Stephanie Jane recenzis Spying Eye de Michelle Cox
A convincing 1930s setting
4 steloj
The sixth novel in Michelle Cox's historical detective fiction 'Henrietta and Inspector Howard' series, A Spying Eye, is set in the mid-1930s, on the eve of the Second World War. While the art theft mystery itself is a completely self-contained story, other narrative threads concerning Henrietta and Clive's extended families are obviously continuations of events in the previous novels so I felt this is probably a series best read in order. I did manage to quickly catch up and make sense of everything that was going on, but, understandably, did feel somewhat on the back foot through the earlier chapters.
I enjoyed Henrietta's and Clive's European travels, especially their sojourn in Alsace which is a part of France that I am less familiar with. I appreciated Cox keeping much of the non-English dialogue in its original French and German, translating for English-speaking readers in a natural way as the story …
The sixth novel in Michelle Cox's historical detective fiction 'Henrietta and Inspector Howard' series, A Spying Eye, is set in the mid-1930s, on the eve of the Second World War. While the art theft mystery itself is a completely self-contained story, other narrative threads concerning Henrietta and Clive's extended families are obviously continuations of events in the previous novels so I felt this is probably a series best read in order. I did manage to quickly catch up and make sense of everything that was going on, but, understandably, did feel somewhat on the back foot through the earlier chapters.
I enjoyed Henrietta's and Clive's European travels, especially their sojourn in Alsace which is a part of France that I am less familiar with. I appreciated Cox keeping much of the non-English dialogue in its original French and German, translating for English-speaking readers in a natural way as the story progressed, rather than having the Howards only ever meet characters who speak fluent English! This gave the European scenes an authentic flavour and depth. Henrietta herself did come across as a bit too naïve and trusting to me so I struggled to believe in her as a detective, though she plays the society lady role well and Clive's more rigid outlook makes theirs a good partnership.
Once the mystery geared up a pace and swung into an adventure tale, I stayed happily along for the ride. It might be showing my age to admit that I was prompted to think of the Indiana Jones film a few times once bullets started flying. There's a number of tense standoffs and a thrilling car chase, although Elsie and Gunther's storyline, taking place on the other side of the Atlantic, kept me equally as gripped. A Spying Eye is an interesting mix of genre styles with a convincing 1930s setting.