Edwin Harrison

From the author of The Fatal Hour, Diamonds Can Be Trouble and Witness To Murder.

The story begins on the yacht Naxos. Externally modern - "almost futuristic" as the author describes it - internally it is furnished in best `hollywood gothic` style, complete with suit of armour and a papier mache boar`s head with a lemon in it`s mouth ! Here we meet the ruthless Themistocles Kyriakos and his cat, Socrates.

Decidedly promising, but the author`s style takes a little time to settle down. At the start of the second chapter, Blues in the Night, Mr Harrison/Ballard seems determined to show he can writer quite well ("In the tiny harbour, small black waves, sleek as the backs of otters, stirred up a miniature Sargasso of corks and empty cigarette packets and wisps of straw ... The waves slapped and gurgled under the harbour wall ; small sounds lost in the reedy melancholy of a sad concertina which throbbed a plaintive melody across the stone-flagged quay."), quite badly ("The moon was as thin as a cheese rind") and appallingly badly ("A waterlogged paper bag shone naked and white in the riding lights of the vessels moored there, blown-up like the belly of a drowned dog.") - all in the space of two paragraphs ! Good to see he has all bases covered !

Fortunately, he achieves greater consistency from then on, turning in an above-average pulp-style thriller. The story has it`s share of intrigue and mystery but will fail to satisfy anyone looking for a detective story as too often our hero is rather over-reliant on lucky guesses to solve the case. Having said that, although the fight scenes are well-done, the story is not excessively dependent on action.

The story doesn`t quite live up to the implied promise of it`s opening scene, and the writing is generally capable rather than inspired. Still somehow it manages to avoid falling between two stools (neither fully fledged detective story or 100% action and adventure thriller). Despite it`s flaws, it does add up to a satisfying read. Not the best Blake, and probably not a good introduction to Blake, but it has it`s place, none the less.

P.S. ...and you have to give him points for using the adjective `acromegalic` correctly !!… (más)