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A review by robinwalter
Dead Opposite the Church by Francis Vivian
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
I bought this book originally because Kobo listed it as "An Inspector Knollis Mystery Book 11 - The Inspector Knollis Mysteries". It wasn't, and the error was Kobo's, as they have another version available with the same details but no mention of Knollis. That's as it should be because he's only mentioned twice, in the context of him having retired before the events of this book. On the strength of this book, Vivian should have done the same.
This was a confusing and disappointing read. In the early Inspector Knollis stories, the characters were coherent and there was a lot of dry wit and subtle, understated writing. There was nothing understated about the writing in this story. Elmore Leonard gave as one of his ruiles that writers are allowed one or two exclamation marks per 100,000 words of prose. This book has 3 or 4 per 100 words of prose. All that "shouting" made it tiring to read, as did the character of the protagonist.
In the last Knollis mystery, Darkling Death, the protagonist threatened violence against police officers who were asking him questions. In this book, the protagonist attempts violence against a police officer while being interviewed. He is depicted as someone with a very short temper, prone to violence with little or no provocation. Like the protagonist in Darkling Death , he is openly cointemptuous toward the police as an institution even while working with them to solve the mystery.
It's this philosophical shift that is the biggest let down for me. Knollis was troubled by the death penalty, but committed to upholding the rule of law. This protagonist effectively considers his own judgment to be the only law he'll obey, and is happy to both threaten and use violence if that view is challenged. He's also frighteningly Neanderthal in his view and treatment of women. The early Knollis mysteries were not exactly progressive in the views expressed toward women, but they were not openly regressive as this one and Darkling Death were.
The mystery itself is set in a newspaper, and is built around the murder of the paper's owner. In between threatening assault, attempting assault and actual assault, and with lots of shouting - especially at women, the protagonist finds time to help the police, whom he views with disdain and/or contempt, to solve the mystery.
In his introduction to the reissued Vivian stories, Curtis Evans says of Vivian "While never himself an angry young man", yet the leads of both Darkling Death and this one are VERY angry men, albeit not young. In this final book, the only trace of the wry, droll wit that marked the early Knollis is found in the "epistolary dedication". The best and kindest things I can say about this book number only two: (1) at least it's not bloated with pretentious psychobabble like Darkling Death, and (2), it was his last.
This was a confusing and disappointing read. In the early Inspector Knollis stories, the characters were coherent and there was a lot of dry wit and subtle, understated writing. There was nothing understated about the writing in this story. Elmore Leonard gave as one of his ruiles that writers are allowed one or two exclamation marks per 100,000 words of prose. This book has 3 or 4 per 100 words of prose. All that "shouting" made it tiring to read, as did the character of the protagonist.
In the last Knollis mystery, Darkling Death, the protagonist threatened violence against police officers who were asking him questions. In this book, the protagonist attempts violence against a police officer while being interviewed. He is depicted as someone with a very short temper, prone to violence with little or no provocation. Like the protagonist in Darkling Death , he is openly cointemptuous toward the police as an institution even while working with them to solve the mystery.
It's this philosophical shift that is the biggest let down for me. Knollis was troubled by the death penalty, but committed to upholding the rule of law. This protagonist effectively considers his own judgment to be the only law he'll obey, and is happy to both threaten and use violence if that view is challenged. He's also frighteningly Neanderthal in his view and treatment of women. The early Knollis mysteries were not exactly progressive in the views expressed toward women, but they were not openly regressive as this one and Darkling Death were.
The mystery itself is set in a newspaper, and is built around the murder of the paper's owner. In between threatening assault, attempting assault and actual assault, and with lots of shouting - especially at women, the protagonist finds time to help the police, whom he views with disdain and/or contempt, to solve the mystery.
In his introduction to the reissued Vivian stories, Curtis Evans says of Vivian "While never himself an angry young man", yet the leads of both Darkling Death and this one are VERY angry men, albeit not young. In this final book, the only trace of the wry, droll wit that marked the early Knollis is found in the "epistolary dedication". The best and kindest things I can say about this book number only two: (1) at least it's not bloated with pretentious psychobabble like Darkling Death, and (2), it was his last.