I enjoyed A Killing In November far more than I expected to. It’s well written and well structured so that I found any implausibilities and familiar tropes perfectly forgivable.
On the face of it, it sounds like a collection of clichés of the genre strung together: the chalk-and-cheese partners, the rebellious working-class detective in a posh environment and so on. Add to this the idea that Ryan, a CID Inspector, would turn up to investigate a death in an Oxford college wearing tracksuit bottoms and a baseball cap on backward, tell the Provost to “calm the [copulatory obscenity] down” and so on and it sounds utterly preposterous. And it is, really – but somehow it’s well enough done for that not to matter much. The two sides of Oxford are well portrayed, there is some pretty good characterisation and Ryan’s relationship with his 2-year-old son is especially well painted, I think.
The story is a good one, too. There are several possible avenues to consider, including possible jihadi action, straightforward theft, sexual harassment and so on. Each is, in its own way, well considered and I found it an involving and in places an exciting read. The two central characters are perhaps a little overdone, but they are interesting studies nonetheless, both flawed in their own way and with plenty of messy stuff left unresolved, rather than the trite little Life Lessons which so often pollute this kind of portrayal.
So, slightly to my surprise, I can recommend this as an entertaining read and a promising start to a new series. I’ll certainly be looking out for the next one.
(My thanks to Quercus for an ARC via NetGalley.)
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