Finally Catching The Last Bus To Woodstock...

Like, I'm sure, many of you, I've been a big fan of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse, and it's spin-offs on TV over the last thirty or so years.

Well I've finally got around to actually doing the decent thing for a book lover and delving into the novels upon which the TV series was based. I bought the boxed set of 'Morse' novels, published by Pan, during my UK trip earlier this year, and having recently run out of my favourite detective fiction... decided to give this a go.

I have to say I've ploughed through 'Last Bus To Woodstock', the first in the Morse series, in less than two days. Always a good sign. The writing of Mr Dexter allows reading to flow very easily. It is uncomplicated yet descriptive, erudite yet not elaborate. 

As to the story itself, aside from a slight personal discomfort in the way the issue of a rape is addressed, (this was written in 1975, whether we like it or not, sensibilities were different then) it is a throughly gripping story with, of course the required twist in the tail. 

I'd definitely recommend giving it a go!

Stevie at BLM

Book Lover's Best Of 2015....

So, here we are once again dear reader, at that festive time of year when even atheists like me like to eat drink and be merry, think of friends close and afar and take a look back over the year. 

That being the case it's time for a quick review of my favourites from 2015, which I sit typing with a glass of decent Cab Sav to my left and a growing pile of food, pressies and relatives to my right!

I've not read anywhere near as many books this year as I would like, only forty two, which is a lot for some, not many for others, but it was all I managed to squeeze in. Must try harder next year!

I diarise and rate all my reading (lucky for you I spare you all that particularly geeky, detailed information) so it makes it quite easy to go back over the year and figure out a few highlights. 

Out of the 42, only three achieved a 10/10 rating from me, though there were six that I gave a 9/10. 

The '10s' were, in order of reading: 
Time And Time Again by Ben Elton (Jan) 

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (May)

Seventy Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler (May). 

All recommended reading as far as I'm concerned, and wide-ranging enough in topics that there is something there to please everyone.

Of the six that received a '9' three were also from the Bryant & May stories by Christopher Fowler, who, by any sort of reckoning, has to be my Author of the Year. I've worked my way through all but one of his Bryant & May series this year, (having read the first in 2014) and have now, sadly caught up with the author who is busily working on the next instalment. 

Finally... I'd like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the thousands who follow us on our Facebook page, and the considerably less who follow this, the less popular, less often written but more verbose version of Book Lovers Melbourne.  your kind comments and input through the year has been much appreciated.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!!

Looking For Clues... 6 Of The Best Fictional Detectives...

Much as I might try to drag myself away, in recent years I'm attracted to detective fiction like a super villain is to a long drawn out and impossibly contrived plan for the demise of his or her detective opponent from which they will obviously escape! Yes, I am addicted to detective novels!

No matter how smart your bad guy, no matter how much the author might make them out to be a genius, unsurpassed in their evil plans for world domination or just plain old top-hole murdering skills... The detective always wins through in the end!

And, that is part of why we love them.  But who, in the wide spectrum of sleuths do we really connect with? There are literally hundreds to choose from these days, many classic 'Golden Age' detectives have made it to TV status, opening up a whole new fan base, whilst some seem to have lost their earlier popularity. Some from novels written in the fifties, sixties and seventies only achieved wider TV audiences, and as a result, new readers, a decade or two later. There's no denying a good TV adaptation does no harm to a literary detective's flagging career, but there are plenty out there who have not yet hit the small or big screen, but still hit the spot with millions of readers.

So here is a selection of some of my personal favourites, Super-Sleuths all!

Sherlock Holmes
Obvious, I know, but you'd be hard pushed to find a better known literary detective figure in the world. Whether he's coming straight from the pages of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's four novels and fifty six short stories or the plethora of film and TV incarnations, he is a phenomenon.  

Holmes first appeared in 1887,  initiating for many readers what was to become known as the 'Golden Age Of Detective Fiction'. Doyle's serialisation of stories became popular in The Strand Magazine, and ran on until 1927. Holmes is, according to The Guinness World Records, the 'Most Portrayed Movie Character' having been played by 70 actors in over 200 films!! Now, 130 years on from his first appearance, Holmes is still engaging with audiences. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller having both recently appeared as new TV incarnations of the character for the 21st century. 130 years and going strong, Holmes will be thrilling readers and audiences for some time to come I think!

