Tag: Brighton

The Last Word by Elly Griffiths (Mystery)

Writing: 4.5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4.5/5

A fledgling detective agency is asked to investigate the (to all appearances natural) death of a client’s mother. The client is even so kind as to provide the name of the murderer — the mother’s second husband who has inherited the lot! Another client is worried about a similar situation, and oddly enough, the obituaries of both were written by a man who predeceased each of them! Natalka — a beautiful and blunt Ukranian careworker; her partner Benedict — a philosophical ex-monk who now runs a coffee shop; and Edwin — an erudite and genteel former BBC producer of advanced age all tackle the case which quickly heads off into surprising territories. At the center of the proliferating coincidences is a writers retreat and a book club run by one of the retreat’s instructors.

I always love Griffiths’ characters. They are interesting in the way real people are interesting — not just superficial quirks but different ways of thinking, different things that give them pleasure, different ways of tackling problems. While some characters get the diversity treatment (the DI with a small role in this book is a lesbian Sikh), they get to be individuals within that identity classification and do not pretend to represent the whole or spend much time letting their identity inform the important parts of their lives. Her characters are completely believable, and I would be very happy to spend time with most of them. I also love Griffiths’ writing which has been consistently good throughout all of her many (many) books. Although I would classify her mysteries as cozies, there is never any dull filler. In this book, what “fills” the pages are questions of spirituality and ethics, literary references ranging from Shakespeare to Christie to Richard Osman, (good) writerly advice, operatic clues, and feathered barbs relating English experiences to those of a Ukranian.

I read a lot of mysteries — they are my comfort reads — but most mysteries are nothing special. Some nice closure at the end, a few historical tidbits, an engaging character. I find Griffiths’ mysteries a cut (or two) above. She is in my top three along with Louise Penny and JK Rowling (as Robert Galbraith) — satisfying at every level. I’m so happy with her prolificity!

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 23rd, 2024.

The Midnight Hour by Elly Griffiths (Historical Mystery)

Writing: 3/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 3.5/5
In this latest book in the (now named) Brighton Mysteries, the newly formed partnership of Emma Holmes (prior WDC and now wife of police chief) and Sam Collins (prior journalist) tackles the murder of 90-year old Bert Billingham, theater impresario and wild womanizer. They were brought into the case by his wife, the unsuitable grandma Verity Malone and star variety performer who had plenty of reasons to kill him herself. Taking place in the 60s, there are many opportunities for inserting the feminist angle — it’s only been 60 years but it’s a bit shocking to remember how things were in those days for women: Emma Holmes was forced to leave the police force when she married; women police officers (WDCs) were not allowed to drive police cars; and God forbid any male made the coffee when needed. Plenty of twists and turns, some fun characters, and a fast, fun read. I still like the Ruth Gallagher series better, but these are definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on December 7th, 2021.

Backpacking Book Review #1 …

A recent backpacking trip left me exhausted and able only to read genre books — so here are reviews of three Mystery / Women’s Fiction / Romance novels that were quite enjoyable for a relaxing read on a rock facing gorgeous scenery. Review number 1…

Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on December 3rd, 2019.

The 5th book in Griffith’s Magic Men series, this episode takes place in Brighton in 1964. The Mods and the Rockers are coming into the public eye, getting into brawls and leading to moral panic amongst the British. DI Edgar Stephens (newly promoted to Superintendent) is investigating a string of missing girls though all the best ideas seem to come from his wife (previously his star sergeant and now frustrated mother of three), her equally frustrated journalist friend Sam, and the very tall, 19-year old, WPC Meg Connolly, a promising new policewoman. For those not in the know (like me), WPC stands for ‘Woman Police Constable” (the term was discontinued in 1999).

I’m a big Elly Griffiths fan, but haven’t read any books in this series. In comparison with the Ruth Galloway series and her standalone novel, I found this book to be a little more disjointed — particularly in the beginning where much of the text seemed extraneous to either the plot or the characters. However, the plot was gripping and I found the focus on intelligent women in constrained circumstances managing to accomplish a great deal fascinating. The sixties seem not that long ago (to some of us), but cultural expectations for women were vastly different than they are now. Reading the descriptions of the earlier four books, they seem to focus much more on DI Stephens and Max Mephisto (the variety magician), while this one seems to relegate them to a secondary role in solving the mystery. Interesting!