A bit like with my last review, I have had a mixed experience reading Michael Gilbert’s work. It started badly with Mr Calder and Mr Behrens (1982), a short story collection which put me off trying Gilbert again for quite a while. It picked up once more with Death has Deep Roots (1951) and The Danger Within (1952), the latter of which is my favourite to date and is one I would heartily recommend others to try. Then my time with Gilbert soured (again), with his heralded and much enjoyed, (by everyone else), Smallbone Deceased (1950), which I found to be an average, but by no means a classic read. However in this I am somewhat in a minority. So I wasn’t too sure what to expect with today’s read, especially considering that its type of plot is not one I would usually go for – a more modern police procedural, with a potential gang killing.
This novel begins around the start of November and some boys find an unpleasant surprise when they go hunting for wood for a bonfire in the local Water-board owned reservoir. When DS Petrella arrives at the scene he finds the body of a dead woman, who has been shot. But she is no ordinary woman, as she was the wife of well-known and on the run gangster and robber, Monk Ritchie. As Petrella and other policemen work on the case an obvious culprit rises to the surface and when this culprit is also responsible for sending one of the team to the local hospital, many of Petrella’s colleagues are after his blood. Yet Petrella is not satisfied with case, there are several unanswered questions or inconvenient facts, so he decides to do a little independent investigating of his own, (much to the anger of his superior), yet neither he nor his superiors are prepared for what he uncovers – a surprise which shocks both the reader and the characters, changing the course of the case.
Overall Thoughts
So as I said this was book is not set in a preferred milieu, but despite that it wasn’t actually a bad read. I think because Gilbert wrote his mysteries across a range of milieus, this book holds back from being a fest of violence and gore and actually the case is more complex than it initially seems. Petrella is also an enjoyable and appealing protagonist to follow, which I think helped a lot. The hard nature of being a policeman is demonstrated well, in particular the tendency for being overworked, yet having insufficient resources. The trials which take place in the book are also strongly written, with the prosecution and defence putting their own spin on events. The surprise in the middle of the book worked well for me, but I think the ending of the book, although satisfying in its solution, concluded with not much impact. Nevertheless I think there was enough I liked about this book to want to try other Gilbert novels featuring Petrella.
Rating: 4/5
Just the Facts Ma’am (Gold Card): Out of comfort zone
I was just looking at this the other day! I decided against borrowing it at the time but it does sound interesting so I will have to see if it’s still available.
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Would this be your first Gilbert read? Or have you tried others by him?
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My first. Part of my the reason I didn’t go with it was that I didnt have access to my phone to check for reviews. Would you suggest a different one?
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Whilst it was alright, I don’t think it is a wowing introduction to Gilbert. The Dangers Within would be my recommendation. Think Tom Cat enjoyed that one as well. Takes place in a German prison of war camp.
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Thanks – I shall seek out that one instead!
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Thanks for the review. 🙂 I was going to say that I haven’t read any Gilbert – and then your comment on ‘Smallbone Deceased’ reminded me that I had read something by him. I think I shall save ‘Danger Within’ as my last foray into Gilbert. It seems he has written a few good mysteries, but Kindle has removed them from my local store… >_<
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That’s annoying. Hopefully they will put them back on again at some point. I still sometimes boggle at your choice of leaving best to last. I think if it was me doing it I would be worried that I would never get the chance/time to get to the best works of authors.
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I guess I’d feel sad if I’d read the best works and were left with the middling ones… >_<
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I think the only Gilbert we agree on is Danger Within. 🙂
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haha well that’s one more than I usually have with my blog readers!
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To date my favorite Gilbert novel is one from 1980, relatively late in his career — The Killing of Katie Steelstock, published in your part of the world as Death of a Favourite Girl — stellar writing, intricate plotting, human and complex characters. You tend to appreciate all aspects of a book unlike the puzzle addicts who will dissect the plot until it’s all but bone and gristle. For that reason I think you will enjoy Death of a Favourite Girl, a mature novel as well as a finely plotted mystery (a throwback to fair play techniques even!). You ought to make that your next Gilbert if you are interested in continuing reading his work.
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Thanks for the recommendation, sounds an intriguing title. Thankfully it is an easy book to get a hold of so it can go straight to the top of my TBB list.
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I second that recommendation!
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Like you, I very much liked The Danger Within and was underwhelmed by Smallbone Deceased. However, unlike you, I very much liked the Mr Calder and Mr Behrens collection. Perhaps the reason that the latter did not resonate with you is that it is more thriller/spy games than detection.
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Maybe, it’s been a while so my memories of them are quite vague. But hey 2 out 3, that’s not bad!
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I read this one last year (didn’t blog on it) and recall liking it, but actually could remember little about it. I just looked up what I said in my reading records, and it says ‘enjoyable with ‘strange and ambiguous ending’. Ringing a faint bell..
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Yeah I can see how this is not going to be one which sticks in people’s minds.
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[…] of Your Comfort Zone: Blood and Judgement (1959) by Michael […]
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