Janet Roger
Teoksen Shamus Dust: Hard Winter. Cold War. Cool Murder. tekijä
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Before this book, I have not heard of the word shamus meaning private detective. I was intrigued and agreed to read the book.
The narrative of the story is so poetic in deliverance that I repeated certain paragraphs to remember it, reading it out loud just for the pure joy of it. The rhythmic pulses added more glamour to the story, layered in the deep snowy streets of 1947 London. The descriptions so vivid that I was walking the streets literally, experiencing the sights and sounds of this popular city in proximity. Indulging in the flavours of an era gone by.
The scars of World War two were still visible but lives went on, fortunes were made and police officials still easy to bribe. Add a mystery of a hidden Roman Coliseum and the secrets of the privilege, and you have a story that is waiting to be discovered.
Private Investigator Newman found himself in the middle of it all as bodies dropped on Christmas Eve. Pulled into a world where the same-sex attraction was still forbidden and men would rather die than divulge their secrets.
Finding missing people might be his forte, but for this American PI, it was no smooth ride. Together we could sift through the evidence, talk to the people involved and followed the breadcrumbs as we indulge in the history of Roman Empires, beautiful women, well-built men and fast cars.
The plotline draws you in at each page. The added characters lifted the bar as they added suspense and more secrets to it.
Truly a well-written book that belongs next to Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, Heinz Konsalik and Stieg Larson books on your shelf.… (lisätietoja)
The narrative of the story is so poetic in deliverance that I repeated certain paragraphs to remember it, reading it out loud just for the pure joy of it. The rhythmic pulses added more glamour to the story, layered in the deep snowy streets of 1947 London. The descriptions so vivid that I was walking the streets literally, experiencing the sights and sounds of this popular city in proximity. Indulging in the flavours of an era gone by.
The scars of World War two were still visible but lives went on, fortunes were made and police officials still easy to bribe. Add a mystery of a hidden Roman Coliseum and the secrets of the privilege, and you have a story that is waiting to be discovered.
Private Investigator Newman found himself in the middle of it all as bodies dropped on Christmas Eve. Pulled into a world where the same-sex attraction was still forbidden and men would rather die than divulge their secrets.
Finding missing people might be his forte, but for this American PI, it was no smooth ride. Together we could sift through the evidence, talk to the people involved and followed the breadcrumbs as we indulge in the history of Roman Empires, beautiful women, well-built men and fast cars.
The plotline draws you in at each page. The added characters lifted the bar as they added suspense and more secrets to it.
Truly a well-written book that belongs next to Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, Heinz Konsalik and Stieg Larson books on your shelf.… (lisätietoja)
First of all, Shamus Dust is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. Janet Roger, the author, has a way with words that is perfect for writing thrillers. Before revealing the entire scene, Roger cleverly places hints about what is going to happen, and if you can put it together before the big reveal, you can’t help but feel impressed with yourself (which is Roger’s objective, I believe). It definitely gets your brain working, which I think all thriller lovers will definitely appreciate.
Now onto the plot. The plot has so many unexpected twists that I couldn’t help gasping out loud while I was reading it, much to the annoyance of my sister. However, it did engage her curiosity enough that Shamus Dust is now on her to-read list.
Next, I have nothing but praise for the characters. The amount of depth that was put into each character is unreal. Even minor characters were treated equally. For instance, there was one very minor character that stumbled upon a dead body (I won’t tell you who), but his shock was shown so well despite not being given any lines.
There’s only one thing that I have to point out about this book, and that’s the fact that it can only be read when you have the time to really sit down and actually read it. Each sentence is important and must be read carefully. Nothing can be skimmed, otherwise you’ll miss something important and find yourself having to go back.
Altogether, I have to end the review with high praise for Roger. You can tell that she put a lot of work into it and it definitely paid off. This is not a book to be missed!… (lisätietoja)
Now onto the plot. The plot has so many unexpected twists that I couldn’t help gasping out loud while I was reading it, much to the annoyance of my sister. However, it did engage her curiosity enough that Shamus Dust is now on her to-read list.
Next, I have nothing but praise for the characters. The amount of depth that was put into each character is unreal. Even minor characters were treated equally. For instance, there was one very minor character that stumbled upon a dead body (I won’t tell you who), but his shock was shown so well despite not being given any lines.
