Jim Williams

Page Updated: 24/06/99

Jim Williams

Recherché

15 Jul 99

Scherzo

pbk 07 Jul 99

About the Author

Bibliography

First British Edition Simon Schuster (1999)

Recherché
A Tale of Memories and Murder
John Harper, a successful middle-aged lawyer has deserted his wife and fled to France with his young secretary, Lucy. But this commonplace tale soon explodes when they meet their fabulous and fascinating neighbour, Harry Haze.
Who is Harry Haze? Is he the ancient Hungarian émigré he appears to be? Or is he the vampire, traitor, war criminal and murderer he claims to be as, night after night, he recounts his life story? Such stories seem to be the product of an entertaining and overactive imagination, except that with every elaborate yarn he spins, Harry produces the evidence from his carpet bag that proves them to be true. And there is something inexplicable about Harry's glamour, particularly when events take a dark twist and Lucy disappears in very peculiar circumstances…
Recherché is a brilliantly conceived web of allusion and illusion. Tenderly evocative yet wickedly funny, Jim Williams's enchanting foray into a diverse literary past is a sublime incarnation of post modern possibility, which explores issues of truth and memory through the complexities of love, loss and the imagination.

British Pbk Original - Scribner (1999)

Scherzo
A Venetian Entertainment
From Venice in the middle years of the 18th century comes a sparkling and labyrinthine murder mystery, mingling the serious and the frivolous in the truly outrageous spirit of rococo.
Young Signor Ludovico, castrato opera singer, narrator and unlikely hero, begins his tale in the art-filled palazzo of his patron, Signor Morosini. But following the discovery of the body of a religious nobleman the descent soon begins towards the rancid canalsides inhabited by the Venetian underclass. Together with a mysterious Frenchman Ludovico bravely sets forth to investigate the murder.
With consummate style, bawdy humour and the sharpest of wit, Jim Williams exposes the darker side of the greatest city of the Age of Enlightenment. Scherzo is a teasing mystery and a literary tour de force.
'Mid-18th Century Venice is the setting for this sparkling and utterly charming novel, which twists and turns with the ease of a gondola. The narration is shared by several voices, each contributing to the devilishly clever plot and deceitful finale: This is grand opera' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday

About The Author
Jim Williams, a barrister by training and an international negotiator by trade, is an avid student of history. He is also the author of three other books - written under the pseudonym Richard Hugo- including Farewell to Russia and Lora's Child. He travels extensively and speaks French, German, Italian and Spanish. He has been happily married for 27 years and lives in Stockport.

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Recherché (Simon Schuster, 1999) Jul 99

Scherzo (Scribner Pbk, 1999) Pbk Jul 99

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