A Killing in November: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month (DI Wilkins Mysteries)

Product Information

Having two fast tracked Detective Inspectors named R Wilkins is unusual but their partnering is inspired.

Mason creates a pair of detectives that managed to catch my interest, particularly Ryan, and he gives a great sense of location in Oxford, the starkly different sides, with the University and the poverty and unrest to be found at the other end of the social strata. This is an entertaining and engaging crime read, with many threads, like asylum seekers, human trafficking, sexual harrassment, and abuse, a novel that I have no doubt will appeal to many crime and mystery readers. This novel uses the friction of ‘town and gown,’ well and throws fast tracked Ray into uncomfortable situations as he is first stunned by Ryan’s unconventional behaviour and yet finds his initial dislike changes into grudging respect. There are some similarities to Tim Sullivan's personalities, but I found the latter's books a far better read. Ryan has a genuinely warm and moving relationship with his young son and a tendency to think creatively, which is let down by his inability to control his mouth or his anger.But it had been recommended by well-regarded Goodreads friends, and so I decided to read one more short chapter. An unusual crime thriller set in Oxford featuring two policemen, both with the surname Wilkins, Ryan and Ray.

And don’t get me started on his 2-year-old son seemingly having language skills that would put most secondary school kids to shame, a recurring feature which annoyed me more than it probably should).Oxford is shown with a class divide and not just a city of dreaming spires, with prejudices and violence but it is written with humour, poignancy and a well constructed mystery. A lot of the humour comes from their contrasting class and backgrounds - white 'trailer trash' versus black Oxford-educated - but it works and the dialogue is wholly convincing (would make great TV screenplay). The colleges are of course bastions of privilege and power, not just in terms of wealth but – more importantly, in terms of knowledge and influence. There’s also the posh, privileged cop too who’s prejudiced about this partnership till he realised just how vulnerable and genius is Ryan. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

T]his is a very individual piece of work , with a satisfying plot involving Syrian refugees, snobbish dons and nimble interaction between the ill-assorted protagonists. It is fast paced, the detectives are fun, the plot is believable and sufficiently convoluted, with a judicious amount of clues, plus the writing is intelligent and stylish. He's definitely the centre of the books and it's notable that the sheer force of classism directed against him is shown here as more powerful than wealthy privileged Raymond's experience of racism, from which class privilege provides some kind of shield.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.

I also agree that Ryan the elder is slightly over the top - it really is hard to see why he was allowed to stay in the police for five minutes, never mind becoming a DI - on the other hand it makes for an entertaining read. Simon Mason has pursued parallel careers as a publisher and an author, whose YA crime novels Running Girl , Kid Got Shot and Hey, Sherlock! För övrigt: smart av Mason att så medvetet (och för historien avgörande) låta sina karaktärer ha så snarlika namn. I don't read many crime novels, but I was in Oxford and it was November, so I thought it would be the best moment to read it.He’s a good detective though, with an eye for detail and the character is further redeemed by Ryan’s relationship with his toddler son. These two could not be more different and this is what makes “A Killing in November” such a great read. You can see Ryan hanging around town in his trackie bottoms and Loop jacket and plaid baseball cap, the epitome of the chav. I loved that characters and the contrasts between quicksilver, slightly mad Ryan in his trackies and black, smartly dressed, well-behaved Raymond.