The Vinyl Detective - Written in Dead Wax (Vinyl Detective 1) (Vinyl Detective Mysteries): A Vinyl Detective Mystery 1

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With a rare pressing of the Blue Tits’ first album to find, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada are called in to help. But this time the question is who isn’t a suspect. With a long list of enemies, the people who could want Helene dead includes her ex-bandmates, their former producer turned record label mogul, the TV presenter that Helene got fired – even their old roadie could be in on it. As the killer’s attempts on Helene’s life get more and more ambitious the Vinyl Detective and Nevada are in a race against time to find the killer, before it’s too late. The Vinyl Detective goes Scandi Noir? Yes please!”— Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Rivers of London series. As per usual, the story had a single, linear plotting and things were neatly tied-up at the end. The somewhat Engineered Public Confession at the end has become the author’s trademark.

The original book in the series Written in Dead Wax (The Vinyl Detective, #1) (my review) was a moderately amusing, British, hipster, murder mystery. As the series gets long, the author is not-artfully becoming very formulaic. There’s always a record to look for. There’s always a band who someone is trying to kill one or all its members. The Met never gets involved in the murders. There's lots of cat-loving. The team swings into action, providing a cook's tour of London and nearby counties. There is always a public confession at the end. The Vinyl Detective's friends Erik Make Loud and Helene Hilditch are subject to murder attempts, all of which appear innocent until investigated. The Vinyl Detective and Nevada are asked to help as well as find the recording of their first record. As the second in a series, this book could easily have fallen short of its predecessor. I am pleased to say that it does not. The mystery of Valerian and the missing child provide a good base for the story. Along the way, The Vinyl Detective meets some very strange and passionate characters, puts himself and his friends live in danger and has a romance or two. This is not the type of detecting I am usually drawn to. As I said, it is a surprising book. At first, I wasn’t sure about the two halves approach, but actually it makes much more sense than to separate the story into two books. The two halves are one and the same story.In the first chapter, the main character’s cat dies. I’m not going to lie, I almost stopped reading at this point, but the way Andrew describes cats really did win me over, and don’t worry, he does get a new cat or two. This reminded me of a talk I attended the previous year with Mark Billingham, in which he mentioned that; as a crime writer, he is allowed to do whatever he wants to a human in his books, but the moment he speaks of harming an animal, his readers are up in arms, he receives letters, he has angry conversations with readers, he has even received death threats. For a man who wrote a book about the Brighton cat killer, this can be quite challenging.

RA: Is there much research involved for each book? How long did you work on Written in Dead Wax before you were satisfied that it was ready for publication? On top of that, there is a shift from the Vinyl Detective (we still don't know his name) being hired as a record hunter to actually being hired in the capacity of solving a potential crime, with the hunt for a record just being a secondary objective to get him to take the job. In short, he is hired by Helene Hilditch, former member of the short-lived but rather successful Punk band The Blue Tits and Erik Make Loud's new girlfriend, to investigate what she and Erik suspect to be attempts on her life. Since the police don't seem to believe that this is the case, they turn to the Vinyl Detective and his partner/girlfriend Nevada. The Vinyl Detective Series is great for anyone who loves a good detective story. If a good old fashioned mystery is your thing then this series is for you. But don’t be fooled by the fact that it is based on a format which for some is a “bit oldfashioned”, the series is very up to date and contemporary. Action Not gritty, but who cares when it's so much fun, with suspects coming from everywhere - music industry, TV industry, even Helene's school as a child. The adventure for The Vinyl Detective then begins with a birthday present. A birthday present from Nevada to Tinkler, a birthday present which was found, where else, a charity shop.He was incredibly gracious and immediately agreed. So I arranged to meet up and buy him a coffee — and some cake — and say thanks. We’ve been firm friends ever since, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot from him about jazz and vinyl. He also writes regularly for the London Jazz News. A fact which merely adds authenticity to his stories and the subject matter which the series, is based on. Overall, I think Low Action is the best book in the Vinyl Detective series so far. It has all the the things that made the previous books so enjoyable (cats, humour, music nerdiness, cats, coffee, quirky characters, cats) while at the same time improving on the one outstanding criticism I had with them: believability. This charming mystery feels as companionable as a leisurely afternoon trawling the vintage shops with a good friend.”

Sound interesting? It makes for prismatic, quixotic reading – especially if you’re a music lover with a vinyl LP fetish.This is the fifth volume in The Vinyl Detective series, and I found it to be as entertaining as the previous four. The central character, still unnamed, is a record collector but has developed a sideline as an actual detective. The stories usually revolve around the search for a record, which triggers a series of unfortunate events. Often murder. Usually murders. Plural. The Vinyl Detectives’ love of good coffee, good food, and fine wine are developed more throughout this book as are his relationships with Nevada, Tinkler, Clean Head, and Stinky. It is these relationships that provide the relevant depth and keep you reading/listening.

RA: Over the decades have you been able to recognize a formula in how you approach creating new characters to populate the worlds you give life to? When one of his cats accidentally discovers a rare Victory Disc, the Vinyl Detective and his girlfriend Nevada are whisked into the world of big band swing music, and a mystery that began during the Second World War. On the train on the way home, I continued to read and I was not disappointed. This story is simple in its essence, but actually really good. There are so many twists and turns, surprises and unusual, elements to this story. A good old fashioned mystery. I had strongly considered taking the off-ramp from The Vinyl Detective saga after book 4, but was a) in the mood for another silly romp, b) intrigued by the mention of a cameo by a character from the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, which I follow ardently. As I was not only a couple of people away from the front of the queue, I decided to put this feeling to one side and carry on with the signing and I have to say, they were both on great form. So friendly and chatty with everyone who came up and presented them with any number of items to sign. Books from each of them, graphic novels they’d written on, Dr. Who posters and other memorabilia, and they signed it all, no restrictions, no limitations and the spoke to everyone in front of them, with interest in their items and their lives. They are genuinely nice guys. Written in Dead Wax storyThe fact that the newest Vinyl Detective novel came at such a perfect time that it’s the book that finished off my reading goal for the year is maybe the best thing that’s happened to me in weeks. I loved this one! The story was rich and diverse in characters and settings, the action and suspense was spine-tingling and the characters came complete with quirks and secrets. The secrets are always good in these books. Something so simple on the face of it, a simple fact that was hidden from view, is often the one piece of information which breaks the case and leads The Vinyl Detective to the solution to the puzzle. The Vinyl Detective Series Book 5 – Low Action He is a record collector -a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the “Vinyl Detective” and some people take this more literally than others. Like the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording on behalf of an extremely wealthy, yet shadowy, client. So begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the rarest jazz record of them all…