The Rat Stone Serenade

The Rat Stone Serenade (published 2016)  is number 4 in the DCI Daley crime series by Denzil Meyrick.

Members of the Shannon family have returned to the family home near Kinloch for a board meeting of Shannon International. They now own one of the richest private companies in the world and each year the annual meeting is held after Christmas. However all is not well. Apart from business problems that have emerged and conflict over who should manage the firm there is the issue of the curse placed on the family 100 years ago.

A number of brutal murders are discovered near the house. What is their association with the family? What is the significance of the Rat Stone? Are there really Druids still living in the area?

At the beginning of the book, Jim Daley has decided to retire and has only three more weeks before he leaves his job. However Superintendent Symington has been sent from Glasgow to persuade him to change his mind. DS Scott is still fighting alcohol problems. Jim Daley is back with his wife and baby son but relationship issues still need to be resolved. In this series the interaction between the characters - members of the police and inhabitants of the local community - plays an important role in the development of the story line. An additional feature in this book is the severe snow storm that has descended on the area, blocking roads and communications and hindering the police investigation.

It needs to be stressed that the increasing number of murders are graphically described but this adds emphasis to the possible supernatural sub-theme of the plot. The Rat Stone Serenade is certainly an action packed crime story.

Ladies in Black

On Thursday we went to see the new Australian film, Ladies in Black. The film is based on the book originally entitled, Women in Black, written by Madeleine St John and published in 1993. The plot of the book was also used for a musical. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford.

Set in a fictional department store in Sydney the ladies in the frock departments are preparing for the pre-Christmas rush. The film focuses on the lives of three of the staff, Fay, Patty and Lisa plus Magda who runs the high-end gowns section.

The film brought back memories of growing up in Melbourne in the 1950s when travelling into the City by train was a special experience. Mum always dressed up for the occasion and we had to look neat and tidy. In Melbourne there were lots of shops.

There were the variety stores where we normally shopped. Variety stores such as Coles or Woolworths consisted of rows of inexpensive goods arranged in sections. Items were purchased from the shop assistant behind each counter. Coles Cafeteria in the Bourke Street store was the place where we always went for lunch.

The department stores - Myer, Ball and Welch, Buckley and Nunn and Georges - were special places that we visited occasionally. The staff of these stores were the 'women in black' in the film. Transportation between floors was by lifts controlled by lift operators who announced the produce on each floor as the lift doors opened. 

The department store in the film has a large Santa Claus covering many floors on the outside of the building. In Melbourne it was Foys, another department store, that had such a Santa on the outside of the building.

In Melbourne the arcades were also places to explore. Regent Place housed the Tim the Toyman store which we always visited.

In the film, Lisa has just finished school and has temporary employment at the department store as she waits for her exam results. She is befriended by Fay and Patty and gradually learns something of the world of fashion, especially when Magda takes an interest in her. Fay and Patty both have problems with relationships while Magda and her husband are refugees from Europe trying to make a new life in Australia.

The 1950s were a time of change in Australia. The film portrays a world where staff are still addressed by their title and surname. There is an awareness of status.  The 1950s were a time of European immigration when people displaced by events in Europe found a new home in Australia. The film looks at attitudes on both sides as well as the changes immigration caused in Australia. The value of education for women is also a theme. There are also comments showing the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.

I enjoyed watching this movie as a film but I also enjoyed the trip down memory lane that it reawoke.

Review - Ladies in Black (Sydney Morning Herald 19 September 2018)
Review - Ladies in Black (Scenestr 18 September 18 September 2018)
Article - After more than 20 years, Bruce Beresford's Ladies in Black lights up the big screen (West Australian 20 September 2018)
Article - Ladies in Black: Director Bruce Beresford recreates postwar culture of 1950s Sydney (ABC News 22 September 2018)

First Light: a celebration of Alan Garner

When I worked as a children's librarian at the end of the 1960s I discovered the world of fantasy, published for children, written by Alan Garner. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (published 1960) and The Moon of Gomrath (published 1963) were set around Alderley Edge in Cheshire and transported Susan and Colin, the two children in the stories, and the reader into a world of magic, folklore and adventure. In 1965 Elidor was published. This time the setting was Manchester in the 1950s and it brought magic into an everyday world. These three titles were generally read by children but can also be appreciated by adults. Garner's next book, The Owl Service (published 1967), based on Welsh legend, is classified as a book for teenagers.

I then lost track of the writing of Alan Garner until I read a review of his latest book when I was in England earlier this year. Where shall we run to? is a memoir about his early life. The review also mentioned a list of books by Alan Garner that I had not read. This included Red Shift, The Stonebook Quartet, Strandloper, Thursbitch, The Book That Thunders and Boneland. I obviously have some reading to catch up on.

Checking a library catalogue I also discovered the book First Light edited by Erica Wagner, a collection of articles, fiction and poetry prepared to celebrate the Alan Garner's eightieth birthday. This work was published in 2016.

Forty-three pieces of writing make up this work, all providing a glimpse into the life of Alan Garner and his writing or providing a reflection of the effect of Alan Garner's books on the contibutor. Authors such as Margaret Atwood, Susan Cooper, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith and Salley Vickers, archaeologists such as Francis Pryor, Mark Edmonds, Richard Morris and John Prag, plus physicist Teresa Anderson are just a few of the contributors to this book.

Some of the contributors discovered the books of Alan Garner when they were children while others discovered his work later in life. Some of the contributors knew the Garners without being aware that Alan was a writer. Alan Garner's use of myth, folklore and legend in his stories features in this book along with  his use of the natural environment, especially in Cheshire, as a dominant feature in his writing. Garner's ongoing exploration of the archaeology of the area near his home in Cheshire is discussed as well as, at the other end of the spectrum, his interest in the work at Jodrell Bank, not far from his home.