There’s only one thing that I have to point out about this book, and that’s the fact that it can only be read when you have the time to really sit down and actually read it. Each sentence is important and must be read carefully. Nothing can be skimmed, otherwise you’ll miss something important and find yourself having to go back.
Altogether, I have to end the review with high praise for Roger. You can tell that she put a lot of work into it and it definitely paid off. This is not a book to be missed!… (lisätietoja)
SHAMUS DUST: HARD WINTER, COLD WAR. COOL MURDER by Janet Roger is set in 1947, in London as it recovers from the destruction and devastation of war. There is bomb damage everywhere, people are struggling with deprivation and loss; and yet the murder of a pimp, shot dead at a local church, is causing shock waves. American Private Investigator, Newman, receives a call from a local Councillor on Christmas Morning, with a vague request to check out an incident at one of the many properties the client owns in the area, which soon becomes Newman's full-blown investigation of a murder, leading to another murder, and another.
That first dead man, is a local pimp with a sideline in compromising photo blackmail, so needless to say nobody seems all that disappointed that he was shot to death on that freezing Christmas morning. Newman's suspicious of the nurse who found his body, but a missing university professor and his assistant, a male sex worker, an abusive father and the daughter who befriends Newman; as well as plenty of other potential complications soon have Newman digging deep into a very sordid and complex part of London society.
The style of SHAMUS DUST is firmly old-school noir, with an interesting juxtaposition of what's very much a hat-tip to Chandler and Hammett in construction and feel, set in deprived, dark and dodgy London. Because of this readers might notice the inclusion of American terminology within an English environment, which makes sense given the central protagonist's American background - although why or how he ended up in London I must have missed.
I feel quite comfortable in excusing myself for missing some of these finer details or snippets as this author does a very good job at wrong-footing the reader. Motive's that start out seemingly pretty straight-forward, shape shift before your eyes into something considerably more complicated, the pace is relentlessly forward moving, even with this being a longer book than one would normally expect in classic noir circles. There is also a wonderfully dry, acerbic sense of humour at points, one that felt slightly unexpected from an American character, but perfect within the English setting. The language employed here is, for the most part, vivid and pointed, perfectly aligned with the masters of noir, with just the occasional slip into too much style over substance where the meaning gets a little drowned out by hyperbole.
Assured, clever, dark and elegantly delivered SHAMUS DUST is one for fans of noir styled fiction. It is an interesting undertaking with the execution of noir stylings in a non-standard setting; combined with the insertion of an American lone wolf detective in a desperate and struggling London. Doesn't hurt that the action takes place in the seedy underbelly that current day follower's of British high society might recognise still.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/shamus-dust-hard-winter-cold-war-cool-mu...… (lisätietoja)
That first dead man, is a local pimp with a sideline in compromising photo blackmail, so needless to say nobody seems all that disappointed that he was shot to death on that freezing Christmas morning. Newman's suspicious of the nurse who found his body, but a missing university professor and his assistant, a male sex worker, an abusive father and the daughter who befriends Newman; as well as plenty of other potential complications soon have Newman digging deep into a very sordid and complex part of London society.
The style of SHAMUS DUST is firmly old-school noir, with an interesting juxtaposition of what's very much a hat-tip to Chandler and Hammett in construction and feel, set in deprived, dark and dodgy London. Because of this readers might notice the inclusion of American terminology within an English environment, which makes sense given the central protagonist's American background - although why or how he ended up in London I must have missed.
I feel quite comfortable in excusing myself for missing some of these finer details or snippets as this author does a very good job at wrong-footing the reader. Motive's that start out seemingly pretty straight-forward, shape shift before your eyes into something considerably more complicated, the pace is relentlessly forward moving, even with this being a longer book than one would normally expect in classic noir circles. There is also a wonderfully dry, acerbic sense of humour at points, one that felt slightly unexpected from an American character, but perfect within the English setting. The language employed here is, for the most part, vivid and pointed, perfectly aligned with the masters of noir, with just the occasional slip into too much style over substance where the meaning gets a little drowned out by hyperbole.
