Here is a detective novel in verse, developing rhyme-crime in nearly 300 14-line stanzas. The Punjab in India, 1935. Fresh from his English boarding school, Jack Steele is a new recruit to the Indian Imperial Police & soon begins to acquire the attitudes of old India hands towards the people under their rule. Only a few months into his posting, Jack has to conduct a murder invest. when one of the British community at his Station, the sexually rapacious widow Milly Marchbanks, is found strangled. The only clue implicates a member of the Station Club. But which one? While Jack goes round in circles, his self-effacing Indian sergeant, Bulaki Ram, discreetly nudges him along the way he needs to go, as little by little he learns all is not as it seems.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Prolific British mystery-maker Keating returns to the India of his well-received Inspector Ghote novels, but this time with new characters and a new form: a detective novel in rhyming verse, the first in recent memory. Set in the Punjab in the last days of the British Raj, Keating's story follows young Jack Steele, an idealistic policeman new to imperial ways. Keating's picture of colonial life can look all too familiar: the first 30 pages include "a tennis court/ where Jack's in play"; a sahib who says, "I never shirk/ when duty calls"; and the entire situation and argument of George Orwell's famed essay "Shooting an Elephant." Then the mystery plot begins, and Keating displays his real gifts. An English woman of loose morals is dead: the sahibs assume a "native" did it, but the only clue casts blame on an Englishman... named Jack. Can our hero clear his name by finding the genuine culprit? The answers involve a secretly gay English planter; the evasive, hedonistic "Plum Duff," proud of his Angl0-Indian background; and "Little Brown Gramophone," an Indian lad who can remember, and imitate, every sound he has ever heard. Keating takes his poetic methods from Vikram Seth's novel-in-verse, The Golden Gate: like Seth, Keating uses the 14-line stanza of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, which can produce a padded, or corny, English ("there he'll have a major part./ You'll find him at the story's heart"). But if he's no Byron, Keating does manage to make his strings of stanzas fit his story; after a few dozen tetrameter couplets, readers will find the verse transparent, even entertaining. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
"The great drawback of crime fiction of all types is its tendency to reduce itself to formulas. This applies whether it's Noir or Mayhem Parva, a private eye novel or a psychological thriller. So it's all the more exciting when a genuinely original crime novel appears. H.R.F.Keating has been doubly clever, because the originality of this novel is in form rather than content; and only as the story progresses does the reader realise that the former is subtly influencing the latter. Like Pushkin, Vikram Seth and indeed Byron, he has chosen to write a novel in verse. (His only fore-runner in the genre is Dorothy Porter, whose The Monkey's Mask is a sort of crime novel in vers libre.)
Jack the Lady Killer is set in India but not the India of Inspector Ghote. It's the Punjab in 1935. Most of the action takes place in a small British community. A lascivious widow is murdered. The District Superintendent of Police, the very pattern of an imperialist hero, is in hospital with sunstroke. The task of investigating the murder falls on young Jack Steele, fresh from his English public school and on the threshold of a career with the Imperial Police Service.
How convenient it would be if the murder could be pinned on one of the natives. Unfortunately, however, the murderer must be One of Us one of the handful of suspects who were within the precincts of the club at the time of the murder, and each of whom have secrets to hide. Even the godlike figure of the District Commissioner is not above suspicion. To make matters worse for Jack (if this is possible), an MP is about to visit the Station, bringing with him his niece, a stunningly attractive girl with a habit of asking stunningly awkwardquestions. Only Bulaki Ram, Jack's sergeant, seems able to make the occasional useful suggestion by accident, no doubt, because he's only a native.
In terms of plot, Jack the Lady Killer is a perfect whodunit in the classic mould. (If handled in prose, it could have been a long short story or, with the addition of a few subplots, a full-length novel.) On another level, it is also a coming-of-age novel: one by one, Jack's illusions crumble, not least the illusion about the insignificance of Bulaki Ram. As Jack picks his way through the murky thickets of motivation and pretence, he finds his way painfully towards maturity. On another level still, the book is a perceptive and even-handed critique of British imperialism in India.
What effect does the form have on the content? Keating uses a 14-line stanza and a tight metrical pattern. Oddly enough, the constriction of the form allows a liberation of the content. Verse encourages concision, the telling phrase or syntactical inversion that would be out of place in a prose narrative. It also permits an author to avoid some of the conventional limitations of fictional "realism." Moreover, the rhythm carries you forward in tandem with the narrative tension. Just another stanza, you think, and an hour later you discover you have finished the book.
It's difficult to think of another crime novelist who could have written this fascinating and unusual book. As a bonus, it has been beautifully produced by Flambard with some excellent illustrations and a sensible glossary. Highly recommended and the ideal Christmas present for those who like intelligent crime fiction.