Hercule Poirot
Another obvious inclusion to this list has to be Belgium's greatest export, Hercule Poirot! More famous than Stella Artois, more stimulating to the senses than a box full of Guylian seashells, Hercule Poirot combines a mix of genius, arrogance, unintended comic appearance and a dose of obsessive compulsive disorder to create the greatest detective to have ever lived, at least as far as he, himself, is concerned. He's not far off in his estimations too, it has to be said. By his own admission, he has been wrong TWICE in his career. So nobody is perfect.

A refugee following WWI, from his home country, where he worked for the police, once in England the role of private detective becomes his world, much to the annoyance of a string of British Police Officers, it has to be said. 

Like Holmes, Poirot has been portrayed copiously on radio and both small and big screen, by such luminaries as Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Orson Welles, and most famously and successfully, David Suchet. from 1989 to 2013 ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot worked through the entire canon of Poirot stories as produced by Christie. You'd think that would be it for the little Belgian, but I can't help thinking such a successful character is bound to re-appear in a new guise at some point in the next ten years or so. 

Jules Maigret
Simply 'Maigret' to most, including his own wife, this iconic figure of the detective world was created by Georges Simenon and went on to appear in a massive 75 novels and 28 short stories between 1931 and 1972! 

Simenon was arguably one of the most successful fiction writes ever, and another Belgian, but his character Maigret was a Parisian, and his adventures take part in that iconic city. Maigret has been portrayed by French, British, Austrian, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese and Russian actors in his time. Originally written in French, English translations have also been an enormous part of the Maigret canon, having been a long-standing staple of the Penguin Green paperback series. With a regular focus on Maigret's desire to see into the character of those he comes across during his investigations rather than the crimes themselves, he is, for me a more human detective than many of the genre. Born in the countryside, near Moulins, Maiget originally studied for the medical profession, but the sudden death of his father and the influence of a police office in Paris, and his personal desire to study the dark mysteries of the human character, led him to a profession in which he could become a "doctor of destinies". So was born the legend.

Piet Van Der Valk
Less well know worldwide than his detective compatriots above, Van Der Valk was was the creation of British author Nicolas Freeling in the 1960s. Freeling lived much of his life in the Netherlands and consequently produced a rarity in developing a character that was truly continental European from a British born author. Van Der Valk novels have a realism that is often neglected by others in the genre, Freeling being a self-confessed follower of the Simenon style. Set in and around Amsterdam, Van Der Valk's habit of picking apart the finer details of any crime that comes across his desk, often over a good meal, gives him a distinctive style that delivers results. 

Made famous by the British TV series of the 1970s, which used the character, (but little of the plot details) Van Der Valk was portrayed by Barry Foster to great public and critical acclaim. Another series popularised by the Penguin Green publications, they are well worth a read for fans of the detective genre.

Josephine Tey
Readers of this page will know of my recent discovery of Josephine Tey, both as real-life author and as a character in the novels of Nicola Upson. I love Upson's choice to develop a real person into the main protagonist of a detective fiction series. A choice that grew out of an earlier project by Upson to write a biography of the crime writer from the middle of the 20th century. The fictional Tey is not a detective per-se, but closely resembles the real Tey as a writer of both plays and novels, who is embroiled in a series of murderous incidents during which her own skills at human interaction play an important part. Working alongside her friend, and 'actual' detective, Archie Penrose, Tey brings something to crime fiction I've not found elsewhere. 

In the nature of the genre, Tey would, perhaps, be considered a 'side-kick', but the realism with which Upson portrays the relationships between Tey and Penrose, as well as Tey's ability to interact with other characters on a realistic level, puts her centre stage in the story. This focus on human relationships does not, however leave plot and drama to play second fiddle, as Upson demonstrates all the skills of the past mistresses and masters of crime fiction to keep the reader hooked on the mystery at hand.

Bryant & May
Okay, this is a bit of a cheat, because it's two detective in one, John May and Arthur Bryant, as created by author Christopher Fowler. The difference here is that, whilst Holmes has his Watson, Poirot has his Hastings and Tey has her Penrose, these two are genuine equal partners in crime fighting. 

