Customer Reviews

Corridors of Death

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first of RDE's series of mysteries set in modern-day British institutions, introducing Robert Amiss, the unlikely and likeable hero of the series, and his policeman friend Jim Milton. It demonstrates RDE's trade-mark clear-sighted understanding of her settings, in this case the intricacies and absurdities of the British government and civil service. At the same time she does not lecture. She hits the plot straight away (we don't even get to meet the murder victim alive) and does not let up the pace. Amiss is the junior-but-fast-tracked (graduate entrant), intelligent and basically decent Private Secretary to the murdered Permanent Secretary who is recruited by Milton to be his mole and his guide to the complex hierarchy, conventions and personalities involved. Amiss' explanations get a wee bit laboured - I can't believe that a senior British policeman needs to have explained to him what the various "Secretaries" in the civil service really connote - but I guess explanation in some form or another is unavoidable if she is not to lose her non-British readers entirely. As it is, this is a painless and indeed enjoyable introduction to the British civil service by an insider (as RDE has been a civil servant herself).

Another RDE trademark is that believable and distinct (and recognisably British) characters come to life with remarkable economy of words. As usual with RDE the plot is not over-clever, but nonetheless tight and can't be faulted. Her strength really is making everything so true-to-life. Policemen engage in real hard thinking and thorough dog-work, coping at the same time with political pressures. People act true to nature and yet don't always conform to steorotype. Milton and Amiss display real intelligence and understanding of human nature (no glaring oversight of an obvious angle which proves to be the key to the mystery). RDE mixes realism and entertainment to a commendable degree. Needless to say, she writes well; well-paced, articulate and snappy prose.

This books take the point of view of Jim Milton more than Robert Amiss, which is interesting for devotees of the series because Amiss quickly becomes central whereas Milton fades away gradually. For the reader interested in character development, this first book provides an important piece in the jigsaw. Here Milton is portrayed more vividly than in any other book in the series, and we learn to respect his patience and professionalism, and understand a little more of his personal life. Amiss is a bit flat here compared to the following and later books where he becomes more lively. One gets the feeling that perhaps at this stage RDE meant Milton to be her central character rather than Amiss. But this is the only book where he is in real and appropriate employment so for Amiss fans it is a chance to see him on his homeground.

I give this four rather then five stars because some later books in this series (Matricide, Ten Lords, Publish) are more deserving of full honours. She hasn't quite gotten into her satirical stride in this first book, though that's not to say that she's not irreverent. But it is only in later books that her satire gets truly and howlingly wicked, and her comic talent blossoms. I recommend any book in the series; not one of them is a dud.

Because the other review dealt so well with this book as a narrative, I would like to address it as an audio book. I've been much taken with Bill Wallis' narration of other books in the Robert Amiss series (which I have preforce read out of order). My favorite of the books I have read so far is Carnage On The Committee although I also quite liked Clubbed to Death. The instant book (in which, alas, Ida "Jack" Troutbeck does not appear) is narrated in the same clear and amusing style.

Wallis does a good job with the various accents without being incomprehensible to my American ear. He also plays the characters very straight, never over doing the fact that this is a satire or dealing with them in a heavy handed fashion. As for the tapes, while there is always a bit of background hum where a cassette tape is concerned it wasn't really annoying, even on a low quality cassette player.

Highly recommended for both the original story and the audio production.

I am glad I started from the beginning of the series, but if you start here, please know that the books get much better as they go. This one is better than many, but it's not what I've come to expect from this series.

A senior British senior servant is found murdered right after an important meeting, and the only suspects are important bureaucrats. Detective Milton of Scotland Yard is on the case, and he continually needs to prove himself because everyone seems to want the case wrapped up and hushed up. Fortunately he has an 'ace in the hole', Robert Amiss, a secretary who is willing to secretly give him information on all these important people.

I was feeling 'meh' about this book in the beginning. I bumped up my rating to 3 stars by the end because the dead man turned out to be very 3-dimensional. At first I thought he was a typical nasty man whom everyone wanted to die - but as the book unfolds he became much more interesting. (It's an odd feeling building a relationship with a corpse!) And might I add that Amiss, the amateur detective, is a well developed character. He is the star of the series, so I'm hoping there are good things to come in the next books.

Bottom line: Thought it was going to be boring, but turned out a bit better than I expected. And I learned a little about British civil service at this time period.

Engaging characters, keen satire, & a fine mystery served with intelligence and humor make this book well worth the time to read it.