I LOVE Lynne Truss's grammarian non-fiction. The snarky wry humor she brings to her righteous indignation about the misuse of the English language is a delight to read. I'm not much into cats, so her cat fiction never really caught my eye, but I was so excited to see that she had a mystery with a more noir feel coming out and eagerly requested it. I was expecting to see what I loved about Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Talk to the Hand - clever turns of phrase, carefully crafted sly humor, and a to-the-point style. Unfortunately, I didn't find any of those things... This felt more like a rambling early British mystery (of the type written in the time period of her setting) - there's nothing wrong with those, but they are a little too dry and slapstick-ish for my taste, which is how I found this book. It wasn't at all what I expected/hoped for, and I couldn't finish it - it was like a plate of fish fingers. There's nothing wrong with them, I just don't find them to my taste. Ditto this story...

I found A Shot in the Dark to be a fun read. Not a serious mystery, but a fun one anyway.

The ending is a bit unsatisfying in that the main problems are not resolved, but I suppose that may lead into the setup for this being the beginning of a series. If everything was resolved in the first book, what need would there be for a second?

The characters lack much depth, being mainly stereotypes: the narcissistic moron in charge, the intelligent but naive underling, etc. but since but it doesn't greatly detract from being able to laugh at their antics as they try to solve the murder.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book, in exchange for this review.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I had heard of the author, so was willing to try a new series. I struggled to finish it. Maybe it was the 1950s setting or maybe the British humor was just lost on me this time, but it was very difficult to finish this one.

Inspector Steine (pronounced Steen) solved the Middle Street Massacre in 1951, still glorying in its resolution 6 years later when Constable Twitten enters the Brighton police force. Theatre Critic A.S. Crystal knows a secret concerning the unsolved 1945 Aldersgate Stick-Up case and goes to the theatre intending to share his secret with the constable when Crystal himself is shot in his seat. Constable Twitten and partner Sgt. Jim Brunswick set out to solve the decades-old case while the Inspector busies himself with the new one. When I requested this one, I expected it to be a police procedural. The book contains some humor, although not necessarily the most enjoyable variety of that. While it was that, it was a bit too "noir" for my personal taste in detective fiction. I prefer books more like Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. The seedy elements in the book simply failed to work for me, but I'm certain others would enjoy the book more than I did. If you enjoy noir and hard-boiled detective stories, you will probably enjoy this one. If you prefer your books to contain a little less seediness, you will probably want to avoid this one. I received an advance e-book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ahh, where to begin?...This is definitely not your usual cozy mystery - mystery for sure, but way more farcical with a grand touch of Keystone Cops.

The setting is Brighton, 1957. A bumbling Police Inspector is still basking in his presumed glory days of 1951 regarding an event which in his mind, eliminated all organized crime in the community. He just wants everyone to get along and peaceably go about their business. Of course, that's the perfect environment for covert organized crime. Enter newly minted policeman, Officer Twitten. He's bright, eager and cannot seem to avoid trouncing on the corns of his superiors. Murders are most foul and there's at least two yet to be solved, much to the Inspector Steine's chagrin.

I have to admit, with the Keystone Cops scenarios, the vaudeville theater show and general language, the period described felt more like the 1920s/1930s than 1957. Regardless, if a cozy mystery with a grand swath of farce is your cup of tea, then this book is definitely for you.

I am grateful to author Lynne Truss, Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc and Netgalley for having provided a free advanced reader e-copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

#netgalley, #AShotintheDark #LynneTruss #BloomsburyPub

Synopsis (from publisher's website):
It's 1957, and the famed theater critic A. S. Crystal has come to the British seaside resort of Brighton with something other than the local production of A Shilling in the Meter on his mind. Sitting in the Brighton Royal Theater with Constable Twitten, Crystal intends to tell the detective the secret he knows about the still-unsolved Aldersgate Stick-Up case of 1945. And yet, just before Crystal names the criminal mastermind involved, he's shot dead in his seat.

With a new murder case on his hands and a fatuous, lazy captain at the helm of the police department, the keen and clever Constable Twitten and his colleague Sargent Jim Brunswick set out to solve the decade-old mystery of the Aldersgate Stick-Up. As the partners venture deep into the criminal underworld that lies beneath Brighton's holiday-happy veneer, they begin to discover a criminal conspiracy that dates back decades. But will Brunswick and Twitten be able to foil the mastermind, or will Crystal's death become just another unsolved crime in this seemingly peaceful seaside city?

