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A review by jmatkinson1
The Blood Card by Elly Griffiths
5.0
1953 and the country is excited by Coronation fever. Across the country households are investing in the latest technology, the television, to watch the ceremony. In Brighton DI Edgar Stephens is investigating the suspicious death of a local Roma fortuneteller when he is summoned to London and charged with investigating the death of his former wartime commanding officer. Meanwhile Max Mephisto, also investigating the crime, has been booked to appear at a huge live television show after the Coronation. Taking in a trip to the USA, the seaside jauntiness of Brighton, anarchists and communists, Stephens and Mephisto have to stop a bomb attack designed to derail the Coronation celebrations.
I am a big fan of Griffiths' writings, she has a knack of creating a clever and exciting plot that works on many levels but making sure that the sense of time and place is absolutely right. I loved the detour into upstate New York, the contrast between the life in the US and post-war drabness of life in England. The characters are becoming more rounded in this third outing for the team and I enjoyed a little more backstory on Emma. An unusual setting with modern resonance about the changing nature of entertainment makes this a fabulous book.
I am a big fan of Griffiths' writings, she has a knack of creating a clever and exciting plot that works on many levels but making sure that the sense of time and place is absolutely right. I loved the detour into upstate New York, the contrast between the life in the US and post-war drabness of life in England. The characters are becoming more rounded in this third outing for the team and I enjoyed a little more backstory on Emma. An unusual setting with modern resonance about the changing nature of entertainment makes this a fabulous book.