Another Space in Time

I could have sworn that Miss Maple was back, in Scottish guise. Is it ever fair to compare, possibly not, but this is very Agatha Christie-esk for the modern century. 'One Two' is a great first in series, introducing some wonderful characters of senior years. Lamprey has a very easy read style and an ironic, subtle humour that says most by what it leaves out. The plot is complex enough with a couple of classic murders, lots of possible clues and badly attached leads, some more doggy than others. All the bits simply can't be quite put together until Edge gets a grip on the case. The older generation will enjoy this, if they can find their glasses, and the ageing youths and middle readers should enjoy noting that at least at the Grasshopper Lawns, 20 miles north of Edinburgh, old age doesn't necessarily mean the end of joie de vivre not to mention a bit of nitty-gritty. This is a relatively short read, one sitting for those that consume books at burning pace and only...

This is a beguiling and imaginative read, about an eccentric group of characters that remain individually believable even though in any combination they produce a potpourri with very weird odours and even whiffs of the macabre. Zany humour adds bounce to articulate flowing prose, making this book an easy yet rewarding read. I think of this as light literary fiction, with flourishes from, yes you guessed it, a potpourri of genres. Murder is the central focus, though the crime itself is really just a plot device to help us explore the psychology of the small town, rural, American characters. The book is so pacy and easily absorbed, painting such graphic pictures, that I found myself drawn to compare it with elements of zany type TV series like Northern Exposure, Desperate Housewives, without the omnipresent voice, or even some of the irreverence and immediacy of character penetration in Breaking Bad. The multiple POV first person writing works a treat here, letting one get a very ...

I enjoyed this adventure from the perspective of a superhero. The plot catapulted me into a sort of Batman, or Incredible Hulk type world, a normal landscape inhabited by an individual with Marvel Comic type superpowers. I appreciated the good and bad in his character, the do-gooder who comes to believe that some dark activity is justified by the intention to bring greater light. That is a behaviour that we all see in politics and business, as well as amongst those in pursuit of more personal goals. The cops that support the just bad to bring down to the evil, the wife that turns a blind-eye to her husband's dealings with narcotics because they provide the income to put food on her kids table, the person that robs rich Peter to pay poor Paul. But is it ever right to risk the killing of innocents to get at a greater evil? Arguably sometimes this can be so. This idea provides the binding theme of Elsner's plot. The book is written in a very easy read style that keeps the p...