The Circle: A Hen Mallin Investigation

Enjoyed this book a great deal have been pleased with all Peter Lovesey books I have read..... SAM

I seem to like Lovesey more the more I read of him. This one's about a Writers' Circle--a support group for aspiring writers--of all types: fantasy, erotic poetry, even comic strips--so it reminds one of Lovesey's Bloodhounds (Soho Crime) about a mystery readers' circle. Foiled again! However, in this one, the protagonist isn't Peter Diamond (as in Bloodhounds) but Hen Mallin. I like her better than Diamond--she's less narcissistic & unnecessarily caustic. The mystery is intricate & engaging. True, the 1st part of the book centers on the Circle (establishing background or context) & the 2nd part on Hen & the solution. There are also some good lines such as on P. 30: "This announcement went down like garlic bread in Transylvania." This is a fun read--but tough to figure out. Enjoy!

I've been reading Peter Lovesey for some time now, and I thoroughly enjoy his writing. This book picks up with a character that was first brought in with his last Peter Diamond book - "The House Sitter". I'm talking about Hen Mallen who is the DCI placed in charge of a series of arsons in the tiny village of Chichester where this book is set. I must admit that I loved Hen when Lovesey first introduced her and this book is a delight with her in it. She is a great creation! A tough talking, cigar smoking lady DCI that has no problem cutting through all the red herrings, plot twists and devious suspects. Lovesey's humour is as wicked and direct as in any of his previous books, and this book will keep the reader guessing right up until the end. I can hardly wait for another Hen Mallin book!

Series: Detective Chief Inspector Henrietta `Hen' Mallin (first book, there is something of a prequel as she appeared in the 2003 "The House Sitter" Peter Diamond book). Characters: The Chichester Writer's Circle: Chairman: Maurice McDade (first suspect, had a book titled "Unsolved" about unsolved crimes about to be published by the publisher Edgar Blacker); Founding Ladies: Dagmar Bumstead (the unpublished romantic novelist under the name Desiree Eliot, most recent work: "Passion Fruit") and Thomasine O'Loughlin (erotic poetry); The Married Couple: Naomi (witchcraft book, her stare frightens others, very nosy, writes up the activities on an internet website, calling it an e-book) and Basil Green (gardener, somewhat laid back); Secretary and Treasurer: Amelia Snow (proper older woman writing book about the famous Snows: "The Snows of Yesteryear"; Others: Zach Beale (long-haired fantasy writer, "Madrigor: The Coming of the Warrior"), Sharon ("dumb blonde" who doodles and doesn't talk much at the meetings; a hairdresser), Tudor Thomas (autobiography, name-dropper), Anton (retired civil servant, constantly on the look-out for cliches and the like), Jessie Warmington-Smith (widow of an Archdeacon, technophobe, working on a book about tips from the past for living in 21th century); Newcomer: Bob Naylor (quick witted poems, and the one of three that is investigating the matter). The Police: Inspector Henrietta Mallin sent in when the local Detective wasn't getting the job done (DI Johnny Cherry). Minor Characters: Marcus Chalybeate (Lord Chalybeate of Boxgrove, ex-Mark Kiddlewick) - publisher of magazines in previous life, now big in health clubs and a politician. Naylor's 14 year old daughter Sue. Fran, Maurice's above seventy-year-old wife (Maurice is somewhere in his 50s). Fran had been previously married to a notorious criminal. Special Appearance by: Peter Diamond (very brief). Plot: A man (Maurice) that runs a writer's circle is happy to finally get his book published, and invites the publisher (Blacker) to come give a talk to the circle (and make comments on some of the member's work). Blacker says some nice things but is mostly dismissive of their work. Later Blacker tries to get Maurice to pay for the publication of Maurice's book. Blacker, it turns out, is an undisclosed vanity publisher (vanity publisher = publishing house that publishes an author's work with the author paying for the publication; undisclosed = Blacker hides the fact that he will require the author to pay for the publication until the last moment, right before publication). The book opens with Blacker's death. Maurice is picked up by the police and various members of the circle attempt to investigate the matter. Dagmar, Bob Nalyor and Thomasine work together to try to prove Maurice's innocence (with Bob the one mostly at the forefront, and Dagmar mostly in the shadows). Naomi and Zach attempt to investigate the matter themselves, while using the crisis as an o

The police investigate the fiery murder of unpopular publisher Edgar Blacker, who died following a talk he gave to the Chichester Writers' Circle, an unpublished writers' group. The motive seems obvious as Blacker conned the wannabes into investing in a doomed vanity press con making one of the group most likely the arsonist-killer. The prime suspect is the group's chair Maurice McDade as Blacker shammed the true crime author of the unpublished Unsolved into a hefty investment and gave nothing back. Meanwhile two more fatal fires occur and the newest member Bob Naylor barely survives an attempt to fry him. As the group investigates one another; Inspector Henrietta "Hen" Mallin takes over the official investigation that has been fumbled while a serial arsonists-murderer has escaped identification. Cigar smoking Hen is a diamond of a cop who turns Peter Lovesey's latest police procedural into a fabulous reading experience. The story line is typical of the grandmaster as the cast seems real especially the wannabe writers turned amateur sleuths and the who-done-it complex yet interesting. As usual the plot contains plenty of red herrings and twists as well as humor as Hen, who played a secondary role in THE HOUSE SITTER, takes the starring role carrying a terrific investigative tale on her pint sized back. Harriet Klausner