Scene of the Crime by
Earwaker J & Becker K
pbk out October 02
(Aurum P)
at £16.99
Why did no-one do this before? Julian Earwaker and Kathleen Becker have had
the splendid idea of writing a wide-ranging book about the settings of British
whodunnits, lavishly illustrated with photographs of authors and places. I should
declare that I make a brief appearance in the text, but more important is that
this is a book which fans of the genre such as myself have long been waiting
for. A bonus is that P.D. James, for whom the setting for a murder mystery has
always been the catalyst for imaginative writing, has contributed a characteristically
pithy foreword.
Starting with stories set in Scotland, the book covers Northumbria, Yorkshire,
the North West, Wales and the Marches, the Midlands, Cambridge and the Fens,
East Anglia, Central and Outer London, the South East and Home Counties, Oxford
and the Cotswolds, the South, and Devon and Cornwall. Familiar names and books
are to be found side by side with less well known novelists and their work.
The emphasis is on contemporary writers, but a number of the classics earn a
mention. The copious illustrations include Bob Barnard walking his dog and 'Priscilla
Masters atop the Winking Man'. All in all, whether regarded as a well-researched
reference work or simply as an attractive and entertaining illustrated guide
to mysterious settings, this is a splendid book.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
New Books by Earwaker J & Becker K at Amazon.co.uk
