A.A. Abbott

GREAT CRIME STORY WRITER

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Book Review – The Fatal Coin, by Lucienne Boyce

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The Fatal Coin is a novella, commissioned by Lucienne Boyce’s publisher as an e-book-only taster for her Dan Foster historical mysteries. Although short, there’s plenty of drama and danger for Bow Street Runner Dan Foster as he heads to Staffordshire to solve his latest case.

Historian Lucienne Boyce hails from Wolverhampton, and brings the roots of the present day Midlands landscape to life as she describes canals being built and the bullion coach leaving Matthew Boulton’s Soho Works in Birmingham. The story revolves around a stash of gold coins turning up in a Staffordshire field and then promptly disappearing. This is not, incidentally, the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard on display in Birmingham today, but Roman Empire gold and artefacts. Naturally, the find draws unsavoury characters as well as serious archaeologists to the area. The two groups do not combine well, with fatal consequences.

Dan Foster has crossed swords with the villainous Colonel Pepper before, and is determined to bring him to justice. A killer, thief and forger, Colonel Pepper is also cautious and clever. Dan does not survive unscathed in his task, almost losing his life in his quest to outwit the Colonel.

As well as exciting action and an interesting historical setting, emotions are played out in the tale. Dan, who is beginning to regret his own shaky marriage, is sympathetic to the misfortunes of others. He spots a young woman’s unrequited love and a squire’s alcoholic loneliness, even noticing that Colonel Pepper may not be quite the blackguard that he seems. Yet he is a lawman, not a social worker. Ultimately, he cracks the case and moves on. It will be interesting to see what writer Lucienne Boyce has in store for him next.

The Fatal Coin is a gripping historical mystery by Lucienne Boyce, Read my book review.

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I also write crime stories. If you like a good read on your Kindle, check out my Trail series of crime thrillers set in the British cities of London and Birmingham. You can download free samples from Amazon, or even read all three books completely free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.

When Crime Pays – Narconomics, a Book Review

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When I’m writing a crime thriller, I get advice from specialists – prison officers, policemen and even a farmer who once grew hemp (the legal equivalent of cannabis). One of these experts recommended “Narconomics”.

“You won’t know what drives criminals until you understand the economics of the drugs trade,” he said, assuring me that “Narconomics” would explain just that.

I expected the book, written by “Economist” journalist Tom Wainwright, to be rather dry. It turned out to be anything but. Wainwright describes meeting murderous central American crime bosses, harassed-looking lawmen and colourful designer chemical developers. He delves into the dark web, finding drugs freely available from dealers with feedback ratings just like sellers on ebay. A little old lady tells him about her heroin addiction, while Colorado’s cannabis entrepreneurs trumpet the jobs they’ve created since the drug was legalised. The goods and services on offer include weed tours and whacky chocolate as well as the predictable reefer shops.

Throughout his journey, Wainwright explains how criminals are seizing opportunities to supply products for which a demand exists. Just like a legal business, they must balance risk and reward. The extreme violence used by Mexican cartels and the friendly customer service from online dealers are two sides of the same coin, and no accident: they’re a rational response to market forces.

Although the book is free from graphs and turgid tables of figures, Wainwright occasionally refers to statistics. He shows how consumption of drugs hasn’t fallen despite the billions of taxpayers’ money spent on (attempting) to reduce the supply. Accordingly, he suggests that governments target demand. Prevention, he says, is cheaper than cure. Controversially, he also advocates legalisation. As an aside, he says that Colorado’s new marijuana factories and jobs might not survive worldwide weed liberalisation: global corporations would grow the product more cheaply in Asia and South America.

“Narconomics” is subtitled “How to Run a Drug Cartel”. It doesn’t deliver on this grandiose claim, and anyone expecting a primer in setting up an illegal business will be sadly disappointed. However, as an entertaining account of the business side of the drugs trade, “Narconomics” should be of interest both to readers and writers of crime fiction.

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My last crime thriller, “The Grass Trail” followed the fortunes of a drugs baron desperately trying to escape from his south London prison, and a Brummie businessman dallying with dope farmers in order to grow raw materials for a cancer-busting drug. Check it out here.

Thriller of the Month – Trouble with Product X, by Joan Aiken

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The late British writer Joan Aiken is best known as an author of supernatural children’s stories, but her adult tales are worth seeking out too. This thriller is like a Formula 1 car, racing along at breakneck speed with many twists on the way. It’s a period piece, written about fifty years ago and set in a world my parents would recognise, when a train from London to Penzance took nine hours and you could avoid rush hour traffic jams in London.

