Customer Reviews

Corpsing

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The narrator of this story, Conrad Redman, is an aptly-named protagonist, since, after only a few pages, he's covered by a large quantity of blood - his own and his girlfriend's, when they're gunned down in a flashy London restaurant. Initially, this made me suspect a "Soho-genre" novel (the type written by some English novelists who see themselves as aspiring screenwriters.) Be that as it may (and probably Toby Litt does indeed have aspirations to become such a screenwriter since it appears that the screen rights to this novel have already been optioned) the book is worthy of more than just a writer's screen credit at the end of a movie.

Though reasonably well written, Corpsing seems to be sometimes too world weary and cynical. Conrad Redman's work involves creating trailers for satellite/digital companies, and he's in a rut where he's almost given up his dream of becoming a filmmaker. We first meet him when he's putting together a promotion for yet another Shark Week, making his trailers by splicing bits of film together, disregarding linearity in order to collage the best shots. And this is how Corpsing is narrated... sort of bitty and full of jump cuts, flashbacks, slow mo, stops and starts. Above all, the flash-backs-forwards of the bullet entries. Litt spares no bruising detail as he describes how Conrad and his girlfriend, Lily, are literally blown apart. But he also cleverly places his narrator into a situation that most of his readers will have fantasized about in one way or another. So, although Conrad may not always be very likeable, the reader cannot help but identify with him.

There's a certain amount of wit in Conrad's narration (Litt's writing), like Conrad admitting his shame at being shot by a bicycle courier in shockingly bright Lycra. However, there are faults too. Too many of the characters are lifeless - the notable exception being Lily, Conrad's dead actress girlfriend, who seems to get a far better role than many of the living. Unfortunately, good characterization is what this book needed, and in that respect Litt failed to fulfil. Otherwise, not a bad read.

"Corpsing" is EXACTLY what one wants in a page-turning murder mystery. A tormented, interesting and vaguely annoying protagonist, enough suspects to keep the mystery going, and a really worthwhile twisty ending.

Quite often, when I'm reading a murder mystery I start to get bored at some point and am SORELY TEMPTED to jump ahead and read the ending, just to see if it's worth the read - sadly to say, I actually do this about 65% of the time. With "Corpsing", I was so engrossed in what was going on, I stuck it out all the way to the end! Cheating didn't even cross my mind.

I will say that Conrad can be a pretty annoying character - he's obsessed to the point of mistreating everyone around him, so don't expect some sort of noble or sympathy-engendering character. I thought he was fun and always did the unexpected.

Definite thumbs up on this one.

Conrad Redman gets a call from his ex-girlfriend Lily Irish. On very short notice she wants to meet him at the ?Le Corbusier? restaurant. He can not resist and there the two of them sit, having supper. Enters a strange figure in the disguise of a bycicle messenger, pulls out a gun, kills Lily and sends Conrad to the hospital for six months. They catch the killer, but he will not talk. Conrad wants to find out who gave the orders for the shooting spree. Lily?s parents - Josephine and Robert ?The Mistake? - are of little help. Anne Marie, Conrad?s new girl friend, energetically marches along, but he soon tires of her.

While it is a fun story, the ending is less than satisfying. Some of the red herrings tend to be barracudas.