This was a bit of a wildcard read, as I have not encountered this author or read reviews for them online. So, I was very much going in blind.
Synopsis
‘Matthew Kendrick spent the last few days of his life stealing a Picasso, a Monet, an eighteenth century vase and other masterpieces from five wealthy men in Reverence, U. S. A. It was simply his way of protesting against art investment and the whole cache was found intact within three hours – but soon after that Matthew Kendrick was found dead. Determined to find the killer of his former student, archaeologist David Meynell returns to England to sift through clues embedded in thirty-five years of history. After unearthing the intriguing solution to the crime – and narrowly escaping death himself – he finally tracks down the murderer.’
Overall Thoughts
David Meynell, our amateur sleuth, is somewhat thrust into the mystery, because not long after he leaves the victim, Matthew Kendrick is shot in the shower, and circumstantially David looks very suspect in the eyes of the police. However, his difficult situation is soon resolved due to his work and social connections, as he is attached to UK Defence Ministry, in the historical research department.
Usually at this stage the amateur sleuth is chomping at the bit to get involved, but I would say David’s enthusiasm for the activity vacillates a lot in the first quarter of the novel, which becomes repetitive and trying for the reader. He is not keen to talk to the victim’s mother, who is a social acquaintance and David’s wife, Anne, does have to remind him that they will need to attend the funeral. The funeral is viewed quite cynically by David, who describes it ‘was a production number; a scaled-down version of the mortuary pomp beloved of ancient Egypt.’
At the funeral he is approached by Matthew’s theft victims, as although they have their stolen items back, they are worried that they will be seen as suspects in Matthew’s murder. David turns them down. In this first part of the plot David is a passive rather than an active sleuth, as it is more the case that other characters ask for his help (which they don’t get) and they reveal another part of the puzzle. For example, there is one piece of artwork, a vase, which none of the theft victims are claiming; a narrative thread that I felt had some promising possibilities. Anne’s father is a major figure in the antiques trade, so getting the initial info on its provenance is not too taxing and provides David with his first lead back in England, as and when he decides to take it up.
Further death is not a sufficient a factor to persuade David to fully commit to investigating what has been going on, but having sex with his wife apparently is (don’t you love 1970s mysteries?) and whilst the reader is not subjected to gratuitous detail on the matter, they do have some rather corny dialogue to contend with.
David’s thoughts on the case and what is going on or what has occurred are not always very clear. Or rather you don’t always know how he arrived at a certain conclusion. He says things like “talking to so and so made me realise that….”, but when I have re-read the relevant sections of conversation, the point David claims was made, has not been.
However, it seems like even intimate moments with your wife do not sustain your sleuthing ardour forever, but a dying man in your own flat does eventually do the trick. At this point I think David finally embodies the claim made by the blurb of being ‘determined’, although I would argue David is more interested in avenging the victim in his flat, than Matthew, his ex-student. Then again the dying man in David’s flat did suggest that David might be next on the hit list, so that does give him a rather strong incentive to sleuth.
The cold case, which is part of the mystery, involves a murder of a country house owner in 1947 (supposedly by an American air force recruit) was the most interesting element of the plot, but the way it is explored limited the sleuthing required, as the reader gets an info dump from a character who happens to have written up an account of the incident. Archaeology does make its way into the investigation, which added further interest, but I feel this is a mystery which requires a great deal of imagination and supposition for David to solve, and even then identifying the killer goes down to the wire. So I think thematically this book was stronger than its ability to depict detection on the page.
Ivon Baker’s story is brisk, offering a quick setup, but I would say it is more of thriller, particularly with the reactivity of David. He also involves his department at the Ministry of Defence, which alters the milieu somewhat too, as a shadow called Meek is assigned to protect David from attacks. Meek also roughly interrogates one enemy operative.
I must admit I was not overly gripped by this narrative, so it was easy to get distracted. The suspects don’t stick in your mind, as you interact with them so little, and when the culprit is revealed at the end it is a case of “who are they again?”. An off the page killer confession is required so David can do a prolonged summing up of the case as it is not just the reader who is somewhat in the dark.
Rating: 3.5/5