Anti heroes

Arsene Lupin is an anti -hero - a cocky thief who blends in with French society only to steal all their belongings. Written by Maurice Leblanc, these books have been translated into English and are available for free online since their loyalties have long expired.

Arsene is set in France of early 1900, Lupin is a celebrated thief because of his audacity and cleverness in hood winking the authorities. Unlike Leslie Charteris' Simon Templar, the money is solely for Lupin's empire building.

Simon Templar aka The Saint is a character of the 1960s who donates part of his takings to charity. The earlier Simon Templar books portray a debonair, devil may care, risk taking Robin Hood character. Later books sees a more mature Simon travelling the world.

Although on the wrong side of the law, both Lupin and Templar are not necessarily baddies. The law is portrayed as ineffectual and blindly zealous. These anti heroes are taking advantage of this and because they are clever and risk takers, they succeed.

Vish Puri the Indian detective

It's been a while since I've blogged about detectives but it doesn't mean that I've not been reading them. I have explored several genres since my last entry but my current favourite is the Indian private eye Vish Puri, written by Tarquin Hall.

Mr Hall must be married to an Indian and probably lives in Delhi. For he gets the colloquialism down pat. I just love mamaji, Vish's mum who is an intrepid detective herself. "Don't do tension babaji!" has become our urge to hubby who is apt to become anxious when he thinks we are late. When reading Vish, one can almost see the head wobble and smell the street food that Vish enjoys.

Having befriended many Indians here and in Malaysia, I can vouch for the authenticity of Mr Hall's portrait of the indian people. They are family oriented, love to eat and are generally fun loving. Doing business is tricky for they promise the impossible with such touching faith that when it all inevitably falls apart, you feel sorry rather than angry.

Vish, of course is a class apart, his motto: Vish Puri never fails. The plots are fantastic and I've certainly read better, but I read Vish for the pure pleasure of being transported to India for a few hours.

Location:Victoria Street,Ashfield,Australia

Barbara Nadel

Nadel is the British author of the Cetin Ikmen series of crime novels. The best part of this series is its setting in exotic Istanbul. Like Donna Leon, I read it more for the sense of place rather than the crime mystery itself. Leon is much darker because she deals with themes of corruption at high levels. One finishes with a sense of hopelessness... Nothing is as it seems and nobody can be trusted.

The Cetin series are lighter although Harem is more violent and darker than the other novels. Cetin himself is incorruptible and morally reassuring. As with most of Turkey he chain smokes. He has 9 children who are generally brought up by his wife Fatma. He is poor due to his refusal to be corrupted.

As in most detective novels, Ikmen has a side kick in the form of the handsome younger inspector Mehmet Sulayman. Sulayman himself is descended from the Ottoman royalty who were booted out by Kemal Attaturk. This provides a great foil for treatise on Ottoman empire history, culture and customs.
The inclusion of the Jewish Cohen family provides another avenue to explore the role of Jews in Turkey. As I understand it Turkey is one of the most progressive middle eastern countries... More European than middle eastern.
Some of the story lines are so fantastic they stretch the author's credibility. Ultimately it does not matter because one reads Nadel for the great sense of place and history and interesting characters rather than for the plot itself.

Fred Vargas

Fred Vargas writes in French novels mainly based in Paris. Her protagonist is Commissioner Adamsberg, an eccentric dreamer who leads the serious crime squad. His foil is Danglard, who is a single father of 5 and an alcoholic.

Her books are full of Gallic characters with French eccentricities. Vargas is a historian and archeologist as well and so many of her plots are crimes with a historical link; from medieval recipes for beating death, recreations of the plague to mass murder in the vein of mahjong tiles.

Aside from Adamsberg, Vargas has written about the three evangelists, three historians setting up home with an ex cop god father. These are just as enjoyable though sadly not many have been translated to English.

Donna Leon and Commissario Brunetti

Venice is a beautiful but decaying city. Donna's Commisario Brunetti is an honest cop in a city and country ruled by politics, grafts and moral decay. He is married to the fiesty Paola who is from a noble family. The stories usually delve into darkness, frequently crimes committed or commissioned by those in positions of power. Brunnetti can't seem to make a big difference despite his efforts. The powers that be are too omniscient. Reading these novels can sometimes be heavy going but his interactions with Patta, his vainglorious boss, Signora Elettra with her superior hacking capabilities and his offsider Vianello as well as Paola and his teenage children make it a worthwhile read. Venice as background is of course the other attraction.

Chet and Bernie

A new crime series by Spencer Quinn about a dog and his private detective owner. What is unique is that Chet the dog is the narrator. Somehow the author got into the head of a dog and we get gems like smells, eating bits of food on thr ground, pee spots to mark territory... All without compromising the plot.

Chet is brave and strong and Bernie is a good dick with a sense of justice over powering his need for money. Despite that, he drives an old Porche which impresses the chicks.
The plot itself is not great but Chet and Bernie make it a most enjoyable read.

The Spellman files

Lisa Lutz writes of Izzy Spellman who works for her family firm of private investigators. Izzy's main problem is her dysfunctional but very believable family. Instead of asking Izzy who her current boyfriend is, they bug her car, follow her, and bribe her young sister Rae to find out. No wonder Izzy is the rebel she is. This gives Lutz the scope for lots of interesting situations.

The crime parts are sort of side plots. After reading this, I was glad my our mother was not a PI when I was in my younger dating days; she would have driven me as potty as Izzy with her burning curiosity about my love (or lack of) life!