--Andrew Taylor, author of the highly acclaimed Roth & Lydmouth Series
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Jack the Lady Killer is set in India but not the India of Inspector Ghote. It's the Punjab in 1935. Most of the action takes place in a small British community. A lascivious widow is murdered. The District Superintendent of Police, the very pattern of an imperialist hero, is in hospital with sunstroke. The task of investigating the murder falls on young Jack Steele, fresh from his English public school and on the threshold of a career with the Imperial Police Service.
How convenient it would be if the murder could be pinned on one of the natives. Unfortunately, however, the murderer must be One of Us one of the handful of suspects who were within the precincts of the club at the time of the murder, and each of whom have secrets to hide. Even the godlike figure of the District Commissioner is not above suspicion. To make matters worse for Jack (if this is possible), an MP is about to visit the Station, bringing with him his niece, a stunningly attractive girl with a habit of asking stunningly awkwardquestions. Only Bulaki Ram, Jack's sergeant, seems able to make the occasional useful suggestion by accident, no doubt, because he's only a native.
In terms of plot, Jack the Lady Killer is a perfect whodunit in the classic mould. (If handled in prose, it could have been a long short story or, with the addition of a few subplots, a full-length novel.) On another level, it is also a coming-of-age novel: one by one, Jack's illusions crumble, not least the illusion about the insignificance of Bulaki Ram. As Jack picks his way through the murky thickets of motivation and pretence, he finds his way painfully towards maturity. On another level still, the book is a perceptive and even-handed critique of British imperialism in India.
What effect does the form have on the content? Keating uses a 14-line stanza and a tight metrical pattern. Oddly enough, the constriction of the form allows a liberation of the content. Verse encourages concision, the telling phrase or syntactical inversion that would be out of place in a prose narrative. It also permits an author to avoid some of the conventional limitations of fictional "realism." Moreover, the rhythm carries you forward in tandem with the narrative tension. Just another stanza, you think, and an hour later you discover you have finished the book.
It's difficult to think of another crime novelist who could have written this fascinating and unusual book. As a bonus, it has been beautifully produced by Flambard with some excellent illustrations and a sensible glossary. Highly recommended and the ideal Christmas present for those who like intelligent crime fiction.
--Andrew Taylor, author of the highly acclaimed Roth & Lydmouth Series
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Experienced a verse novel,
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This review is from: Jack, the Lady Killer (Paperback)
(H. R. F. Keating also writes the Inspector Ghote mystery series set in India.)JACK, THE LADY KILLER is an unusual mystery because it's written in verse with illustrations. The first mystery I read in verse was Martha Grimes, SEND BYGRAVES, and I have been a fan of this unique style of story telling ever since. I am thrilled to say H.R.F. Keating's mystery in verse was just as unique and fun to read as SEND BRGRAVES. Mr. Keating gives the author Vikram Seth credit for inspiring him after he read his verse novel THE GOLDEN GATE. He even quotes a verse of Vikram Seth's at the beginning of this mystery and I think those in the publishing business will get a kick out of it. Mr. Keating's mystery takes place in 1935. Jack Steele, a new recruit to the Imperial Police Service in India is sent to take care of a panicked elephant. While he's gone someone murders widow Milly Marchbanks. With the District Superintendent in hospital Jack finds himself working the crime. A witness, a boy named "Little Brown Gramophone" tells Jack that just before Milly died she cried, " No, Jack, no! So searching for a member of the Briton Club named Jack should seem easy . . . but it isn't. The author takes the reader through the suspects, clues and emotions of Jack in verse. If you haven't experienced a verse novel or mystery nows your chance. Don't miss it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good mystery that is in verse,
This review is from: Jack, the Lady Killer (Paperback)
In 1935, England reigns over the Indian subcontinent. Just graduating from school, Jack Stealton arrives in Punjab, India to join the Imperial Police Service. His supervisor, FHR Guthrie makes sure the new recruit understands that he represents England at all times. It is imperative that he insures the locals never forget that he is a superior being. As the months pass, Jack easily acclimates to his new home. However, while playing tennis with Jack at an exclusive club, Guthrie collapses from heatstroke on the court.Not to long after that incident, someone murders Milly Marchbanks, a sex-starved man-eater. Her last words are: "No Jack! No Jack!" Seven club members allegedly were sleeping when the killing occurred. Jack believes one of them is lying and is the killer. With his mentor hospitalized and unable to guide him, Jack leads the inquiry. This investigation will either change Jack into confident law enforcement official or find him in need of a new profession. JACK, THE LADY KILLER is an unusual historical police procedural as this tale is written in verse. Narrative poetry such as THE HIGHWAYMAN or THE RHYME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER is risky. In this case, the poetic format works with the mystery fully unfolding like any novel would have done. The talented H.R.F. Keating succeeds in providing his audience with a feel for the era and interesting characters, especially Jack and Guthrie. The English air of superiority to the natives adds depth to the overall tale. This colorful narrative poem is unique and entertaining. Anyone seeking an enjoyable but different book, should try JACK, THE LADY KILLER because no one will feel Keating is cheating them with this reading. Harriet Klausner
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