Now, according to Simon Hall the author of these terrific thrillers, I am 'perceptive and thoughtful' in my reviewing. This is rather flattering you have to admit even if Perceptive and Thoughtful sound like a firm of solicitors, and so after finishing the latest book featuring TV reporter Dan Groves and DCI Adam Breen, The TV Detective, I am now on my mettle to come up with a phrase befitting of this description.
So here we go.
This is a terrific book.
This is an exciting book.
This is a witty and amusing book.
This is a very very very good book.
OK not exactly perceptive and thoughtful but expressive of just how much I loved this latest in this series from Simon Hall. I have read all four of them now, read my review of The Judgement Book here which has links to the reviews of The Death Pictures and Evil Valley.
In these three titles the friendship between Dan and Adam is well established and we know much more about their personal backgrounds, but this relationship between TV reporter and Detective was in situ when the series started so in The TV Detective we go back to the beginning and we learn how they met and this partnership began and I was very glad of this as it is always good to have the back story. However, I see that this book was originally published in 2005 under the title A Popular Murder and it is now being reissued, presumably as Simon Hall's books are more popular now than they were then. So this is not exactly a brand new book but as I had never read it or heard of it, then it is to me, and I gather that another is due out later on in 2010.
Now I am not going to get too involved in the plot here as I don't want to give anything away which might spoil the story, but briefly: Dan Groves is newly assigned to the crime beat by his TV company and in order to learn about police procedures and police work, is set to shadow DCI Breen on a high profile murder, that of a local businessman, Edward Bray, who has made so many enemies that there are rather a lot of suspects around, including his own father from whom he was estranged for many years. Adam and Dan have to pick their way through all those who wished Bray dead and as the case continues it becomes more and more complicated with the three most likely looking perpetrators all either having an alibi or being in a different place at the time of the murder.
As I said, no give away clues here save one - Why was the killing planned for an original day but then put off? The answer to this question is the key to the solution and I have to say I certainly did not guess the answer.
Right, so my summing up of this latest book by Simon Hall is, as always, that he is a darn good writer. Keep your Jonathan Kellermans and your Patricia Cornwalls (see earlier post), forget the super cool dialogue, the elliptical sentences, the gosh-I-am-trying-so-hard to be laid back attitude also mentioned in said post on these two authors, what we have here is a book which has the following:
- a good plot
- tight narrative
- an interesting duo solving the mystery (as with all good detective novels, we must have our Holmes and Watson, Lord Peter and Bunter, Roderick Alleyn and Inspector Fox, Poirot and Hastings etc etc) who bounce ideas off each other
- good location
- lots of clues and twists
- an unexpected little extra at the end of the book
- good writing - most important of all
Put all those together and you have a most satisfying and enjoyable read. Simon Hall is now the author of four of these Groves and Breen books and it is my profound hope that he continues to write a lot more of them as I do like the combination of these two characters. Adam Breen sounds rather gorgeous actually and I have to say that when doing my usual trick of casting each part as if for a film or TV series, I kept picturing Richard (North & South, Spooks, Robin Hood) Armitage as Adam. Every time I have read one of Simon Hall's books Richard Armitage has popped into my mind, hardly a surprise really as I do think about Mr A rather a lot....
But, I must not end on a flippant note. I have to be perceptive and thoughtful.
No sorry not possible. I am, instead, enthusiastic and delighted.
Published by Accent Press and out on 1 March. If you like a good crime story then go buy
