Friday, September 23, 2016

A fair cop


“Hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” So familiar, the Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney exchange from the 1930s which became an oft cited trope.

"With Cleaver Square, Daniel and Sean Campbell have created a fine British mystery novel." So said a customer review on Amazon. But I'm not sure that I agree.

"Hey, guys, let's write a police procedural!" It can't be that difficult... choose from the familiar menu the flaws that the investigating protagonist should suffer under... calibrate the 'domestic relationship' parameters... add alcohol... select the base motivation of the evildoer... scatter sundry quirky red herrings to delay the ultimate reveal... garnish with some superfluous insights collected via Googlepedia. Done and dusted!

I read more than my fair share of procedurals, ranging from the masterful to the mediocre. It is a sub-genre for which I have the utmost respect, and one which as author I will not touch with the proverbial bargepole until I am totally convinced that I can come up with something that corresponds with the canon but at the same time turns the clichés on their heads.

Alas, I fear I have something in mind! But first I have two manuscripts which are work-in-progress... Part of Evil and Kickeroh & Co to finish.

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