Just as TV’s Mad Men showcased the US advertising industry in 1960s Manhattan, “Trouble with Product X” sheds light on their counterparts in London. Product X is a wonderful new perfume, expected to take the market by storm. Certainly, manufacturers Gay* Gal think so, and ad agency Salmon and Bucknell is delighted to win the account. It’s all hands to the pumps and Martha, a young copywriter, is despatched to Cornwall to produce ads for TV. She’s accompanied by colleagues, cameramen and assorted hangers-on, including a creepy client and his unpleasant chums. The trouble with Product X, as she rapidly discovers, is that the formula has been lost – or has it?

Tension rapidly mounts as the rich and beautiful are revealed to be feckless kidnappers and murderers. Luckily, Martha finds some good eggs on whom she can rely, including stalwart colleague Tom and a community of brusque monks with hearts of gold.

The book is a fun, quick read, and could almost be approached as historical fiction given that the events take place five decades ago. Joan Aiken worked as an advertising copywriter herself, and writes amusingly of the flattery employed to sell unprepossessing products. There too many twists and turns in the plot to describe, but all are believable (just!), and the book is well-written. Hats off to The Murder Room for republishing it for the Kindle. Note that old paperbacks are available for pennies on Amazon under another title, “Beware of the Bouquet”.

 

*The word “gay” is used a lot in the book in a very old-fashioned sense, basically describing a desire to go drinking and dancing.

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I’m also a writer of fun, fast thrillers – read The Gap, a “5 minute crime thriller” set in modern London, FREE, here.

Characters I Love, and Why

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As it’s St Valentine’s Day (read my thoughts in last year’s blog about it), I’m penning a tribute to the characters I really love. They may not share my values, but boy, these people were fun to write about. Here are the ones I love – and why:

Alicia, the amoral merchant banker in Up In Smoke. She has two aims in life – climbing the corporate ladder, and having fun. If a fling ticks both boxes, she’ll go for it. Never self-pitying, always resourceful, she’s hardly a role model, but she’s always interesting.

Tony, also from Up In Smoke (hear a chapter from the crime thriller here) is a textbook villain. A womaniser and a homophobe, he runs a tobacco company and uses his power to seduce every woman who catches his eye. Bad boys are just so entertaining…

…but the good guys are too. Jed Gardner, the autistic hero of After The Interview is my favourite character ever. Deeply flawed, struggling to understand and be understood, he makes mistakes and loses everything – but bounces back. As does Andrew Aycliffe, who would be my ideal boss.

Crime thriller The Bride’s Trail, on the other hand, stars strong women – orphaned Kat and her loyal flatmate, Amy. Both have a dry sense of humour, an excellent foil to the arrogant men they meet. I deliberately chose to keep Kat’s point of view hidden and reveal her personality through the eyes of others. That will change in the sequel planned for release this summer…

Although hardly characters in the conventional sense, buzzy Birmingham and frenetic London feature in all three crime thrillers – and many of my short stories, available free on this website.

I aim to build empathy for all my characters, but I don’t love them all. Some are simply too challenging. Find out more next week, when I tell you which characters I hate – and why!

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I’ve been a British crime thriller writer for several years, and an occasional writer of short stories for many more. If you like my blog, why not invite me to speak at your book group, social circle or business network? Please drop me a line at aaabbottstories[at]gmail.com!

Thriller of the Month – The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett

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When nights are long and there’s a bottle of whisky to hand, a vintage American crime thriller really hits the spot. It doesn’t get much more classic than Dashiell Hammett. Although of its time, his style is half a world away from the arch aristocratic novels of British writers like Agatha Christie. Instead, eyes are hooded, women alluring and men are as likely to reach for a gun as they are to light a cigarette.

The Maltese Falcon opens with a bang. San Francisco private eyes Sam Spade and Miles Archer are given a case, and far too much money, by a beautiful girl. It doesn’t take a genius to suppose it will all go horribly wrong. Sure enough, a mere few pages later, Archer is dead.

Sam Spade’s loyalties are tested as he sets about cracking the case. More corpses swiftly emerge (a wounded man even staggers into his office to expire in front of him). He faces more hindrance than help from the forces of law and order. As always, the San Francisco fog seeps into his bones. Indefatigably, he rolls another cigarette.

With myriad twists and shifting alliances, it’s anyone’s guess who did it right until the final chapter, although Sam probably has a shrewd idea.

Despite being a period piece, the book’s pages just keep turning. Dashiell Hammett’s style is an easy read. You’ll undoubtedly know The Maltese Falcon became an atmospheric film starring Humphrey Bogart. Whether you’ve seen it or not, you’re bound to enjoy the suspense and entertainment offered by the book. Secondhand copies can be picked up for pennies on Amazon, and there’s also an Audible version borrowing heavily from Bogart.

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Like crime thrillers? Read my very own 5 minute crime thriller, The Gap, free, here. While it’s distinctly British, like The Maltese Falcon, it hints at darkness beneath the surface…