A Respectable Woman was David Fletcher's second crime novel, dating from 1975. Like many good psychological suspense novels of that era, it was published by Macmillan, whose George Hardinge presided over a first-rate crime list. (Hardinge was also a good writer himself, and his occasional crime stories are worth seeking out).
As with a number of Fletcher's books in the genre, this one sees him experimenting with a particular type of story. He blends a genuine whodunit puzzle with suspense, although one always feels that his main focus is on depiction of character. He was a talented writer under his real name, Dulan Barber, and I suspect that the puzzle element was not his main enthusiasm. But I don't mean by this that the plot is faulty. It's sound, but it's not the main reason for enjoying the book.
His protagonist is a Scotland Yard man, DI John Cresswell, who is called in to help local police in his old stamping ground in the Midlands after an elderly woman is murdered. He has very mixed feelings about the assignment, as it brings him into contact with an old flame, who happens - surprise, surprise - to be mixed up in the crime he is investigating.
Fletcher deals in the story, as the title suggests, with the thorny question of 'respectability' in a provincial English town and what calamities a desire for respectability may lead to. Writers from Dorothy L. Sayers to, most recently, Ann Cleeves, have dealt with this topic in their detective novels, and although Fletcher isn't in quite that league, his books are smoothly written and definitely very readable.
Is that the same George Hardinge who edited some of the Winter's Crimes series? It's was probably my favorite anthology series. Fond memories of checking those out from the public library!
ReplyDeleteYes, Ted, the same guy. He also wrote novels as George Milner. His anthologies were excellent.
ReplyDeleteMartin, there is something about your review that makes me think that this one should maybe remain forgotten. There are so many books clamouring for attention.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, why is it that some books from the 70s have survived whilst many have drifted into obscurity? Was The Day of The Jackal really that good, or was Frederick Forsyth lucky?
I guess anybody who could answer that would be selling more books than J.K.Rowling
Interesting question, James. A proper answer would be very lengthy, but in a nutshell I think that several different factors are in play, including the zeitgeist of the current times as well as back in the 70s. Of course, it's always been the case that the vast majority of books drift into obscurity after a while and especially after the authors stops producing books of that kind. The Day of the Jackal was iconic in its day and is I think sufficiently interesting as a concept to deserve its survival. But naturally luck and timing do play a part.
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