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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2) in Books

Nov 18, 2019  
A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2)
A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2)
Simon Maltman | 2017 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Burdening your detective characters with personal problems has a long tradition. Alcoholism, messy relationships and lack of respect for authority are common. But Maltman delivers a cut about all of these with Brian Caskey, a fiction author with mental health issues which mean he really shouldn't be getting out of his depth.

Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.

Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.

Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception