Aberystwyth, or at least this one set in the alternate world of druid gangsters, of long-term assassins, and strange psychological experiments set in an abandoned insane asylum, its where Louie Knight is the only private detective, and with his trusty sidekick, Calamity Jane, takes on a case of the missing Dean Louie assumes its a typical scholarly type wanting to carouse with the low-class for awhile - but the mystery takes a completely different turn when it looks like the Dean was into something else completely.

As with the first book in this series, it has utter ridiculous story, and it shouldn't work. But it does - and its because for all its silliness, it is a totally serious book. It is bleak - it is sad - at times, horrific (the clown's johnnies, for example) And, it a good read. Malcolm Pryce is an excellent writer - He manages to take a stereotype and turns it into something that is a full character, without loosing the stereotype.

This the perfect read for a bleak, rainy afternoon - where you want something that is moody but not too serious. Highly recommended. ( )

This is the second of Pryce's pastiche's of the noir detective novel that I've read, and it was just as entertaining as the first. If you've not come across him before, you'll need to know that he takes the style and plot devices of mid-20th century hard-boiled American detective fiction and transplants it to late 20th-century Wales; more specifically, to Aberystwyth and it's immediate environs.It's intended to be for humorous effect and it broadly succeeds. These books don't demand much of you but are easy reading that raises many smiles along the way.

Gangs control the seaside rock concessions, dingy dives are sometimes scandalously open after 9pm, and our detective has the traditional troubled relationship with the forces of law and order as well as those of ordered unlawfulness. The Druids run the speakeasies, the troubled drown their sorrows in toffee-apple dens, and young girls hope to find fame but end up in the 'What the Butler Saw' movies. There's a femme fatale, a murky crime from the past, a mysterious stranger or two and many people with secrets to encounter along the way. You don't need to know more - if you like the sound of all this, read it. You won't be disappointed. ( )

The follow-up to "Aberystwyth Mon Amour".

Pretty girls from the farms beyond Talybont come to Aber to make their fortune modelling for the pictures on boxes of fudge, but end up acting in the 'what the butler saw' films and practising the oldest profession in the Druid speakeasies in the bed-and-breakfast ghetto, while the veterans of the Patagonian campaign are still haunted by their experiences in Wales' Vietnam. ( )

The 2nd in the series of humorous noir mysteries set in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth. A dean from the Faculty of Undertaking at Lampeter University paid a visit to Aberystwyth and hasn't been seen since. One of his students has hired Louie Knight, Aber's only PI, to find out what's happened to him. It seems there has been a case of mistaken identity as the Dean was given a bag containing details of the next contract meant for a Druid hitman. Not only does Louie and his partner Calamity have to put up with dead-end after dead-end in their investigation but there are also rumours of a Bigfoot type monster roaming the hills that might have connections to Louie's past for them to worry about as well. Perhaps a visit to Dai the Custard Pie can shed some light on the matter.

If you like your noir to be straight up and hard edged then you might want to consider looking elsewhere for your fix. If, however, you don't mind a little fun being poked into a few unusual places then this series might be worth your while. Those that have already tasted life in Aberystwyth with Aberystwyth Mon Amour will know what to expect from this second outing and it will definitely help to read that one first to help with character interactions that progress in Last Tango. ( )

So many people seem to really love this series that I thought I'd give the second book in the series a try. As I love the books written by Jasper Fforde and Neil Gaiman, I should love the series. Maybe its because I'm not Welsh or because I don't know Aberystwyth so that the in-jokes pass me by, while the mystery holds together and the main characters are engaging and likeable enough I just can't get excited about readimng any further into the series. ( )