Artist Keith Page

I've metioned a number of times on this blog my love of the Bryant & May stories and have interviewed author Christopher Fowler in an earlier post, because, put simply, I think this is some of the best crime fiction around at the moment. This pair of octogenarian detectives, jointly leading the Peculiar Crimes Unit spend their days simultaneously uncovering the deep, dark and quite interesting past of London, whilst (eventually) outwitting a series of murderers and ne'r do wells. Author Fowler's extensive knowledge of London makes for a wonderful backdrop to the stories that is wonderfully familiar to those of us lucky enough to have spent much time there. 

The often strained but consistently entertaining relationship between the two main protagonists is one of the strongest elements of the stories, which, Fowler does an excellent job of convincing the reader, has lasted over four decades. Standing up proudly with classic crime detectives from the golden age, these two 'Golden Boys' of detection will, (old-age-onset-illness hopefully being kept at bay...) be around for us to enjoy for a while yet I fancy!

So there they are, half a dozen of the best fictional detectives the cost of a paperback can buy. Other detectives are, of course, available.... But they didn't make the cut. Enjoy.

Stevie at BLM.

Who Says Crime Doesn't Pay?....Congrats To Christopher Fowler....

Well it seems crime can pay, because last night in the UK was the meeting of the great and the good at depicting the bad, as The Crime Writers' Association held it's gala awards night.

The CWA is well worth a look if you're a budding author in the crime genre, or take a look at their sister site for crime fans.. The Crime Readers Association.

Click those links people. Click Those Links....

Amongst the shortlisted crime writers for the prestigious CWA Dagger In The Library Award were two of my favourites, Peter James, 

author of the Roy Grace, Brighton-based detective novels and Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May novels who was interviewed by your truly just a few weeks ago right here!!

Well, as any of you who actually read the title of this blog will know, Christopher Fowler won!

Congratulations Christopher from all at BLM. 

(I told you he was good......)

Stevie at BLM

My Week In Books Number.... Ok....I Lost Count...

So this week, I've been reading (no big surprise there...) but this time a couple of things you might not expect.

Top of the pile is Christopher Fowler's Bryant & May novel White Corridor. True to my last article... I'm still hooked on this series...

Below that you'll possibly be a bit surprised to see I'm giving the Game Of Thrones series a go! I know, I'm a little late to the party on this one but I'm up to date with the TV show, so thought it's time to do the right thing and get back on the fantasy fiction bus that I jumped clear of almost twenty years ago!  So far so good....

Next up, I've just started Agatha Christie's The Big Four, in Penguin of course, for that authentic book geek look on the train....

Next on reading pile is an early birthday pressies from my in-laws, who, with collusion and shelf checking by my wife, managed to find a book to add to my collection on the subject of London that I didn't already have: Lost London 1870-1945 by Philip Davies. 

The final surprise out of the literary bag this week is The New Yorker.... Yes, I know, not actually books per-se, but I gave myself the treat of a subscription recently and there is some great fiction and current affairs writing in there, as well of loads of cartoons, (most of which you'll only get if you read American newspapers everyday...which I don't...) 

So that's what I'm reading this week, and for the short term future too... How about you?

Author Interview... Christopher Fowler... Heir To The Christie Throne...?

Those of you that regularly read the BLM blog will know I've recently become a fan of Christopher Fowler's Bryant & May series of detective novels.

Revolving around the Peculiar Crimes Unit based above Mornington Crescent tube station in one of London's coolest districts, (any of you who've been there will know what Camden is all about...) the Bryant & May series consists, to date, of a dozen novels. I've only read the first four myself, and, frankly, I'm hooked.

I took the liberty of dropping the author, Christopher Fowler, an email and within a very short time he replied! (One of the great things about being a fan of authors rather than film/tv stars, is that they return your emails...).

I've recently finished Seventy Seven Clocks, third, chronologically in the series and the fourth I've read myself. I'm not going to beat around the bush, this is the best crime/murder mystery/thriller fiction book I've read in recent years. Christopher Fowler demonstrates the skills that Agatha Christie did seventy years ago, only better for my money. He has a touch of comedic genius I've rarely found in a Christie novel and he has attention to local detail that makes anyone who has lived a London life, really feel London. 

As well as the famed detective pair, he has produced a large and varied body of work through his career, working in the film industry extensively, in radio and also prolifically in periodical and newspaper publications. 

So... having got Christopher Fowler's attention, I was able to ask him a few questions... 

BLM:  Hi Christopher, welcome to Book Lovers Melbourne, I'll start off with something obvious, what do you read for pleasure?

