A murder mystery with a dash of politics (Sweet Poison - David Roberts)

Member Name: jillycat

Product:	Sweet Poison - David Roberts
Date:	05/11/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good period detail sharp characters

Disadvantages: A bit slow to get going

Why this book
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This is a book I borrowed from my local library I have to admit part of the appeal was the books cover, the image of the dashing man in a tuxedo and a spilt goblet made me intrigued as to the books contents.


About the author
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The author David Roberts had a background in publishing as an editor prior to becoming a full time writer in 2000. His books are crime novels set in the 1930's he has only to my knowledge written the Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne series.


About the series
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Sweet Poison is the first book in the Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne series. As such this book serves to introduce these characters to the reader. These novels are set in the 1930's against the backdrop of world events that lead up to the Second World War. There is a huge period feel to these novels with lots of political intrigue not least because Verity Browne is a Communist. Both her and Lord Edward Corinth work together as a team to solve various crimes. Despite their political differences there is a spark of romance and respect between these two characters. But the romance element to the books is a footnote really it is the murders and the politics of the time that take centre stage.
Throughout the series of books Roberts writes with a depth of knowledge about the powder keg of torment that was the 1930's. This was where fascism and Communism all tried to hold centre stage in the lives of ordinary people. The ostrich mentality of the ruling parties and the every day citizens of Britain to the struggles within Germany Spain and Austria prior to the Second World War are penned beautifully.


About the book
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It is August 1935 and the Duke of Mersham (Edwards's brother) is hosting one of his famous dinner parties these involve bringing together people who are generally against one another to see if they can find some common ground to resolve the problems of the day. This dinner party is aimed at improving Anglo-German relations. One of his guests is General Sir Alistair Craig VC, who swallows poison in the duke's exceptional port and dies just as latecomers Lord Edward Corinth and journalist Verity Browne arrive on the scene. Edward and Verity have just meet hours earlier in a car accident. This unlikely couple seek to find the truth behind the general's murder and very quickly discover that everyone present, including the duke himself, had a motive for wanting to kill Sir Alistair.


Opinion
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The story alternates between the narratives of Edward and Verity; although I think the majority of it is from Edward's perspective as such the book has a very male feel to the narrative.

In regards to the pace of the novel a lot of time at the start is spent introducing all the characters and explaining how they come to beat the dinner party. This meant that the novel took a while to get going in my opinion. In some ways the getting to know the characters was helpful in allowing you to guess motives and who the killer was. If you give the book time to develop you are rewarded with some small elements of social comedy about the aristocracy and communists. But this never takes over the book as murder plot weaves it way through enticing you as the reader to select the murderer.

Edward is hesitant to interest himself in politics but as the book develops he finds it harder and harder to remain the neutral observer. He becomes very critical of Verity and her Communist friends and how they treat people. He finds at time Verity is a bit of a conundrum as she comes from a very comfortable background and loves the nice things in life such as fancy hotels and clothes but is also passionate about communism. You soon find out that her fellow party members also think she is a rich girl playing politics. Edward is as equally critical and exasperated by the fascist sympathies of some of the aristocracy.

The duos sleuthing about the Generals murder involves tracking down the other dinner party guests and trying to probe into why they might have wanted to murder him. In some cases this involves a bit of subterfuge even danger, and their investigations ultimately only seem to reveal that everyone might have had motives.

These novels have been compared to Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane series. having read several books by her and in this series I think that to compare this first book to Sayers is a bit of a stretch really and though it is good the writing is not as polished and sharp as Sayers' and though there is good period detail it is not in the same calibre as her work. However as the Corinth series develops I think the comparisons then become justified.

One of the things I do like about this novel and subsequent ones by this author is the way he has Edward and Verity discuss their thoughts and theories about the murder and this I have found helps me try to solve the crime too.

Justice is served in the end, but not in a conventional way, but I still found it to be a mostly satisfying ending. The book clearly leaves the way open for a sequel and part of me was left wondering was it a single book that was commissioned or a series. Reasons being the lengthy introduction to the characters and the setting of the scene in regards to the politics of the time made me wonder had some of the sequels all ready been written and developed when this book came out as the flow to the next book seemed to be seamless.


Overall
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I would recommend this book to people who like a good murder mystery but do allow the book a few chapters to get going as it is a bit of a slow burner.

Book details
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Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers; 1st Carroll & Graf ed edition (27 Feb 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0786708190
ISBN-13: 978-0786708192

Currently on sale on Amazon for £6.29

Summary: A murder mystery set prior to World War 2