Scan barcode
A review by robinwalter
The Singing Masons by Francis Vivian
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was a challenging book to write a review for because I didn't want to give any spoilers. The challenge lay in the fact that the murder victim was someone who needed killin' and whose murder prevented others from happening. The murder victim was such a thoroughly nasty and unlikeable piece of work, I read the first half of the book in anxious unrest, hoping that the person I considered the most likely culprit wasn't actually guilty.
By about the halfway point I came to terms with that possibility and focused on trying to figure out the mystery myself. So by about the two thirds mark, I had correctly deduced the culprit, only to find that Vivian had several more surprises in store. The most disheartening, or at least the most deflating to my "hey I figured it out!" ego was the fact that the key identifying clue was presented very early in the book. Another surprise or two came at the very end with a climactic reveal that did not unfold as I expected, culminating in an end that was entirely fitting but far from comfortable. It definitely had a sting in its tail.
This book was all about bees - almost literally all about bees. I've neither seen nor read Henry V, so I was unaware that the very catchy title of this book "Singing Masons" was taken from a line in that play. The fact that Vivian built an entire novel around both bees and Shakespeare's reference to them endeared the book to me because it reminded me of Ngaio Marsh.
I read all of Marsh's Inspector Alleyn stories in my teens, and thanks to her building so many of her stories around her own lifelong love of theatre in general and Shakespearean theatre in particular, I came to see and appreciate Shakespeare differently. This sixth outing for inspector Knollis has done something similar. It is built around the idea of bringing to life in the real world the passage quoted from Shakespeare's Henry V . The unexpectedly action-packed ending is also a nod to the dilemma which Knollis has often mused about, the interaction of, and the difference between, law and justice.
The author of the blogpost at Dean Street Press that praised the Knollis series said even those who don't want to read all of Knollis shoud, quote: "try Masons", unquote. It is easy to see why he said that, and hard to disagree.
By about the halfway point I came to terms with that possibility and focused on trying to figure out the mystery myself. So by about the two thirds mark, I had correctly deduced the culprit, only to find that Vivian had several more surprises in store. The most disheartening, or at least the most deflating to my "hey I figured it out!" ego was the fact that the key identifying clue was presented very early in the book. Another surprise or two came at the very end with a climactic reveal that did not unfold as I expected, culminating in an end that was entirely fitting but far from comfortable. It definitely had a sting in its tail.
This book was all about bees - almost literally all about bees. I've neither seen nor read Henry V, so I was unaware that the very catchy title of this book "Singing Masons" was taken from a line in that play. The fact that Vivian built an entire novel around both bees and Shakespeare's reference to them endeared the book to me because it reminded me of Ngaio Marsh.
I read all of Marsh's Inspector Alleyn stories in my teens, and thanks to her building so many of her stories around her own lifelong love of theatre in general and Shakespearean theatre in particular, I came to see and appreciate Shakespeare differently. This sixth outing for inspector Knollis has done something similar. It is built around the idea of bringing to life in the real world the passage quoted from Shakespeare's Henry V . The unexpectedly action-packed ending is also a nod to the dilemma which Knollis has often mused about, the interaction of, and the difference between, law and justice.
The author of the blogpost at Dean Street Press that praised the Knollis series said even those who don't want to read all of Knollis shoud, quote: "try Masons", unquote. It is easy to see why he said that, and hard to disagree.