With her characteristic wit, New York Times bestselling author Lynne Truss introduces readers to a cast of eccentric policeman and scheming criminals in a drolly delightful mystery you won't want to miss.

I have given this book a good shot - no pun intended - but I could not get into it. I couldn't empathize with the characters. It wasn't until page 80 or 85 before something even happened. Perhaps if it was shortened into a short story it would have been better. The language and sentence structure was unusual. (It is British I think.) I could care less about the characters. I forced myself to read just over half the book, then I had to quit. I don't like to give any less than 3 stars because it takes a lot to write a book. Any author should get an A for effort.

I must admit I only read about 25% before I had to abandon this book. I'm sure the story is great but I just couldn't get over the writing style. I felt like I was in a pub and someone was telling a tale and he/she was being very verbose. Most sentences had several anecdotes and it was just too distracting. I just couldn't get into it, this book was not for me. I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review by 2shay..........

This book was fairly entertaining, but “wryly entertaining” is a stretch, in my opinion. Maybe it’s just that I don’t always understand the British sense of humor, or more likely, I thought it crossed the line from funny into a pretty deep well of silliness. I was drowning in silky dialog, silly characters and silly situations.

What we have is an author who was challenged by colleagues to write a mystery that is solved by pure detective work with no divine intervention or lucky happenstance. This story is, apparently, based on an old radio show. ??? Why? I have no idea.

Inspector Stein, pronounced Steen, is completely ineffective, Sergeant Brunswick wants nothing more that to do “undercover” investigations in a community where he is well-known, and the main character, Constable Twitten, is an annoying smartass that won’t shut up. The other constant at the police station is the cleaning lady, Mrs. Groynes, who feeds them cookies and cake and is smarter than them all.

The initial murder of the theater critic, A.S. Crystal, is followed by others. It was a hot mess. It wasn’t hard to figure out whodunnit while the police were being idiots. Maybe that is what was meant by “wry entertainment” in the blurb. While knowing the main perpetrator was easy, there was a bit of mystery for a while about the number of criminals involved, so I guess “mystery” is still applicable.

If you’re a fan of Monty Python or Mr. Bean, you might find this book somewhat more amusing than I did. It was, as I stated earlier, fairly entertaining, but since this appears to be a series, I think I will have to pass on future books. Whatever your choice, have a nice day and...

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

“A Shot in the Dark” is a hilarious read. Characters from mobsters to actors and their critics to the less than intellectually endowed are unique and spot on consistent throughout, each bringing seasoning to the plot(s). Love the not so bright Inspector, but my favorite is the brilliant Mrs. Groynes. I grinned my way through the book and am glad to see it labeled #1 in a series!

Thanks to netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Pub for the pre-read copy!

#netgalley, #AShotintheDark #LynneTruss #BloomsburyPub #FindOutWhoIsAtFault

Set in 1950s Brighton, A Shot in the Dark is a humorous cozy featuring 3 very different policemen: Inspector Steine, head of the Brighton police force, and seriously opposed to doing any actual police work, preferring to rest on the laurels of the Middle Street Massacre that supposedly wiped out all crime in Brighton anyway. Doing the actual police work are the experienced Sargent Brunswick and brand new from London, Constable Twitten who was transferred to Brighton as being just to "clever" to bear by those in London. If it is possible to have three opposites, they are right here. When a London theater critic is apparently assassinated in a Brighton theater, Twitten and Brunswick set out on separate paths to solve the murder while Steine is willing to arrest the first suspect and call it solved. Hijinks ensue...
Written for humor, the story has a certain Keystone Cops feeling to it, which threw it back into an earlier era for me. Little details of the 50s would bring me back with a start. The characters are very broad and overdrawn, the action campy and at times slapstick, but the mystery is fairly complex (LOTS of red herrings) and you will want to see which policeman will solve it first. Brunswick is fairly normal (in comparison), but Twitten really is too clever, both brilliant and totally oblivious, and the real mystery is how he keeps from being murdered by his superiors.
Not quite my cup of tea, but like the Phryne Fisher series which I was bored to read but loved the audiobooks, I suspect the humor would work better for me in audio. Humor is all in the timing, and if you are reading fast... it can fall flat.

I love a good mystery but this is not one. I appreciated the somewhat tongue-in-cheek, historic aspect but it just seemed more Keystone Cops than British detective mystery. The characters were so stereotypical that they were laughable and not in a good way. I loved Eats, Shoots Leaves and had high hopes for this. I was sadly disappointed.

