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The Inspector George Gently Case Files
- Book IX
Alan Hunter
Robinson (Constable and
Robinson)
3 November 2011 / ISBN: 9781780331485
Mystery / 1961 - Contemporary / Norfolk, England /
Amazon
US
- UK
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Latchford is
a nowhere sort of place, much of it hastily built to house people
bombed out during the recent war. But it possesses a straight patch
of road that is ideal for bikers doing the "ton" and which
has become quite a focus of biker culture. One night, one of their
number is killed and at first many people think it is just a tragic
accident. When evidence is found to point to murder, it is time
for Superintendent George Gently to come up from the Smoke and investigate.
Back to the wilds of Norfolk this time, and some more evocative
descriptions of a place with ancient ties to its prehistoric past.
I think the true appeal of this book lies in its wonderful snapshot
of the biker culture of the early 60s, a time of disaffected youth
listening to jazz and smoking joints, milk bars and coffee bars,
fast bikes, and Jack Kerouac. This is social history at its most
fun and accessible and it is all beautifully brought to life by
Mr. Hunter, writing at the time it was current. Of course there
is a plot too but it is rather too easy to guess; you read this
one for just about everything else in it. Well paced and interspersed
with patches of biker writing complete with its unique terms, this
is a novel that tends to stay in the mind afterwards for its descriptions
of a particular place and time.
Other
reviews in this series
Gently
Does It - Book
I
Gently by the Shore – Book
II
Gently Down The Stream – Book
III
Landed Gently – Book
IV
Gently Through the Mill - Book
V
Gently In The Sun – Book
VI
Gently With The Painters –
Book VII
Gently To The Summit – Book
VIII
Gently Go Man - Book
IX
Gently Where The Roads Go –
Book X
Gently Floating - Book
XI
Gently Sahib - Book
XII
Gently With The Ladies -
Book XIII
Gently Northwest - Book
XV
Gently Continental - Book
XVI
Gently With The Innocents - Book
XVII
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