Jon Morgan is a retired police Superintendent and francophile who, it is said, has consequently seen almost everything awful that people can do to each other. He relishes quality writing in all genres but advises particularly on police procedure for authors including John Harvey and Jon McGregor. Haunts bookshops both new and secondhand and stands with Erasmus: “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I may buy food and clothes.”
Joseph Knox is a new discovery for me, although I find I have the first in the Aidan Waits series I –Sirens in my rather large ‘to read’ pile. I will immediately get book 2 -The Smiling Man and start on a binge. Great to find a new (to me) writer of such quality.
I am not going to go too far into the plot and I hate spoilers, but primarily, this is because it is truly labyrinthine. Knox describes the modern inner city and its underbelly in very gritty terms. Few of the protagonists are in any way redeemable individuals. Most / many are victims and indeed are victims of those in positions of power and influence.
The struggles for power and influence within the Manchester police ring true as does the corruption uncovered. Racism, sexism, bribery , judicial execution … you name it – it is here.
Waits himself is a complex and broken figure, with a past which reeks of societal failure and with a wide streak of self interest and a tiny prick of conscience remaining. This, along with his sardonic outlook and caustic wit, illuminates the book – in fact the book, whilst full of death destruction and violence is very funny – think Mick Herron type funny! There are echoes of, and nods to, classic crime fiction and the internal monologue - Philip Marlowe etc. is in evidence, to drive the narrative.
Waits is perennially unlucky and it is surprising that he can function with his history of drug and (continuing) alcohol abuse, his very fragile mental health and continuous wandering over the line between lawful and (very) unlawful behaviour – he seems to be perpetually injured in one way or another.
His partner / boss Detective Inspector Sutcliffe is only tangentially present for most of the novel and his nickname ‘Sutty’ is no doubt ironic given the reason for this. Absence.
Whether or not there will be a fourth book depends on your reading of the highly ambiguous end. I fervently hope so as this book had me utterly hooked very early on, the prologue giving a foretaste of the dark issues the novel raises, as well as frequently giggling.
I know that this is fiction but there are some procedural holes which given my more than willing suspension of disbelief do not really matter, but it would be nice to see a degree of accuracy police wise – that said, the fact that Aidan Waits is still a police officer with his history is what makes it so interesting.