For those who have enjoyed reading the work of Alan Garner, this compilation provides an excellent insight into the life and work of this British author.

Review - First Light a celebration of Alan Garner (The Guardian 12 August 2016)

Article - Fantasy author Alan Garner celebrated in new tribute, First Light (The Guardian 24 April 2015)

Dark suits and sad songs

Once again I could only borrow this title from the library as an e-book however I soon became enthralled in the story and read it quickly. This book is number three in the DCI Daley series by Denzil Meyrick.

We return to Kinloch in Scotland to witness the dramatic suicide of a civil servant. Shortly afterwards, in Glasgow, his assistant is killed by a passing vehicle when crossing the road. Then two minor players in the local drug trade are assassinated. What is happening in this quiet village on the Scottish coast?

We know from earlier books in the series that there is corruption at high levels in the police force but it soon becomes obvious that the corruption also extends to local politics. DCI Jim Daley and his deputy, DS Brian Scott know that they are out of their depth in this investigation but who can they trust? When a young girl is kidnapped every effort must be made to save her from the person known only as The Dragon.

The story is told from the perspective of DCI Daley but we also learn of the the thoughts and past actions of a range of other characters, adding depth to the story. Jim Daley's private life continues to be a mess that needs to be sorted. Brian Scott also has his problems as he recovers from the trauma of being shot and resorts to the whisky bottle. The book also provides a parade of other characters including Hamish and Annie who contribute to the story and assist in unexpected ways.

There are many layers to these books written by a former policeman. This book is a crime thriller involving the drug trade plus the corruption of power. The book is also about a community of people who should be enjoying living in isolation from the city (Glasgow) and the rest of the world in general. However a sinister presence has invaded their isolated village and surrounding area.

If you enjoy the books of Louise Penny and Donna Leon, who set their series of character driven crime books in a distinct community, you will probably enjoy this series though the description of the murders is a little more violent. The characters from the village speak in the local dialect which is not difficult to follow and adds to the atmosphere of the book as does the description of the local environment.

Whisky from small glasses

This book is first in the series of DCI Daley books written by Scottish author, Denzil Meyrick.

When a woman's body is washed up on to a beach in western Scotland, Inspector Jim Daley, with his colleague Detective Sergeant Brian Scott, is sent to Kinloch from Glasgow to investigate. In Kinloch they discover a close knit community containing a variety of characters who assist or hinder the investigation. This is a character driven crime thriller with the village of Kinloch and its surroundings also playing an important role in the telling of the story.

Being the first in a series of books, the back story of the characters that is gradually revealed, including Daley's marriage problems and the revelation that much of the crime occurring in the area is drug related, is continued in subsequent volumes. As the investigation continues Daley realises that corruption in high places is behind much of the crime in the area. Although the books in the series could be read as stand alone titles it is probably better to read the books sequentially.

I enjoyed this introduction to the world of DCI Daley and his colleagues, and once I became used to the vernacular spoken by many of the characters I became immersed in the life of community of Kinloch and the attempts of the police to solve the spate of violent crime occurring in their region.

The last witness

While we were in England recently one of the members of our group gave me a copy of the book, The last witness, by Denzil Meyrick. This is the second in a series of books about D C I Jim Daley. I had not come across this author before and when I checked catalogues for two Australian libraries  I discovered that one had two books in the series as e-books while the other had some of the titles as paperbacks or e-books.

The book falls into the category of Scottish crime novels known as Tartan Noir. Earlier this year Val McDermid wrote an article in Crimereads, On the Remarkable Rise of Tartan Noir. These books cover the gritty world of crime in Scotland and the speech of the characters is in the local dialect.

In this book a crime is committed in Ringwood, Victoria, Australia, resulting in the murder of a husband and wife who left Scotland to take on a new identity and lifestyle. The murderer left a calling card revealing that he is a crime lord who died five years previously. Other murders of people previously associated with the crime lord begin to occur near the town of Kinloch and it soon becomes obvious that people involved in his arrest and trial, including the police, are now targets.

The story is revealed through the viewpoint and thoughts of a number of the characters. This is a fast moving action crime novel and as the plot progresses we learn the back story of many of the characters.

The Librarian

Recently I read a short review in The Age newspaper about this book so, as a librarian, I decided to reserve a copy of The Librarian by Sally Vickers from the library.

I worked as a children's librarian in the late 1960s so as the main character in this book, Sylvia Blackwell, began her career in a children's library in the late 1950s  I was immediately interested in the story. Fortunately the library service where I worked provided a very different service compared to the challenges faced by Sylvia, however I related to her desire to provide a friendly, welcoming space for children where they could choose the books they wanted to read. Unfortunately Sylvia's manager and some members of the library committee do not agree with her plans.

The book also provides a study of relationships and often prejudices in a small English community. Of course romance is a central theme for part of the novel but this is just part of the study of the relationships in this novel.

Throughout the novel the importance of the enjoyment of reading from a young age as well as the necessity of having libraries for all to enjoy is a major theme. This includes references to titles of children's books that I read and recommended to children all those years ago and hope that my grandchildren may also enjoy reading. A list of books mentioned is provided at the back of the book.
Part 2 of the book is short and is set in present times where the author provides an update on some of the characters we met in part one of the book. She also makes reference to the move in some areas of England to close libraries or, in some cases, staff libraries with volunteers instead of librarians.

Throughout the book the author has captured aspects of life in England during the 1950s. This is the second book that I have read by Sally Vickers and I will look for other books by her to read.


The local library helped me to become a novelist - letter to The Guardian by Sally Vickers (2 February 2017)
Why libraries matter - Irish Times (2 May 2018)
Libraries lose a quarter of staff as hundreds close - BBC News (29 March 2016)