Adrian
17th February 2007, 07:57 AM
Calibre
This is a welcome follow up to the Brant novels that formed Bruens' The White Trilogy. After starting his Jack Taylor series (he's five books into that one) and producing stand-alone novels like Vixen and London Boulevard, I thought we'd seen the last of Inspector Brant and his colleagues.
Brant, of course, is immortal. This time he's after "Ford" (the clues are there, Noir fans) nicknamed the Manners Killer because he chooses his "victims" solely because of their rudeness (without condoning real life violence, in fiction it would take a harsh man to criticise him. Certainly compared to the way the police behave!)
And the real story is that of the cops. Clinically assessing each officer makes them seem like the usual stereotypes: the black lesbian, the suave gay, the hard man Inspector who bends the rules to get the job done, the Hornrim Harry Superintendent. It's Bruen's writing that makes them zing.
Brant's been reading about Fat Ollie, which makes him think he too can write about his time on the force. There's some hysterical bits about him schmoozing a literary agent and feeding an unknowing colleague speed to get him talking.
There's no better crime writer currently working this side of the Atlantic, and if you catch me on a good day when I've just finished one of his, I'd put Bruen as top of my list anywhere. Even so, seeing as this one follows on from the earlier Brant novels, I wouldn't recommend you starting your Bruen library with one. Devoted fans will lap it up and hope for more.
This is a welcome follow up to the Brant novels that formed Bruens' The White Trilogy. After starting his Jack Taylor series (he's five books into that one) and producing stand-alone novels like Vixen and London Boulevard, I thought we'd seen the last of Inspector Brant and his colleagues.
Brant, of course, is immortal. This time he's after "Ford" (the clues are there, Noir fans) nicknamed the Manners Killer because he chooses his "victims" solely because of their rudeness (without condoning real life violence, in fiction it would take a harsh man to criticise him. Certainly compared to the way the police behave!)
And the real story is that of the cops. Clinically assessing each officer makes them seem like the usual stereotypes: the black lesbian, the suave gay, the hard man Inspector who bends the rules to get the job done, the Hornrim Harry Superintendent. It's Bruen's writing that makes them zing.
Brant's been reading about Fat Ollie, which makes him think he too can write about his time on the force. There's some hysterical bits about him schmoozing a literary agent and feeding an unknowing colleague speed to get him talking.
There's no better crime writer currently working this side of the Atlantic, and if you catch me on a good day when I've just finished one of his, I'd put Bruen as top of my list anywhere. Even so, seeing as this one follows on from the earlier Brant novels, I wouldn't recommend you starting your Bruen library with one. Devoted fans will lap it up and hope for more.