[Photo: first and second volume of the Danish series]
This British novel is the first of six Anna Lee books and also the author´s debut.Anna Lee, the youngest and only female detective working for Brierly Security, is quite surprised when Brierly lets her look into a case of death. This is possibly because her skeptical employer is certain that twenty-two-year-old Deirdre´s death was an accident which means that Anna´s meddling cannot cause much harm.
It is quite difficult for Anna to gather information about Deirdre´s life as she did not only keep large parts of her life secret to her parents, but also to her two flat mates. Deirdre dreamed about a career within the film business, but her ´friends´ did not believe her stories about the famous film people she had met. And of course the story involves a serious crime, but no more about the plot here.
Anna Lee is a charming protagonist, a single girl who lives in a flat above her friends Selwyn (lazy and awkward poet) and Bea (his generous, hard-working wife). Anna knows how to handle cars and electrical equipment, and she is excellent at worming people´s secrets out of them.
Entertaining series with a likeable and convincing main character. To some extent it may be compared to Sue Grafton´s alphabet series.
Liza Cody, Snydt (1992).
Denne britiske krimi er den første af seks om Anna Lee, og samtidig forfatterens debut.
Anna Lee, yngste og eneste kvindelige detektiv ansat på Brierly Security, får til sin egen overraskelse lov til at påtage sig en sag om et dødsfald. Muligvis fordi hendes skeptiske chef er sikker på, 22-årige Deirdres død skyldes en ulykke, og så kan det vel ikke gøre den store skade, at Anna stikker sin næse i sagen.
Det viser sig hurtigt, at det er usædvanlig svært at samle oplysninger om Deirdres liv, da hun ikke bare har holdt stort set alt hemmeligt for sine forældre, men også for de to piger, hun delte lejlighed med. Hendes store drøm var at komme indenfor i filmbranchen, men ´veninderne´ tror ikke meget på historierne om de kendte filmfolk, hun har mødt. Og selvfølgelig ligger der noget kriminelt bag, men ikke mere om plottet her.
Anna Lee er et forfriskende bekendtskab, en enlig ung pige som bor til leje hos vennerne Selwyn (doven og ubehjælpsom digter) og Bea (hans gavmilde, hårdtarbejdende kone). Anna er god til biler og elektriske apparater, og fremragende til at snakke hemmeligheder ud af andre mennesker.
Underholdende serie med en tiltalende og overbevisende hovedperson. Den kan til en vis grad sammenlignes med Sue Graftons alfabet-serie.
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11 kommentarer:
Dorte,
It's really interesting that you and Martin reviewed the same book. I hadn't thought about the similarity to Grafton's series, but you've got a good point! thanks for making me think.
Margot: yes, isn´t it funny with so many books out there.
I think Kinsey and Anna are both fun, cool and independent women, and though the first book in both series is around 30 years old, they don´t strike me as dated. I have read two written by Joan Smith, but her feminism does not appeal to me in the same way today.
Oh, Dorte, I know what you mean about Joan Smith's Loretta Lawson series. Perhaps this is just my view, but I think Loretta Lawson's almost-militant feminism (and that of her friend, Bridget) is a little dated. I find Lawson interesting in other ways, but not on that point.
Anna sounds like a very interesting protagonist--love the car repair talent! And my favorite method of crime investigation is secret-busting, which it sounds like she excels in. Thanks for the tip!
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Margot: precisely! - and feminism of the kind that takes itself too seriously.
Elizabeth: I think you´d enjoy this series very much. It is not quite a cozy series, but the characters and the London setting are joyful, and the crimes are never very graphic.
Dorte-Next time tell me and I'll post the link.
Patti: I´ll try to remember, but I don´t plan much ahead so I didn´t really think about the fact that I was reviewing a forgotten series on a Friday :D
I like Grafton's series. This series sounds good - I like your description of Anna.
Belle, I also think you would enjoy it.
I don't think I ever read of this series, but I do remember BucketNut - the beginning of the Eva Wylie series (vaguely)
Kerrie, I haven´t read any of her later books. I don´t think they are translated, and for many years I found most of my crime fiction in the library. It is only recently my wages and the internet have made it possible for me to import more books from abroad.
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