A review by kurezan
He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond

dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

3.5

This is the first entry in Derek Raymond's Factory series, but is the second book I've read from the lot. I am somewhat glad that I read in the order that I did-- whereas The Devil's Home on Leave rather plainly states the main character (the Sergeant)'s troubled backstory, those elements -- the status of his wife and daughter-- were left ambiguous in this first book. This absence feels jarring given how much it factors into his life in the second novel, and there were moments in this work where such details would have made sense to include in his narration. The novel is a gritty, eyes-on-the-ground exploration of the underworld of 1980s London, as the Sergeant drifts from one low income neighborhood, dive bar, hole in the wall pub, club and drug den to another. Much of the novel is told through the narration -- recorded thoughts on cassette and in writing, from the brutalized deceased man who the Sergeant seems to have infinite empathy for. His methods to solve the case are harsh and undelicate and risky and he goes down a rather compelling journey that is written in an engaging, descriptive  style.  All of the fast-paced  interviews and interrogations capture the vernacular in a really distinct way and were an absolute joy to read. That said, I thought that for a 210ish page book there were a bit too many segments where the Sergeant simply listened to the recordings made by the deceased verbatim. At a certain point the mystery was not really about who did it, because it was very obvious early on about who the culprits were, but more about how he would catch them. The ultimate methods to solve the case were rather heavy-handed, in my opinion, and I could have done without certain romantic elements of his plans, which also went on too long and were thoroughly unpleasant (although I imagine this was deliberate.)

Also, while i thought the cover was cool, it is a rather strange strategy to include a spoiler smackdab on the front about who is involved. What's the deal with that?

Overall, I would recommend this book. I thought it was a really gripping crime story and a solid first entry in the series. Having read ahead, I am pleased to know that Derek Raymond improved as he continued writing. Very much looking forward to reading more of his novels!

P.S., The fetishist stuff here really caught me off guard! I never really understood the deal with that element.