The Wycliffe Omnibus by W.J.Burley
Gollancz (0 575 06249 5) £15.99
The Wycliffe omnibus volume, unusual for
a Gollancz title, has a pictorial dust wrapper. It is an interesting departure from the
familiar and easily identifiable Gollancz plain yellow, though this is not the first
Wycliffe title to be so favoured. It features Jack Shepherd, the television Wycliffe, who
looks sourly at the reader, his eyes half-closed suspiciously. The publisher is here
taking advantage of the opportunity offered by television to sell his books. John Thaw and
David Jason have appeared on the covers of
Dexter and Frost novels and Jack Shepherd may appear on later paperback editions of the
Wycliffe novels. But one can't help feeling that television has been less than generous to
W.J.Burley. The television Wycliffe has been confined to hour-long episodes - less than an
hour if adverts are taken into account. Such a length is surely not enough for a
book-length novel, particularly when one recalls that Morse and Frost have been accorded
two hours and that Dalgliesh, in the P.D.James
adaptations, has had six one-hour sessions. There may be a reason for the apparent discrimination. The Wycliffe novels all follow a familiar pattern. The scene is set by the introduction of most of the main characters, murder victim(s) and suspects, with Wycliffe himself usually making an appearance within ten pages or so. The remainder of the novel is then taken up by the investigation of the crime(s). This is invariably conducted by Wycliffe himself. He is often accompanied by an assistant, formerly DS (now DI) Kersey, his usual number one, and latterly by DS Lucy Lane. Wycliffe gets on well with Kersey, despite their differing temperaments. Wycliffe is austere, almost puritanical, while Kersey is down to earth and realistic. They are both sufficiently tolerant to make their partnership work. Lucy Lane - she is always Lucy Lane, never Lucy - is very young, looking like a schoolgirl in some respects, but proves her efficiency satisfactorily to Wycliffe.
The investigation is always carefully plotted. Wycliffe follows up his various leads and by insistent probing and questioning eventually unmasks the murderer. It is painstakingly and convincingly described by W.J.Burley, but may allow for the condensation of the television adaptations.
The three volumes in this omnibus are late works, all published in the 1980s. They are chronologically out of order, the first, Wycliffe and the Windsor Blue (1987), coming later than the second, Wycliffe and the Four Jacks (1985), and the third, Wycl ffe and the Quiet Virgin (1986). The reason for this is not clear, but does not affect one's enjoyment. It is nice to have them in such a convenient format, particularly as the hardback editions are now out of print. John Boyles