Assured, clever, dark and elegantly delivered SHAMUS DUST is one for fans of noir styled fiction. It is an interesting undertaking with the execution of noir stylings in a non-standard setting; combined with the insertion of an American lone wolf detective in a desperate and struggling London. Doesn't hurt that the action takes place in the seedy underbelly that current day follower's of British high society might recognise still.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/shamus-dust-hard-winter-cold-war-cool-mu...… (lisätietoja)
Palkinnot
Tilastot
- Teokset
- 1
- Jäseniä
- 19
- Suosituimmuussija
- #609,294
- Arvio (tähdet)
- 4.5
- Kirja-arvosteluja
- 4
- ISBN:t
- 2
Three things make 'Shamus Dust' a compelling book: the Chandleresque descriptions that Newman, Janet Roger's American investigator in the City of London, uses to distil his view of the world; the detailed and credible evocation of the City Of London in 1947, bomb-scarred, hungry for profit and determined to protect and extend privilege; and the way in which Newman uncovers the truth of who killed whom and why by scraping away layer after layer of deceit, misdirection, and violence that has been used to bury it.
I was impressed by the way Janet Roger combined her storytelling ability with her detailed understanding of how the City Of London was in 1947 to bring the City to life. There where no look-at-the-research-that-I've-done infodumps, just clearly drawn pictures of people, the places and the politics that an observant outsider would have made in 1947. Being an American makes Newman an outsider but he's been in London since 1929 and so he's very aware of the damage the war did to the City.
I know the modern City and Canary Wharf reasonably well and it helped me that Janet Roger used landmarks that I recognise, like the Church of St. Bartholomew and the Great Eastern Hotel and helped me to imagine them surrounded by bomb-flattened lots. I went looking for some pictures of the City in 1947 and found that Janet Roger had already collated them in a history tab on her website. They're fun to look at after you've read the book.
The plot in 'Shamus Dust' exploits attributes of the place and time that give it a gritty realism. There's no nostalgia here. This isn't a London I would want to live in. She draws on the fact that the City of London Police was and is separate from the Met, reporting directly to the City Of London Corporation Court of Common Council to give the Councilmen the possibility of using the police as muzzled muscle. She shows how the criminalisation of the gay community created opportunities for blackmail and corruption. She deals with the pressure that it always brought to bear by men who play high-stakes games with other people's money and she captures that City at a moment when its past has been lost and its future is uncertain. A bit like today, actually.
The heart of the book, the person that brings the different strands together and frames the architecture of the book is Newman. He's not a man who is prone to introspection about his own desires or fears. Nor does he offer neatly--packaged chunks of his history to the people around him. He listens more than he speaks and watches more than he listens. We discover him the way he discovers what's really happening in a case: by watching closely and making connections that are never articulated.
I think the most revealing thing about Newman is the way in which he describes the world to himself. His similes at first seemed similar to the way someone like Philip Marlowe thinks but I soon saw that their terms of reference were more European and more educated than Marlowe's. Newman puts on a hard-boiled American Shamus attitude as easily as shrugging into an overcoat but it's an adornment, perhaps even a disguise, rather than a statement of identity. Newman's thoughts and actions are characterised by a sort of pragmatic lyricism and a disappointed romanticism. His persistence is not motivated by money or even by the expectation of justice. He seems to be driven in equal measure by a hope that he can make things better or stop them becoming worse and by his disdain for the grubby, greedy, venality that is trying to extinguish his hope.
'Shamus Dust' is a book where the quality of the writing was a big part of my enjoyment. I found myself highlighting so many things that I was in danger of cover the whole book.
I think the best way to give you an impression of the book and an insight into Newman is to share some quotes with you.
Here's Newman describing his insomnia as becoming reacquainted with
Newman's status as an outsider is established by his memory of his Australian boss for whom he did insurance fraud investigation in the City, saying:
This is how Newman describes his situation at the start of the book, when he's seen the murder scene and started to suspect he's being set up for something by someone:
Having lived in Switzerland and Belgium this description by Newman of how the room of an excessively neat and organised man, Garfield, has been searched made me smile:
Then there is Newman's assessment of his own mental process once he gets time to take a breath and think:
And Newman's ruggedly lyrical way of seeing the world:
And how he describes listening to silence on the phone at the end of an unpleasant conversation
I recommend this book to you. I hope Janet Roger gives us many more like this.
… (lisätietoja)