CF: A mix of new novels (crime, non-fiction, mainstream fiction) and forgotten authors. I run a weekly column called ‘Invisible Ink’, about missing writers, in the Independent on Sunday. Right now I’m enjoying Pamela Branch’s wonderful farcical crime novels, now forgotten.

BLM: Having found yourself producing a very successful series in Bryant & May, do you find them having an impact on your other work? 

CF: I try to keep my other work entirely separate, but stand-alone novels (which I always produced before B&M) fight for shelf-space whereas a well-reviewed series will get stocked. But the two are very different. I have a thriller out later this year called ‘The Sand Men’, set in the Middle East which is far, in every sense, from the London novels.

BLM: Do you take inspiration from any real people in your life for any of your main characters?

CF: I’m notorious for using my friends’ traits, but I combine them with characters I’ve seen in films or read about. I also add current villains or heroes from London’s news. I like topicality, although it tends to place a time limit on your books.

BLM: For a reader who’s yet to step outside of the world of Bryant & May, where would be the best place to start exploring your other work? 

CF: My personal favourites are first, ‘Paperboy’ and its sequel ‘Film Freak’, then ‘Calabash’, ‘Pyschoville’ and ‘Spanky’. 

BLM: You refer to yourself as a ‘movie obsessive’… Do you prefer movies over books?

CF: No, but I have very different agendas. I watch mostly world cinema, with only a very few Hollywood films thrown in. I love Spanish cinema right now, so I suppose my taste in films is as abstruse as my book choices.

BLM: Are you Bryant? Or May? Or both/neither? 

CF: I’m May. My deceased business partner is Bryant (so much so that I put a photograph of him in one of the novels, and he was the model for my graphic novel version ‘The Casebook of Bryant & May’). 

BLM: There has been some great cover art to the B&M novels. How much control do you have over the cover art? 

CF: Quite a bit. The first, ‘Full Dark House’, was glorious but the artist promptly retired, so the second one was a disaster. Then we were lucky enough to find David Frankland for the rest of the series, but now he’s just retired as well! I’m devastated, but I think we may have found someone to take on the style. The covers of the US editions are very different and not to my taste, but they sell well! Hopefully we’ll change them. Before the B&M books I used a barking mad German photographer called Jay Eff, who got us all arrested – but that’s another story.

BLM: Which book do you wish you’d written? ‘

CF: Gormenghast’ by Mervyn Peake. It’s a nightmarish novel for anyone who dislikes descriptive passages, but I learn from it all the time.

BLM: Your love of London comes across vividly in your novels. If you could only direct a tourist to three places in London, which would they be?

CF: Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the only part of London that isn’t being wrecked at the moment. The South Bank for its buzz and energy, although its past is being fast obliterated, and Regent’s Park, a prime example of the Englishness of London’s open spaces. London is still the greenest city in Europe. 

BLM: ‘Invisible Ink’ is one of your projects that I came across that sounds fascinating to a avid book fossicker. Can you tell our readers more about it? 

CF: It’s about the popular books that were influential and often hugely successful, but vanished from bookshelves. Adopting false identities, switching genders, losing fortunes, descending into alcoholism, discovering new careers, getting censored, going mad or reinventing themselves, the missing authors have stories to tell which are as surprising than anything they wrote. One dated a porn star, one became the subject of a sex scandal, one was involved with a murderer, and one turned out to be Winston Churchill. Some chose their own fates, some were simply unlucky, but most should be remembered and revered by book lovers. Now, thanks to dedicated publishers, collectors and new technology, many of the books which were lost for so long can be rediscovered.

BLM: Was there ever a moment in time when we might have ended up reading about the adventures of Tate & Lyle rather than Bryant & May?

CF: Good God no! The history of Tate is the story of sugar and therefore of the slave trade. The sugar company amassed a huge art collection from its trade and founded – you guessed it – the Tate Gallery. So Britain’s art owes its existence to slavery.

BLM: In an unlimited budget movie series version of Bryant & May who would play the leads? 

CF: My old pal Jude Law would make a suitably aged-up Mr May (it’s an energetic role, after all). Bryant was down for Derek Jacobi – now I’d probably go for Toby Jones.

BLM: What is your personal favourite bookshop in London? 

CL: Foyles, without question. I’ve been going there since I was five. Its staff are wonderful.

Thanks for your time Christopher, for the latest on Christopher's work, and for a great blog, click here!