Customer Reviews

A Darkening Stain (Bruce Medway Mystery Series)

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

 

 

Picking up where Blood is Dirt leaves off, PI Bruce Medway is saddled with the unwanted attentions of Mafioso Roberto Franconelli; no longer in the Capo's good graces, Medway is still trapped in extenuating circumstances, instructed simply to locate a Frenchman, Jean-Luc Marnier and then fade quietly from the scene.

Circumstantially, five men are found dead on a boat owned by Marnier, bringing the noble Detective Bagado into the picture, the pivotal moral center of the series. Then innocent schoolgirls begin to disappear, an issue that stirs up enormous public fear. Medway, as usual, has his hands full, juggling villains and thugs, one step ahead of their evil intentions. When Bagado's daughter is one of the targeted schoolgirls, the action heats up and moves in a more violent and graphic direction than any of the previous novels.

Medway trolls the late-night dens of concupiscence, opening up another fertile area of the West Africa coast, the flesh trade, the same low form of the human species found everywhere, where nothing is sacred and everyone is for sale. In order to survive this new dimension, Medway must betray himself in a manner that may destroy everything he values in life.

At this point in the series, Wilson's protagonist is faced with an acute moral dilemma, slithering along the dark side with some of humanity's most despicable characters. Inspector Bagado has been a moral compass, tipping Medway back into reality, saving him from ambiguous circumstances time after time. Meanwhile, Medway's personal life has turned increasingly, well, personal, perhaps to more obviously identify him with recognizable humanity. But Medway's mid-life passion with his now-pregnant girlfriend only adds to the desperate emotional edge of the hard-drinking PI. Perhaps it is time, after all, for Medway to consider a career change. Luan Gaines/2004.

I think Wilson's Spain/Portugal novels are superior historical thrillers. I came to the Bruce Medway Africa series tentatively, but after reading one, I've consumed them all. Medway is a fixer in Nigeria, hacking his way through a series of ugly situations. From my point of view, Wilson has drawn a believable character who is hard charging without being omniscient, and who has plausible relationships with Africans & Europeans alike.

A Darkening Stain is one of the best pieces of noir fiction I've ever read - I'd compare it favorably to Chandler, Crumley, Cain, Ellroy. The plot is a little hyper, but never comes apart. The characters are well drawn and complex. The picture of western Africa is ugly, brutal; a toxic dump of greed. Medway works through the situation in the best hard boiled style, with a minimum of 'coincidences' to guide him.

But the keystone of this tale is the story which Medway is forced to concoct in order to cover his tracks, and then which he is forced to deliver under emotionally tortured circumstances. I was completely drawn into the wringer with this one, left feeling worked over when I finished the novel. The crowning touch is the line the bad guy delivers which sends Medway over the edge: "They're just blacks, Bruce..."

Good stuff. 4+

This novel of evil and intrigue in Nigeria and Benin reeks with authenticity. You can feel the African heat. But the protagonist, Bruce Medway, is cool -- cool and deliberate and focused. With foes stalking him he, nevertheless, pursues a noble cause -- solving the mystery of the disappearing schoolgirls. Wilson is a master of the organic plot which unfolds naturally, not relying on coincidence or heavy-handed serendipity to solve plot problems and, in so doing, insult the reader's intelligence. This was my first Africa book by this outstanding writer and I look forward to reading his others.

Robert Wilson, the master of crime writing is well known for his books set in the Iberian peninsula. Before living in Spain, he spent few years in West Africa, hence his 4 novels with the PI Bruce Medway, the relatively good guy who chase his demons with copious amounts of whiskey.
" Darkening Stain" is a convoluted story, full of horendous violence and depravity. Hot and steamy African nights and days are brought so vividly by the author, that in chilly October afternoon when I finished this book, smell of sticky air and danger stayed in my nostrils. Brilliant writer.

I love this whole series of stories by Robert Wilson. This was no exception. Great suspence and language. It gives an interesting view into the corruption and disorder that is the political background of much of 21st century Africa.

Robert Wilson is definitely a very, very good suspense writer. His Javier Falcon series is his best because the character is very believable and the stories are complex enough to hold one's interest. The Bruce Medway character is a little less believable because of all the alcohol intake that would put a person out of perspective and out of commission. This is really not his best writing.

What can I say - just love his work and I was not disappointed. What I am disappointed about is that he is not very well known in the U.S. His books far exceed the inane crap that gets to #1 on the best seller lists. Go figure.