A. G. Crystal, a
well known critic, has arrived in Brighton to evaluate a play that
he already finds distasteful, but that’s not the only thing Crystal
plans to do in Brighton. In 1951, he witnessed a bank heist.
Something has been nagging at him about the robbery, and now he wants
to tell Inspector Steine. Steine is the hero of a famous gang
shootout, the Middle Street Massacre, but in reality he’s no hero.
He ate ice cream while letting the gangs kill
each other.
Steine wants to
believe that after the massacre crime was wiped out in Brighton. Thus
he turns a blind eye to new cases as he works on his radio
broadcasts. His sidekick Sargent Brunswick wants to chase criminals,
going undercover, but Steine discourages him. Enter Constable
Twitten. He’s fresh out of the police academy and full of
theories. He wants to solve crimes, but runs afoul of Steine’s
laissez faire work ethic.
Twitten is assigned
to sit with Crystal opening night of the play for protection. While
waiting for the play to begin, Crystal begins to tell him about what
he’s remembered about the bank robbery. Before he can get to the
crucial point, when the lights go down, he’s shot in the head. Was
it because he was planning to pan the play, or because of his
recovered memories of the bank heist?
As a mystery, this
is quite good. The plot is convoluted with plenty of twists and turns
and a satisfying ending. The police characters are designed to
amusing, like the Keystone Kops. At times they are, but I found the
farcical interactions wearing after awhile. It was hard to stay
interested in the main plot.
If you enjoy comical
police adventures, you’ll enjoy this book, but be prepared to get
tired of their antics.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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