Customer Reviews

Past Mortem

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't know much about Ben Elton, but I've read a few of his books before, including the last few detective novels. The novel about the BIG BROTHER house I've reviewed for Amazon, and this one is almost as good as the last. Technically speaking the previous book DEAD FAMOUS took more chances, was more daring in conception and in execution. And this one has, for some reason, a fisting scene in the middle of it that's explicit enough to warrant an X rating, if books still carried such, and yet all in all I prefer the present nook, if only for the charm and wit of the central romance.

Edward Newson is a detective inspector for Scotland Yard, the youngest ever in such a post, even though everyone he meets doubts he's cop because, well, "er . . . isn't there a height restriction?" Apparently not, because Ed is only about five foot four, more of a Hobbit than an Inspector Morse. His second in command is a lovely police sergeant, Natasha Wilkiem whose personal life is a bit of a mess. She has a boyfriend called Lance who's not averse to beating her up a little, when he doesn't get his way. Ed doesn't know how to proceed with Natasha, who occupies all his thoughts day and night. If he says anything, he's afraid she'll laugh him down, for she's way out of his league in terms of looks and sex appeal; and also he's afraid if he leans on her, not that he would, she would have grounds to complain about him for sexual harassment. However, all of this becomes moot when Ed is assigned to what becomes the biggest case of his career.

It seems that the ones getting murdered are all (or were, years ago) horrid bullies as teens. Are the victims finally striking back and torturing the bullies as they were tortured when only children? And what does the Friends Reunited web site have to do with this? Here in the US, I'm not familiar with the Friends School phenomenon which must, if the evidence of this book is to be trusted, be sweeping the country, and all old schoolmates must know now where all their fellow alumni are living and what all of them are doing. I suppose there are similar organizations and websites here in the States, but not on such a scale.

Elton keeps you guessing and, despite the claims of other reviewers, the culprit is a surprise. You'll guess everyone else but the right one! I hope that our police love birds return for another case, but I don't know if Elton has the patience or the steady hand to create a series detective. He's a wild card that one, and that's the way we like him.

You can always count on a few good laugh-out-loud one-liners in a Ben Elton novel and you'll get a few from Past Mortem, but the "mystery" won't exactly keep you guessing. The killer's motivation and identity become obvious fairly early in the piece.
As usual, Elton has picked an atypical hero - in this case "ginger shortarse" Ed Newsom. But, despite the fact that Ed is consistently described as funny, he's actually only given a handful of funny lines. As mentioned by a few other reviewers, the "bullying is bad" message does get repetitive and you do feel like you're getting beaten over the head with it (much like one of the unfortunate murder victims!). Also, there were a few irritating editing errors, eg "throws" instead of "throes" and one plot point that didn't seem to work - one of the murder victims is supposed to have missed meeting a friend at the pub, but then only his family turns up for his funeral and he's described as being universally hated. What happened to the friend?
But these are minor quibbles. All-in-all, this is a fun enough beach/plane read.

When will America discover Ben Elton? As far as I know, none of his books have been published here and they are only available as imports. "Past Mortem" doesn't quite reach the heights of "Dead Famous," but it's a first rate page-turner with heavy dollops of wit and style, and characters who leap off the page. If P.G. Wodehouse wrote sexy serial-killer thrillers, he might have come up with something like this. It's miles above the godawful tripe being served up by American hacks like James Patterson, whose junk stares out at us from every airport book rack.

I always pick 2 novels to take on my annual 2 week holiday and read one in each week ( I take my time). So this year I picked Past Mortem (along with You Are Here by Steve Horsfall). I have never read a book by Ben Elton before, but this blew me away - it's funny, touching and risque with a great comment on how the past catches us all up at some point ( centred in this case around the Friends Reunited phenomenom). The whodunnit leaves you guessing to the end. I read it in 2 days ( and You Are Here in 3). I'll need to buy more books next year!!!

I've read and enjoyed a number of Ben Elton's works, and I don't feel this to be one of his better ones.

Elton tends to take a particular social or environmental issue, and then uses a story to barrage the reader with his trendy and enlightened perspective. Usually he gets away with this - his stories can make a rollicking good read, and the underlying social commentary can be stimulating and thought-provoking.

But in this book I was bored. The social issue he's taken on is bullying, and I really don't need to be told the bleeding obvious - bullying is bad, it's effects are long-lasting, and we should all feel guilty because at one point we watched it happen to someone else and didn't do anything. OK, I get the point Ben, you can stop repeating it. I enjoy it more when he tackles the genuinely contentious issues - "High Society" being my definite favourite.

