The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth

Louie Knight is the only PI in Aberystwyth. His detective partner, Calamity, is solving a cold case from 150 years ago in order to earn her badge, while he himself is solving a deeply personal case: the abduction of his girlfriend, Myfanwy. She was a musical legend and became seriously ill, now living in a nursing home that Louie pays for out of what he can scrape together from cleaning up the mean streets of seaside Wales.

This was my first book in the series, because it was the only one the library had. I loved the idea of juxtaposing noir tropes with seaside Wales, and the story contained plenty of absurdity that would have me laughing out loud periodically. (I still giggle over the scene with the heavy telling Louie "I have a message show more from Ll.") I did lose some momentum toward the end because other library books intervened and then I had to read fast to return the book, so I would suggest making sure you can read this in as few sittings as possible. It was a lot of fun, though, and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for the rest of the series! show less

Third in the Welsh noir series sees gumshoe Louie Knight and his partner Calamity embroiled in some monkey business. Quite literally as it happens as there's one sat in the clients chair when Louie enters his office one day. Cleopatra, the monkey in question currently works with an organ grinder and it's he that wants an old mystery looked into and as he's willing to part with £500 up front then Louie can't say no. It's a hundred year old murder where a stable boy was accused and found guilty of murdering the lady of the manor and intending to steal her jewels. Gabriel Bassett, the organ grinder, doesn't think he did it and wants to clear his name but wants it done in the next fortnight. Louie dumps the case on Calamity so she can earn show more her detective's badge. Something more important crops up for Louie though, as when taking Myfanwy (his girlfriend) out on a day out from the nursing home he finds himself drugged and Myfanwy kidnapped. Who has taken her and why? Louie will stop at nothing to find out and rescue the love of his life. And along the way we might even find out what happened to Mr. Bojangles, Cleopatra's son.

All the usual characters make their appearance so while the book is self-contained it's still probably best if you read the series in order to pick up on the relationship dynamics. While the style is all Chandleresque the humour is straight out of the likes of League of Gentlemen where all the people have secrets of their own and the place gets dirtier and seedier the more you dig. Still an enjoyable series that I will at some point continue. show less

I love the Aberystwyth word - but this one wasn't as enjoyable as the previous two books in the series. It was more angsty, not much of a mystery. Louie Knight in this book is a depressed man - barely making ends meet, oh woe is me. The bright spot is the secondary story with Calamity Jane - trying to solve 100 year murder case. I will continue to read this series, but this book is a low point when compared to the two other Louie Knight books.

I read this series for the American gangster pastiche - as if a below par Raymond Chandler had written Welsh noir. The plots, are getting steadily less good, although the independant Wales, with its damaged and wandering veterans of the war in Argentina, is cleverly done. The plot includes a bereaved monkey, who communicates by sign language, and knows a lot more than the organ grinder; a hundred year old murder mystery and nuns with secrets. It also finds roles most of the old characters. The best thing about this book is the title, I'm going to give the next book a go and then I think I may have had enough of Welsh noir, especially as there is so much real Chandler I haven't read

Let the lamp affix its beam
The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream.
Wallace Stevens

The third installment in the series about hapless detective Louie Knight. When his dying girlfriend Myfanwy is kidnapped on a day out from the nursing home, Louie is distraught and he and his friend Inspector Llunos of the Aberystwyth police turn the town upside down in their efforts to find her.

Book 4 in the series, "Don't Cry for me Aberystwyth", has just come out in hardback. Can I resist temptation and wait until for the paperback before buying it? Unlikely.

Malcolm Pryce manages to keep up the quality of these books. Very funny indeed.

Brilliant! Made me laugh a lot. I will defintiely get his other books, and recommend this to friends.