Dreams of Justice: Mysteries as Social Documents by
Dick Adler
pbk out December 05
(Poisoned Pen Press)
at £8.59
Dick Adler is a highly regarded crime fiction reviewer for 'The Chicago Tribune' and
this book gathers together an eclectic selection of his insightful critiques, with the
emphasis on relatively recent books. In his introduction, Tom Nolan notes that the
book can serve 'as reader's/buyer's guide' and applauds Adler for his ability to
convey the special flavour of such a diverse range of titles. He compares Adler to the
late and legendary reviewer Anthony Boucher - and this is not over-praise. After a
couple of introductory chapters, one of which describes Boucher as 'the man who
invented mystery reviewing' (in the US, perhaps, but Dorothy L. Sayers and others
made an impression much earlier), Adler collects reviews in a series of themed
chapters: 'black mysteries', 'history as mystery', 'Brits behaving badly' and so on. A
notable feature is that, like Boucher, he is admirably keen to pick out rising stars: an
example is Jim Kelly, two of whose books are acclaimed. Reviewers as perceptive as
Adler are uncommon; collections of reviews such as this are even rarer. This is a book
to relish, not only as a guide to unfamiliar yet excellent novels, but also for Adler's
sympathetic, intelligent analyses of a very varied group of writers, from Arsenault to
Zafon.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Dreams of Justice: Mysteries as Social Documents by
Dick Adler
