Oadby Library Crime Readers' Group - Book Reviews

"This to me is a "quicky" book, a pleasure tp read, interspersed with words unknown to me before, but a joy to find and learn. A certain amount of concentration is needed, but well worth it. Gervaise Fen is a character unlike any other."

"A ramshackle inn and a non-doing pig set the scene for Gervaise Fen to try his luck as a parliamentary candidate. A naked lunatic, a girl oblivious to oncoming traffic and a poisoned woman soon test the erudite Fen's investigative skills. The cleverly comstructed plot moves along with unexpected developments and justice finally is done. Read this!"

"This is a delightful though not "easy" read. It is set in a country areain the 40's with several rustic characters. The detective - Gervaise Fen- is an unusual character - well aware of his abilities, whicha re somewhat idiosyncratic. There is a great deal of story beside the "detecting", and it has much to commend it."

"Slow moving but enjoyable storyline with an intelligent, self-assured detective hero Gervaise Fen, an Oxford professor of english literature. Our hero is standing as a local Independent candidate but stumbles across murder and mayhem. The humour is subtle and tongue-in-cheek and the language is polite and careful. A treat if you enjoy a well thought out plot and clever characterisation."

"With one or two exceptions, I'm not a big fan of historical crime novels and Anne Perry's "Farriers' Lane" didn't convert me to the genre. But it's a good yarn and is cleverly plotted. The large cast of characters is well delineated, though I didn't find the husband and wife sleuth team, Inspector Thomas Pitt and the aristocratic Charlotte, particularly appealing. Moreover, the dialogue seemed to me to vary between the arch and the stilted. But the setting, late 1880's London, seems quite convincing, and the extent of anti-semitism in Victorian society is intriguingly explored. I think at 374 pages, the book is overlong, and in places rather tedious, but if you like crime fiction with a historical flavour, and have a couple of days to spare, the "Farriers's Lane" is worth a try"

"I liked the style of incorporating crime reports and felt this helped the development of the plot. The atmosphere was well developed and the surrounding area was well described. However I did not feel that the culprit was entirely believable and that many of the sexual descriptions were unnecessary."

"This is a different approach for Minette Walters - more towards a conventional detective story. The setting is very real but most of the characters are unsympathetic and there is some gratuitous violence. On the whole readable but not particularly memorable."

"Very readable, real page turner, a venture into the detective style for this writer. Good use of place. Rather weak ending."

"The book has a great sense of place, with photographs, a map and plenty of geographical detail. Good narrative style, plot moves along at a good pace. Some gratuitous violence. Nasty bunch of characters."

"A carefully constructed whodunnit which kept me gripped until the end. Rather different from her previous novels and in many ways more readable and convincing. Worth reading."

Comments from the meeting included:

Comments from the meeting included:

Alternative recommendation - Michael Dibdin - "Dead Lagoon"

Part of the Matt Scudder series. Comments included