Scan barcode
A review by shanaqui
A Question of Proof by Nicholas Blake
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A Question of Proof is set in a boys' school, where the suspects are the masters and a boy has been killed. Each teacher has their own set of suspicious circumstances, but none of them seem quite right for the role of murderer... though Michael Evans is carrying on an affair with the headmaster's wife, self-confessedly met her in the place where the body was found, and his silver pencil has been found on the spot... A slim thread to hang a man, without more proof, but proof is exactly what the detectives are lacking.
Enter Nigel Strangeways, a private detective who happens to be friends with Evans. Like most Golden Age detectives, he has his quirks -- and he's a very Golden Age detective as well, offering a gentleman's way out and riddling with the police even well after he knows who committed the crime.
In many ways it's a fairly standard story, but there's some lovely prose in and amongst it. There's a joy in describing the cricket game played, for example, and in the boys' races -- you can feel the warmth of the summer day. That was definitely a feature that made this stand out, though the mystery itself didn't. There's a definite nostalgia for the boys' school environment, a lovingness in the description of the boys and how they carry on. (Less so for the masters, who are as sordid as anyone in their grudges and squabbles, though Evans' love for the headmaster's wife is rather put on a pedestal instead of judged.)
I'd be curious enough to read more of Blake's mysteries -- I believe Strangeways is a series detective -- though not for originality, just for the usual pleasure of reading something that is, in the end, comfortable and predictable. The gentlemen win, order is restored, and the innocent safe (unless they've already been murdered, but we do our best to ensure they're not very nice people).
Enter Nigel Strangeways, a private detective who happens to be friends with Evans. Like most Golden Age detectives, he has his quirks -- and he's a very Golden Age detective as well, offering a gentleman's way out and riddling with the police even well after he knows who committed the crime.
In many ways it's a fairly standard story, but there's some lovely prose in and amongst it. There's a joy in describing the cricket game played, for example, and in the boys' races -- you can feel the warmth of the summer day. That was definitely a feature that made this stand out, though the mystery itself didn't. There's a definite nostalgia for the boys' school environment, a lovingness in the description of the boys and how they carry on. (Less so for the masters, who are as sordid as anyone in their grudges and squabbles, though Evans' love for the headmaster's wife is rather put on a pedestal instead of judged.)
I'd be curious enough to read more of Blake's mysteries -- I believe Strangeways is a series detective -- though not for originality, just for the usual pleasure of reading something that is, in the end, comfortable and predictable. The gentlemen win, order is restored, and the innocent safe (unless they've already been murdered, but we do our best to ensure they're not very nice people).