Avenging Angel

Who killed the promising young nobleman on the eve of his Tripos? His aristocratic kinsman will find out, very much in the tradition of Lord Peter Wimsey. The setting is Cambridge (the time period is vague:some time between 1977 and 1986 is my guess--the references were confused). The local atmosphere is superb, the best evocation of Cambridge in any novel I can think of, and the best Oxbridge feel since Sayers' "Gaudy Night". I read the book 8 months ago, yet it has not gone to that limbo in my brain where the plots of most mysteries are consigned. The dialogue is suitably learned, the port is of the finest. Now for the flaws: as a long time detective story reader, I picked out the culprit early on, and the red herrings were a little too transparent. This is a very snobbish Cambridge, much more so than the one I can remember. There is a lot of "Yes m'lord" and very deferential policemen. Those of you familiar with Appiah's later writings in philosophy and afrocentric litcrit will be very , very surprised. But the strengths are there , too: solid prose, wonderful atmosphere. If you care, every Cambridge reference I saw here was accurate, from the steps in Memorial Court to the view down King's Parade.Most murder- on-the-campus novels make me wonder if the authors every went to college, they are so bizarre (Tom Wolfe, you know who you are). Not the case here-- this book could have been vetted by the Vice Chancellor's office, it is so accurate. The characters may be somewhat stereotyped, as they usually are in mysteries, but they are more interesting than most (the quiet mathematician with the crush on the victim, the avuncular senior academics), and the author, with one exception, does not telegraph excessive like or dislike but lets the reader make up his/her own mind. Readers rightly hesitate to buy a detective novel sight unseen: do I want to spend this money on a laundromat read? In this case, I am glad I bought my copy. I expect to reread it some day. As I said, I think many readers will pick out the murderer and the motive early on, but will nevertheless enjoy the ride to the finish. I admit that I was disappointed as our detective zeroed in on the culprit; I had enjoyed the story and was sorry to see it ending.

I'm the kind of mystery reader who prefers Agatha Christie to Dorothy Sayers: I prefer linear development, a sturdy sense of plot, character, and color, to the florid wordy thickets that some mystery afficiandos seem to go for.For my money, "Avenging Angel" delivers: the plot speeds ahead efficiently, and the characters are memorable and often plain funny. But it's the atmosphere--the half-satiric donnish details--that really stands out. I'd read a few books about the Cambridge Apostles, including John Banville's excellent novel "The Untouchable"; this isn't in the same league as the Banville, in my opinion, but it's far more enlightening and entertaining than the other fiction and nonfiction treatments of the famous--notorious?--Cambridge society I've seen. The book isn't readily available, though: I got mine at a second-hand book barn. I hear, by the way, that a new bio of Anthony Blunt is coming out next year; I wonder if anyone else knows about that?