrigue to debits and credits any day.

Louise Anderson grabbed my attention.  She entertained me.  She had me page turning.  It’s that sort of story: well told, but with a need for a calming influence.  OK, you got it…  I hope...

This is pure entertainment, at a fast pace, with some great twists and good humour.  I just hope that Anderson has not run out run out of plots and plot twists for what looks to be an entertaining series.  I shall certainly be reading the next.

More info about the author can be found here and here. 

Writing or politics? Oh, but the twain shall meet in Wales...

It’s good to see that Ty Newydd, the last home of David Lloyd George, former British Prime Minister, which is now a home of writing as the National Writers' Centre for Wales, since 1990, is now re-opened following development and refurbishment.

Ty Newydd, near Cricieth in north west Wales, had been closed for one year for major works, which included upgrading for disabled persons’ access as well as the addition of a conservatory.

Ty Newydd is a place of learning and development.  It runs courses for writers and attracts some big names in the world of writing, in the form of tutors who are well established published authors and writers.

I can understand why disabled access was needed.  I spent a week there in 2003 and found the house to be an intriguing amalgam of two halves that met, but not quite at the same horizontal level.  Stairs and steps were in evidence everywhere, in order to negotiate the house’s main communal rooms and accommodation. The property is Grade II listed and is thus subject to constraints on developments.  But now, it has disabled access as well as a new conservatory to the side.  I’d guess that there is also a lift, as I was told that was the intention in 2003, and a lift was so needed to ensure comprehensive use for the disabled.

Before:

After:

Not only did I enjoy my week there in 2003 - a week of instruction and direction from crime fiction authors Val McDermid and Denise Mina, with Andrew Taylor as the guest reader - but I also enjoyed the journey to get there and to return home.  Venturing to north east Wales was new territory for me.  I saw places on the landscape that I could never have imagined and I vowed to return.  And it will happen.  I am sure of that.  I saw things in the distance that I want to investigate close up. 

If you are a writer and don’t seek a week of instruction, or you don’t want to be surrounded by other writers, you can book a retreat at Ty Newydd.  They have a cottage in the grounds, “Afon Bach”.  The rates are good (last time I looked) but the availability is limited, so get in early and enjoy the terrain.

Afon Bach:

Congratulations to all involved in running Ty Newydd!  May you go from strength to strength!