I’ve mentioned The
Mystery Press (an imprint of The History Press) before, and this Bank Holiday
Monday, I’d like to highlight a couple of the crime novelists on their list, as
well as mentioning a true crime book published by Quercus.
Janet Laurence, who
chaired the CWA a few years back, is one of the most charming of crime writers,
and her Darina Lisle culinary mysteries won her a considerable following some
time ago. She later wrote an excellent book about the craft of mystery writing,
but there haven’t been any crime novels from her for a while. Happily, that has
now changed, with the appearance of Deadly Inheritance, a book set in that
fascinating period, the Edwardian era. The protagonist is Ursula Grandison, an
American who comes to Britain and finds herself embroiled in a mystery surrounding
the death of a nursemaid. Janet is a
stylish writer, and I’m sure this novel will find favour not only with existing
fans but also historical mystery lovers who may not be familiar with her work.
Linda Stratmann, a more
recent arrival on the scene, is an expert on true crime who wrote an excellent
book about chloroform and has turned with success to fiction. A follow-up to
The Poisonous Seed, in which young Frances Doughty turned detective to solve
her father’s murder, has now appeared. In The Daughters of Gentlemen, Frances
has turned her detective work into an embryonic career – she contemplates
advertising: “Lady detective. Discretion assured.” An enquiry about the
distribution of feminist pamphlets duly turns into a lively murder mystery.
Both books contain a note at the end, explaining the factual elements of the
story , and I always find these interesting. History-mysteries have an enduring
appeal, I think.
Very different, yet
almost a slice of modern history in itself, is The Curse of Brink’s-Mat, by
veteran true crime writer Wensley Clarkson. The sub-title is “25 years of
murder and mayhem”, and I must say I was fascinated to learn what unpleasant
fates have befallen so many people who were involved in this celebrated heist.
But one of the gang members who survived is, of course, the notorious Kenneth
Noye. At present, however, Noye remains in prison, having failed in an appeal
against his conviction for killing the motorist Stephen Cameron. All in all, it’s
a remarkable story which Clarkson tells in a lively, journalistic way.
5 comments:
Martin - Thanks for this profile. It's good to hear that Janet Laurence has come out with a new novel. It sounds appealing, too, especially as I like historical mysteries. Sounds like this imprint has some good names.
You always have wonderful suggestions for what I should read next, Martin! Thank you.
I'd never even heard of the Brink's-Mat robbery (shame on me!), so--after reading your brief summary--I had to go looking for Clarkson's book. Along the way (i.e., Amazon.com), I discovered this little tidbit: Over $20 million of the gold bullion stolen in the Brink's-Mat heist was never recovered and it is assumed that any British gold jewelry purchased after 1983 contains some of the stolen gold. Wow! After that, I must read the book.
Thanks for your kind comments Martin. Your colleagues may remember my late father in law, Mike Gallagher who was a partner at Davies, Campbell & Co.
Thanks for your kind comments Martin. Your colleagues may remember my late father in law, Mike Gallagher who was a partner at Davies, Campbell & Co.
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