This was a very good historical,novel. The author put a lot of time into research of this book. The story held my attention and I did not want to put it down. The characters were believable and the setting was very nice. This was a very good book.

PG Wodehouse lives on in Lynne Truss's fiction! If you loved Eats Shoots and Leaves you'll revel in A Shot in the Dark.

This book didn't hit any emotion with me. I didn't really care about the characters and for that reason I gave it 2.5 stars. 3 on the review but if you provided half stars, it would be 2.5.
Sorry. I tried to like it. Not my cup of tea.

cosy-mystery, sly-humor, British, law-enforcement, historical-setting, snarky

Overtly the story seems a little odd and contrived, but it is really a decent mystery with quirky characters and the humor is the kind that makes you groan or snort rather than guffaw. The publisher's blurb gives hints and there is no need for spoilers. I liked it a lot and plan to hunt down others.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Bloomsbury USA courtesy of NetGalley.

Lots of characters, interacting plots, and lots of comedy and comedic situations can be found in “A Shot in the Dark,” a new historical mystery by author Lynn Truss, set in 50s Brighton. Who killed the theater critic? Why is the Inspector such a yob? And finally, whatever is Constable Twitten (and that name pretty much fits this character) going to do? Will justice triumph? The problem I have with this book, especially in regards to that pesky justice thing, is that this book doesn’t have a resolution. I like resolutions, especially in mystery books.

Certainly, the author has done her research for the setting, showing us Brighton as the “a little bit seedy, a little bit not” city that it was. No quibbles there, nor with the quirks and foibles and all too human characters that abound in the book. My problem is one of continuing interest in what’s going on; the farcical aspects of this story outweigh all else. This should have been a short story and not a full length novel. The “novelty” of it all wears off very fast. Unfortunately for the Constable, I won’t be reading on to find out what happens.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book, in exchange for this review.

A. S. Crystal is a famous theater critic. As a result of his less than stellar reviews, he has a few enemies. Crystal and Constable Twitten are sitting next to one another at the Brighton Royal Theater. They are conversing amicably when Crystal is about to reveal the identity of the person responsible for the Aldersgate Stick Up, a case which was never solved. Suddenly Crystal is shot dead in his seat at the theater.
I am sorry to say, this story was not for me., although I thought as I was reading the mystery, it should be a play. I liked Constable Twitten. He was intelligent, eager to assist in any way he could and enthusiastic about his job. The story was well-crafted. I had a clear picture in my mind of the events as they unfolded. It just wasn't for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bloomsbury Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was an unexpected pleasure. The writing is tight and the characters well-drawn. The main character has died many years ago -or did he? His daughter and lover mourn his loss still. His fans want to call him from the dead through ceremonies that recall druidcial practice. And then there is a mysterious and malevolent secret society.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an advanced digital copy of A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss. While it is classified as a mystery, I found it to belong more in the humor category. The mystery as it exists is secondary to the story itself, as told by the unseen author.

Throughout the book the author is a strong presence, becoming almost a character in the story itself through use of parentheticals and conversational tendencies that read as if someone is talking to the reader directly as they might relate an occurance or tell a story. There is a strong feeling of being in a room with the author, perhaps as a stand-up comedy routine is being delivered.

Throughout the book, the impression is that the characters are the author’s concept of Keystone Cops types of figures who bumble through their day with total lack of intelligence and foresight. While there seems to be a strong desire to create humor within the pages, it fell flat for me and bordered on being far to predictable to be funny.

The primary characters are three policemen, the charwoman who cleans the police station for them, and a multitude of other characters who have some part to play in the murder as either perpetrators, victims, or bystanders. There are two mysteries throughout the book, one of which is alluded to from the beginning and the other that takes over half the book to take place and is a subplot of the first. The author moves the characters around from place to place, at times telling the reader that is what is being done, to the extent the author almost becomes more vivid than the characters in the story.

In the acknowledgements section at the end of the book, the author indicates these characters have a pre-history as characters on a radio show. This may explain much about the writing style within the story and why it reads as if it is a script as opposed to an actual novel. For me, it read as though it were a lengthy joke where I was waiting for the punchline, but that never really came. Humor is a highly personal thing, so while this didn’t work for me, there may be others who find it hilarious. I am being deliberately light on details so that anyone who chooses to read the book does not have any of it spoiled by having information in advance of when it was intended to be delivered.