A funny, entertaining mystery (albeit in a restrained, English kind of way)
"Annette Berowne had a sweet, heart-shaped face. She had honey-blond hair and wide brown eyes. She was not beautiful, and certainly not glamorous, but only Phillip Bethancourt noticed that."
So begins Cassandra Chan's debut novel, The Young Widow, in her debut mystery series of Phillip Bethancourt and Jack Gibbons mysteries (clearly this book is a CLW review because of the author and not the main characters). But before discussing Annette Berowne, it is important to know about Gibbons and Bethancourt.
Bethancourt and Gibbons could not be more different. Everything comes easily to Phillip Bethancourt, a young and wealthy Englishman with a model girlfriend and posh apartment to match his high standard of living. Jack Gibbons, on the other hand, is more of an everyman--an ambitious detective sergeant at Scotland Yard, Gibbons has his eye on more important things than parties and women: he's watching for a career-making case. Despite their differences the two men strike an easy friendship, largely because of Bethancourt's interest in all things criminal and his knack for helping Gibbons with his more, shall we say, complex cases.
Annette Berowne, meanwhile, is the not beautiful nor glamorous widow of the murder victim in Gibbons' latest case. From the start, Annette Berowne seems like the obvious suspect, a young woman married to a man who could be her father usually is. Especially when that woman has been married to two other older men. Men who also died under unique circumstances.
However, as Jack and Phillip soon realize, Annette is not the only one who would benefit from Berowne's death. In fact, the small town near the family estate is ripe with suspects, as is the family itself. Still, the investigation seems to perpetually turn back to the enchanting Annette Berowne. No matter how desperately Gibbons tries to find a more likely suspect.
As Bethancourt observes his friend's, indeed everyone's, growing infatuation with the young widow his initial detachment becomes worry as Bethancourt begins to wonder if his friend could be walking down a path that will shatter his ambitious career before it's really begun.
The Young Widow is what I would call a quiet book. Chan's prose is witty and sharp, but it is also subtle. The book is rich with humor, but it is the restrained kind so usually associated with the English. The writing here cannot be devoured, rather it has to relished--readers have to linger. Both myself and my mother found the characters and the plot to be thoroughly enjoyable even with slight confusion at the beginning due to an influx of many characters' names over a short number of pages.
One of the particular strong suits of the writing here is Chan's use of dialogue where she mixes humor, plot, and character interaction in perfect combination. One of my favorite excerpts will hopefully illustrate that point with a conversation between Bethancourt and his young nephew:
"I've got to dress," said Bethancourt, stubbing out his cigarette. "Then we'll go for a drive in the country."
"I just came in from the country," said Denis.
"I can't help that," answered Bethancourt. "Anyway, this will be different country and you can ride in the back with Cerberus."
He fled to his bedroom.
Although the story centers on the murder investigation, Chan's characters are fully-realized in her crystal clear representations of Gibbons and Bethancourt who seem ready to walk right off the page and into real life. This novel falls into the mystery genre without being formulaic (although I did guess the murderer, but since that rarely happens it was more enjoyable than annoying). Chan gives equal time to plot and characters to create not only a wonderful first book but strong footing for a series that already has three books to its credit.
You can read more about Gibbon's and Bethancourt's investigations in Village Affairs (2006) and Trick of the Mind (2008).
Golden age time warp
Cassandra Chan imports the basics of a Lord Peter Wimsey Golden Age detective story into the 21st Century. Once I accepted that premise and went along for the ride, this was a nice bit of escapist fun: detection with some romantic interruptions.
The young widow of the title is the prime suspect when her wealthy older husband is murdered. Annette Berowne's a dazzler when it comes to men - including hardworking Scotland Yard detective Jack Gibbons. His friend Philip Bethancourt isn't as bewitched by the lady. Bethancourt is wealthy, well-connected, and enjoys helping the police solve crimes. His hobby irritates his girlfriend, a supermodel.
The whole never-never-land of the Golden Age English village whodunit is laid before us, updated with such touches as cellphones, career women, and the frustration faced by an unemployed middle-aged middle manager looking for a job in today's Britain.
This book was a good airplane-trip read for me.
OK read... but writer may need to do more thorough research
Not a bad debut novel that followed the classic whodunnit formula. However, one thing that bothered me the most about it was that a medical reference in the book was inaccurate: Diabetic patients usually receive their insulin injections via subcutaneous injection; intravenous injections of insuliin is usually only given in emergency situations. However, in the book, a retired nurse mentioned how the suspect might have killed one of her late husbands by injecting air into his vein during his regular insulin treatment. I always expect writers to do their research thoroughly, especially when diabetes is such a well-known disease...
That hiccup aside, not a bad read.
Enjoyable first crime novel
As an Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers fan I am delighted to have found another writer in the same genre. I do hope there will be many more from this author. So many modern crime writers seem to need to wallow in gory forensic details which make for very unpleasant reading. It is good to find writing that doesn't pander to the current obsession for the deeply nasty.
As a Brit, I did notice that it was written by an American, but felt very flattered at her evident love of all things British.
a sad attempt at an english cosy
when a non-british writer, without a feeling for the language amd mores of that society attempts a traditional british mystery the result is very banal. the story is set in london but there's barely a mention of it. the characters are supposedly modern but people behave and talk like the edwardians. a very trite book. dont waste your money on it. if i could have rated it lower i would have done so.
(8 reviews)
