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maryannjohanson's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
Absolutely brilliant sendup of detective fiction. I laughed out loud a lot!
liseyp's review
funny
medium-paced
3.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Little, Brown and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
A spoof crime novel with Exeter’s greatest living detective.
Detective Inspector Roger LeCarre is a man on a mission - to rid the streets of Exeter of crime, enjoy a nice calzone with his wife at their favourite Italian eatery, and enjoy being a man.
Yes, he has the misfortune of having lost three partners who were all killed in the line of duty, but that’s just the risk you have to take working for the Devon and Cornwall police force.
In case it isn’t obvious from the description above there is no part of this book that should be taken seriously. This is very much a spoof of a very old-fashioned kind of detective novel. Like The Police Squad in book form. In fact I could see Leslie Nielsen playing the main character of Roger LeCarre very well in his heyday.
It’s well written in the sense that the tone of voice remains consistent throughout. The joke is maintained and isn’t let down by any inconsistent moments. But, for me it just went on too long. The book is only around 270 pages, so I was able to read it within a couple of hours. However, the joke wore thin long before the book was done. For me this kind of humour works best when backed with visuals. A TV version of this would be something I might watch. Punchy little 30 minute episodes with visual gags to break up the relentless narrative voice. In book form it’s just not for me.
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