Bernard Bastable (1936–2013)

Robert Barnard has written more than 40 mysteries in his distinguished career, and has never once failed to turn out a beautifully written novel that tells an engaging story. Much like Jane Austen’s works, Barnard’s stories can be likened to ivory miniatures: precise, lovely, detailed. And like Austen, Barnard has a sly wit and a quiet irony that makes his tales all the more engaging.

A Stranger in the Family is not a murder mystery; you will find no dead bodies in these pages, except for show more those who have died a natural death. But there is still plenty of suspense, as Kit Philipson tries to discover the truth behind his abduction at the age of three. It’s a tangled story that takes Kit from his home in Glasgow following the deaths of his adoptive parents to the home of his birth mother in Leeds and ultimately to Sicily to unravel all the threads. In the process, Kit must examine his heritage as the adopted son of a Jewish refugee from World War II, deal with his natural siblings who fear that he will take away “their” share of his birth mother’s estate upon her eventual death, and ultimately speak with a Mafioso who made huge profits from the suffering of others.

Barnard can communicate such a great deal with such an economy of words that one marvels. A train journey is made vivid in a single sentence: “Four people in his compartment were talking into their mobiles – conversations of the most indescribable banality, which made one wonder what God’s purpose in creating language had been.” A character is described out in a phrase:
“[T]he old man sat up in the bed, royally genial and welcoming, wearing a dressing gown and a woolen hat that made him look like a Dickens illustration.” Barnard’s talent is such that he can tell us just enough to let our imaginations finish the job perfectly well.

There’s a reason Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for excellence in mystery writing. Pick up A Stranger in the Family and find out for yourself just what a wonderful writer he is. show less

The last book of Barnard's I read was Death of a Mystery Writer, a glorious near Colin Watson-style comedy. This book is very much more serious -- and in fact I'd claim it as a fairly substantial work of fiction, reminiscent perhaps of John le Carre, perhaps of Somerset Maugham. Retired UK civil servant Peter Proctor decides to investigate the long-ago murder of his friend Timothy Wycliffe, a crime probably covered up because of government embarrassment over Wycliffe's outrageously gay show more lifestyle. There are lots of good things to say about this excellent book, not least its portrayal of UK politics during British colonialism's last halfwitted hurrah, the Suez Crisis. The book's sole flaw is a stupid twist in the final few lines; forget that and read it for the brilliant rest. show less

I came across this book by happy chance, and will definitely be reading more by Robert Barnard. Set in Norway, which I'd also love to learn more about, Inspector Fagermo finds himself investigating the life of an English stranger whose body is discovered in a snowbank by a man out walking his dog. Why was the man in Tromso, and who there knew enough about him to want him dead?

I love the classic, Christie style of the writing, and the humour of Inspector Fagermo, serving a small town full of show more foreigners and academics. The mystery was strong enough to keep me reading, even while Fagermo's slow but sure methods of detective work held the pace at an amble. Thanks for the random search results, Amazon! show less

There is no greater accolade that I give author Robert Barnard than to say that Bodies, the fourth book in a detective series, is the weakest of the books, and it’s still pretty wonderful.

Superintendent Perry Trethowan’s investigation into the murder of four people hits one dead end after another. The murder victims were a photographer, his assistant and two models during a photo shoot for a skin magazine called Bodies that sounds milder than Playboy at its most innocent stage. Who would show more want any of them dead? Trethowan’s investigation leads him into the more nefarious territory of porn films. The book also provides Barnard’s introduction of Charlie Peace, who goes on to fame in a series of his own.

How much did I like this novel? I’ve already ordered the last novel in the Trethowan series, The Cherry Blossom Corpse, and I’m going to track down the first of the Charlie Peace novels. show less