Crime Beat

Earlier this year Rob Marsh published his second crime novel, Beasts of Prey, (Human & Rousseau) and since then has been gathering a clutch of laudatory reviews. For more information about Rob see his website or an earlier interview with him on Crime Beat. Meanwhile here are his top ten crime novels which he prefaces with the rider that his ‘favourite books always contain great characters and in this regard I’d like to also mention Patrick O’Brian. His 20 Captain Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin novels, set at the time of the Napoleonic Wars are simply brilliant. When I finally got to the end of the last book – Blue at the Mizzen – I was depressed for a week.

1. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

This book is a compelling read from the opening pages where three frozen and mutilated corpses are discovered in Moscow’s Gorky Park to the grand finale. But what makes this novel stand out even more is its central character Arkady Renko: a brilliant creation of a superb writer. I like all of Smith’s work, especially those where Renko reappears.

2. Fatherland by Robert Harris

Set in 1964 in an imaginary Germany that has survived the Second World War virtually intact, Harris has recreated the entire structure of a totally corrupt society in a way that is totally believable. Fatherland’s central character, Xavier March, homicide investigator with the Berlin Kriminalpolizei, is also brilliantly compelling.

3. The Collector by John Fowles

Frederick Clegg is a lonely young may who collects and displays butterflies. Then he wins £73 000 and decides to capture a more exciting specimen for his collection – a beautiful young woman. What makes this book so outstanding, apart from the quality of the writing, is the way that it is structured: we see the same story through the eyes of two people - the abductor and the victim.

4. The Gormenghast Trilogy (consisting of Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone) by Mervyn Peake

Gormenghast is an ancient castle now falling into decline and disrepair ruled by the seventy-seventh Earl, Titus Groan, Lord of Gormenghast. Though not a crime story in the conventional sense of the phrase, this trilogy contains a number of ‘criminal characters’ including a remarkably evil villain - Steerpike. I remain in awe of Peake’s ability to create a completely fictitious and alien landscape and make it believable. I keep this book close to my laptop. When I run out of ideas of feel jaded I reach for Gormenghast, open it at any page and become inspired again.

5. Smiley’s People by John Le Carré

I’m a big fan of Le Carré and I buy all of his books. Why I chose this particular book is because of its central character, George Smiley, one of Le Carré’s most brilliant creations.

6. Perfume by Patrick Süskind

In my experience this book is completely original. The story, which is set in 18th century Paris, is one of murder and twisted eroticism. The central character, John-Baptise Grenouille, who has ‘the finest nose in Paris and no personal odour’ has a sense of smell, more acute and more sensitive than one could ever imagine. What makes the book so memorable is that one is led through the streets of Paris, literally by the nose.

7. Out by Natsuo Kirino

A young Japanese mother, a factory worker, living a dead-end existence, finally cracks and strangles her no-good husband. She then confesses the crime to her closest friend and together, the two women dismember and dispose of the body. The story is an unsettling reminder that the desperate desire for freedom can make even the most ordinary person do the unimaginable.

8. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

I really like what I describe as McCarthy’s matter-of-fact style and although I’m hesitant to admit the fact, the film that is based upon the novel seems to do the book justice. This was McCarthy’s first book in seven years and it was well worth the wait, in my opinion. The dialogue is superb and McCarthy seems to be able to brilliantly evoke time and place.

9. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

I am a big fan of Graham Greene. In Our Man in Havana Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman, is short of money and his daughter, Milly, is “at that expensive age” so he accepts an offer of $300 a month to become a British government spy working for MI6 in Cuba. To keep his job, Wormold pretends to recruit sub-agents and sends in fake stories, some of which include parts of the vacuum cleaner he sells, dressed up to look like military hardware. Again, this is not a crime novel in the conventional sense of the word, but Greene’s characterisation in all his novels leaves me breathless.

10. The Inspector Morse Omnibus

Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse is a brilliant creation, but you don’t need me to tell you that. I like all the ‘Inspector Morse’ novels. The crimes are intricate and involved, but, for me, the most compelling aspect of all is always the indomitable, complicated Morse. Interestingly, Morse’s first name is only mentioned in two of the books and virtually remains a kind of running secret throughout the series. I wonder if this some kind of world record?