If you love witty British crime fiction, sink your teeth
into this Valentine gem
Life in a dismal bureaucratic cul-de-sac is not what the
irreverent, high-flying Robert Amiss expects when the
British civil service lends him for a year to the British
Conservation Corporation. In theory, he is to gain
invaluable experience of thrusting capitalism: in practice,
he is condemned to a non-job in a backwater managing
disgruntled and demoralized time-servers who deeply resent
this interloper. Morale in this all-male environment is not
improved by the arrival of Melissa, a radical feminist
lesbian separatist. It is only Amiss’s sense of humour and
the joys of visiting Rachel, his new love, in Paris, that
keep him sane. The malice, envy and anger that burgeons among the filing
cabinets is first expressed in pettiness and then in
unpleasant practical jokes. These begin to escalate
worryingly and finally culminate in callous murder by means
of boxes of poisoned chocolates sent to the bureaucrats’
wives. Did they come from Henry Crump, the dirty old man? Or
Tony Farson, the miser? Or Graham Illingworth, the
depressed home improver? Or one of the other sad,
disappointed men? Or even from Melissa? With the help of Ellis Pooley, the young detective obsessed
with fictional sleuths who makes his debut here, Amiss and
his friend Superintendent Milton try to assess motives in an
office where marital discord and broken dreams might drive
anyone to murder.
Start Reading THE SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY MURDERS Now
Robert Amiss
Our Past Week of Fresh Picks
|