Bodies [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Barnard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the Soho studio of Bodies magazine (porn so soft it's "practically marshmallow") are found four corpses: a photographer, his assistant, an actress-student and a young bodybuilder. Perry Trethowan of London's C.I.D. can't discern a motive for the murders but a few hints point toward the bodybuilder's background. The suave Trethowan finds himself involved in the seedy, naively narcissistic world of compet-itive body-building. Using a black gym-manager as an undercover decoy, Trethowan penetrates a more sinister, hardcore porno operation that specializes in teenagers. Fans of Barnard (Political Suicide, Out of the Blackout may be disappointed that the case's solution is rather strained and a bit unlikely, but the lively characters and colorful background are nicely done. Narrator Trethowan is, once again, a charming guide. Mystery Guild main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (April 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440200075
• ISBN-13: 978-0440200079
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Barnard Gets Muscle Bound, October 4, 2008

By 

John F. Rooney - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bodies (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book a Soho photo shoot becomes a shooting gallery. In several ways this is an atypical Barnard crime novel. It opens with the grisly shooting murder of four people in a photo studio--a high body count for this usually cozy writer and a less subtle and less ingenious cause of death for him. The book has few bursts of wit and humor, fewer comic asides, fewer of his funny oddball characters, very little of his acerbic social commentary. He's left his light touch behind in the telling of this tale.
The novel is single-mindedly devoted to bodybuilders and the photo magazines and films featuring soft and hard core porn. The book features Barnard's sometimes series character (in five of the forty books), Scotland Yard Police Superintendent Perry Trethowan who is himself a lapsed bodybuilder.
It's a well done, cleverly plotted book, but one that doesn't prepare you for the solution with foreshadowing. The ending almost comes out of the blue.
The book introduces Charlie Peace as a gym manager who in later books blossoms into one of Barnard's series detectives in the Leeds area. He works for the police "undercover" in the porn industry, uncovered so to speak.
It's not vintage Barnard, one of his least funny books, but is still far better book than most writers plying the trade produce. He knows how to tell a story, hook the reader and carry him along smoothly. There aren't potholes, dull stretches, arid portions, digressions to fall into as you read; Barnard knows how to breathe life into a story and make it move.