It isn't a great whodunnit either. I'm not particularly cluey with these things, but here I could pick the murderer as soon as [he or she] was introduced. The trail of bodies gets tedious when you're just waiting for the main character to figure it out.

On the plus side, I enjoyed the school reunion and all of the apsects of revisiting the past. He conjured up the memories of being a teenager in the 80's very well. If he only explored that whole area more I would have had a better reading experience.

A brilliant read - I read it in 2 sittings (and I'm not refering to the toilet).

Having read all of his books (with the exception of STARK would you believe!) I continue to be engrossed in them. They all flow with the same fluid 'not reading but watching tele' ease.

Past Mortem is no exception and it is truely a book you cant put down. The sex scene with Ed and Helen had me in stitches. Rather than a turn on, Elton turned it into a hilarious chapter. Ed fumbling 'oh...ok' to a rather bizzare request had me rolling!

Yes, there are gruesome details but in the hands of Ben Elton those details do not so much as shock but add to the colour of the story. In any other crime writers hands, the way the murders were committed would be shocking to the point of sick.

The only gripe I have about the book is the ending. It did get very predictable and you cant help but know who the killer is. There are so many clues it becomes too obvious. Infact, it becomes so obvious you begin to wonder if its actually not that character at all. The ending is also weak. The plot to catch the killer is weak and rushed. The end is over way too soon.

But dont let that put you off in the slightest. Its one of his best. I do kind of miss 'wrrrick' though!

Just recently I'd received Past-mortem for Christmas and only hours ago finished reading it. I didn't start reading straight away, but about a week ago, now a week has passed and I have to say it is one of the best crime fiction novels I've read. The blend of crime, sex and romance is flawless, the characters are real and the investigation draws you in and keeps you guessing right to the end. Well I managed to guess the obvious...but the obvious could be different for anybody.

Edward Newson is both on the case of brutal murder as well has his lonely, uneventful life. He lives day by day trying to track down the killer whilst mulling over his junior partner he secretly love, and by night attempts to track down an old girlfriend of his youth over the internet on Friends Reunited. As the story progresses, the killer strikes again, and Edwards old class comes together, "old feuds and passions burn fiercely again."

This is not a novel for the faint heart due to the gory content and extreme sex-capades Ben Elton has added to the book. But it is an easy read, the writing driving head first into the story and not wasting time with bland description, keeping the book to 300 odd pages but 300 pages of worth while story and character development.

Ben Elton is one of the finest writers of this age.

Ben Elton can certainly write -- but this one's a dud.

If you're an Elton fan, you'll already know that his "formula" relies on taking a controversial issue, and presenting it to us sideways, through the eyes of some unforgettable characters. In previous novels, he's dealt with drugs, the environment, and traffic, (High Society, Stark, Gridlock) and they were all great reads.

In this novel he slips up, because the "issue" he chooses is bullying -- which of course is an issue that no-one "disagrees" on. Unlike drugs or the environment or even driving around in cars, we all agree that bullying is bad and should be stopped. Elton has stepped away from his winning formula, and the results are substandard.

Not even Elton's trademark quirky characters can save the story, his "socially inept but brilliant detective" and his "emotionally damaged but brilliant social worker" are straight from central casting.

And then there's the "crime novel" format. If you haven't guessed "whodunnit" by page 130, then quite honestly you're not paying attention. Out of the twenty-two people I know who've read the novel (the members of two book groups) only one didn't guess who the serial killer was well before the end. Guessing the ending completely destroys the last half of the book, and makes finishing it a chore.

I enjoy Ben Elton's work -- I'll buy his next novel if it's not another attempt at crime fiction -- but this one's a predictable and preachy bore.

The book starts off well with highly descriptive (though a little gruesome) scenes of murder, it has some great comedy moments and a lead character that pretty much everyone can relate to... there is a 'BUT' though - I just don't think the mix works well, the genre is confused and a little inconsistent, there are a couple of golden scenes which are fantastic to read though there aren't enough of them to make it a great book. I liked it but I didn't love it!

I've read several Ben Elton books, and found this one to be a bit lackluster compared to his other works. The killer's identity is blindingly obvious from about the middle of the book, which makes it even more annoying when Elton continues to trot out characters and make some reference to them being shady, which is clearly supposed to make us think "Oh, SURELY this guy must be the killer!" Despite this, it is a quick and entertaining read.