Swan Song by Robert Edric Reviewed By Nick Quantrill

Swan Song is the third and final part of Robert Edric's cycle trilogy. Although Edric does not describe himself as crime-fiction writer per-se, he skilfully demonstrates the strength of the genre. Although crime-fiction is generally criticised for not being literary enough, Edric uses it as a vehicle with which to explore contemporary society. Swan Song tackles head-on issues of prostitution and drug addiction, as well as taking a hard look at the consequences of the loss of the fishing industry on Hull. Using Hull and the East Riding as a backdrop, private investigator Leo Rivers is hired to investigate the murder of a local prostitute by the mother of the chief witness.

From this premise, Edric constructs a tight plot and as more murders are committed, Rivers is drawn into the police investigation for a possible serial murderer. Revealing a grim of loss and betrayal, the story raises questions about morality, complicity and culpability.

Edric is particularly successful at unpicking the motives of some of the story's main characters. Rivers tender relationship with prostitute, Emily Carr, is particularly poignant and thought provoking. His depiction of Chief Superintendent Lister, the man in charge of the hunt for the killer, adds an interesting sub-plot. Lister is a man who stops at little to further his own career ambitions, even if it means jeopardising the investigation, and this tension is skilfully drawn out.

However, the series' lead character, Rivers, is a little too weakly sketched. Due to Edric's sparse use of prose and description, the reader is given little clue as to how Rivers is motivated, other than by the paradox of him being a paid private investigator and of him being a private individual looking for some sense of a morally correct outcome. As the novel sets great stock in inviting the reader to consider the motives of its main characters, this is disappointing.

Swan Song is a fast paced crime thriller that is never short of being highly readable, despite its shortcomings. Edric is suitably skilled at providing clever plot twists and turns in all the correct places before the storyline is satisfactorily resolved. What stops Edric from joining the upper echelon of crime fiction writers is the relative lack of characterisation and a plot reliance on improbable opportunism.

However, there is much to commend and as with all such crime fiction series, a growing familiarisation by the author with his lead character will lead to stronger novels in the future.

Reviews, Books - The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	So, The Phantom of The Opera is perhaps one of the best-known stories in the world, but how many of you good people realised that a sequel to the story has actually been written - and has been kicking around for some years now - by the one and only Frederick Forsyth? The original, horrifying Phantom of The Opera story was penned by Frenchman Gaston Leroux, but the world at large Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	He doesn't need any money... all he needs is his rucksack. There really was no end to Jack's writing talents after all! This is the fifth book of his that I've had the pleasure of reading, and it is by far and away my favourite. When you get to the top of a mountain, keep climbing. Packed with all the excitement of his classic masterpiece On The Road Read more...

Reviews, Books - I'm a Teacher Get Me Out of Here by Francis Gilbert (Short Books) Reviewed By Cathy Walker
	As I am about to change career to become a primary school teacher, I picked up I'm A Teacher Get Me Out Of Here with a little trepidation. I'd heard that it presents the reality of working in a 'tough school', of what a hard and challenging job being a teacher truly is. I can't wait to become a teacher and I didn't want Read more...

Reviews, Events - Nights Out - Tuesday 24th May 05 - Benny Hill Preservation Society By Adam Atkinson
	My utter fascination with all things Benny started as early as the age of three, when I by chance happened upon some irrelevant sketch involving the Benster dressed as a cardiac surgeon examining some saucy minx. 12 years later I would see my own Uncle Frank arrested for the very same thing. Read more...

Reviews, Books - In The Winter Dark by Tim Winton Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	A menacing short story from the ever-interesting Australian writer Tim Winton, this is a thrilling venture into dark and macabre territory that focuses on a few people who live in a secluded valley that seems to also be inhabited by a mysterious creature that preys both on their animals and their worst fears. Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	First published way, way back in 1915, this is the story that inspired the infamous movie of the same name that was directed by the king of noir, old Alfred Hitchcock. I have it on good authority that the film version does in fact differ to quite a large extent to this novel, but what the hell. I can't imagine the book being any less suspenseful or tense Read more...

Reviews, Books - Junky by William S. Burroughs Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Where to start with a man of William's legendary literary standing? Born in 1914, in his own time he came to be regarded as one of the most important American writers of the Sixties Beat generation - during which time his writing was revered in the same way that the work of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg was. Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Long Rain by Peter Gadol Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	After I had walked around the winery, I climbed back in my truck and continued driving farther up into the foothills, and some nights I did make it as far as the mountain road. I wanted to cross the Diablo range. I wanted to keep driving clear across the state and into the desert, deep into the American vastness, where I knew no one and no one knew me. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Goodbye, Hessle Road by Daphne Glazer Reviewed By Cathy Walker
	Goodbye Hessle Road is the new novel by local writer Daphne Glazer, set in and around Hull. It focuses on the lives of Donna, her mum and grandmother Ruby and features many local landmarks from the leafy suburbs of the Avenues to the inside of Hull Prison. Donna is a drugs worker at Hull prison; she is portrayed as a strong woman, with attitude and hidden vulnerability. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink by Tom Miller Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	I have long longed to visit the South-Western states of the USA, and the beautifully majestic Arizona in particular. In this fascinating and factual book, Tom - who himself lives in Tucson, Arizona - recounts all sorts of weird and wonderful tales from the region, and also presents tall tales from California Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Reviewed By Cathy Walker
	thisisUll.com readers may have seen The Time Traveller's Wife featured as part of Richard and Judy's Bookclub. If you're not a fan of the teatime TV couple do not be deterred; this is likely to be one of the most unusual and original pieces of fiction Read more...

Reviews, Books -One For New York by John A Williams Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	A remarkable novel in every respect, this is a classic piece of literature from an incredibly gifted writer who expressed exactly how it felt to be a black man growing up in the United States early on in the last Century. This book focuses on his Read more...

Reviews, Books - Dr. Sax by Jack Kerouac Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Even hardcore fans of this legendary author might be in two minds about how much they like this novel of his. Jack is best-known for his travel-trained adventures back and forth across the USA (in On The Road, Big Sur and The Dharma Bums for example), and further Read more...