Rating: 
Summary: Superb Spark in Top Form
Review: I truly enjoyed this novella, with it's tropes of double identity adding up to a delicious comedy. I also want to praise the writing (I cannot fathom how the commentator just below me could miss this) which is spare and elegant and makes every word count. You don't need to know anything about the Lacan case -- I had never heard of him prior to reading Aiding & Abetting -- but it helps to be interested at least somewhat in the British aristocracy. That class' bizarre double standards and pure unconsciousness about certain flaws has never been brought out better. In fact, Sparks' illustration of the aristocratic attitude is scary in its amorality. A very entertaining and representative novella and a terrific introduction to Sparks' work.
Rating:
Summary: Dame Muriel at Eighty
Review: Muriel Spark hasn't lost her touch. AIDING AND ABETTING isn't one of her very best novels (of her more recent books I prefer REALITY AND DREAMS, although AIDING AND ABETTING is far superior to SYMPOSIUM), but it's still a very good book.As one reviewer below notes, a curious doubling is one of the tropes of this book--mistaken and overlapping identities mask, I suspect, a concern with lack of identity. Spark handles her various themes with her usual grace, wit, and, most importantly, economy. This book is 166 pages, and Spark uses every one of them well (even when she tells us something twice, we can be sure it is for a good reason). One final note: AIDING AND ABETTING and DECLARE make for interesting comparison. I have no idea whether Muriel Spark and Tim Powers have much overlap in audience, but perhaps they should. They write very different books, but these two show an interesting coincidence of subject matter. Powers and Spark investigate the possibilities of infamous British aristocrats, in Powers' case Kim Philby, and in Spark's Lord Lucan. The Burgess and Maclean case comes up in both books, and the idea of the decaying English aristocracy as letting them and Lucan escape in a fit of apathy, disbelief, class loyalty, and moral paralysis is important to both writers' aims. Spark conjures up a future for Lucan while Powers' fantasy of history "explains" Philby and indeed the entire Cold War. Doubling, noted above as key to Spark's book, is equally important to Powers, on a more fantastic level. In the end, they take different approaches: Powers' Philby is fascinating, complex, sad and deservedly damned; Spark's Lucan is a study in the banality and triviality of evil. There is mystery, but Lucan is too small to be of great interest to his own story.
Rating: 
Summary: Sharp and lively satire
Review: Muriel Spark's new novel interweaves the story of Lord Lucan, a dissolute English Earl who murdered his children's nanny and tried to kill his wife in 1974, then disappeared, with the story of Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist with an unconventional method of treating patients and a secret past of her own. Rumours of Lord Lucan's whereabouts continue to pop up: noone knows if he is still alive or not. In this book, Spark has two separate "Lord Lucan"'s visit Dr. Wolf for treatment. Before long Wolf is wondering how much they know about her, how much they know about each other, and which if either of them is the real Lord Lucan. Several other people are drawn into the search for Lord Lucan, including an old friend of his, and the daughter of another old friend of his, and Hildegard's long-time lover. The resolution is amusing and unexpected. Spark considers the complicity of accomplices in crime, and the morality of the "upper classes", and the persistence of guilt. Her writing is as always extremely clever -- dare I say it sparkles? -- and the book is slantingly funny and morally insistent and a thoroughgoing joy to read. At 82, Muriel Spark remains a truly brilliant writer. (Like another reviewer, I can't quite bring myself to rate this 5 stars -- but only because the book is so short. It's better than the average 4 star book, at any rate.)
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Novella
Review: Muriel Spark's novels have always been fabulous and Aiding and Abetting is certainly no exception. It is a fictional account of an actual murder suspect from Great Britain in the early 70s. Lord Lucan was accused of murdering his children's nanny and the attempted murder of his wife, but escaped capture. Although there are those that suspect he then killed himself, there are others who believe he has been living in some form of exile, with the help of many of his wealthy friends, the aiders and abettors the novel's title refers to. In this novel, we meet two "Lord Lucans", both seeking treatment in the present day from Dr. Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist practicing in France. She too is escaping some deceptions of her past (although they are no where near as heinous as murder). She initally believes they are both frauds, but things begin to change her mind. The novel also follows the paths of two people who believe they are closing in on Lord Lucan. But are they? This is an intriguing novella that tells an interesting story. Spark's writing is fabulous, as usual. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Novella
Review: Muriel Spark's novels have always been fabulous and Aiding and Abetting is certainly no exception. It is a fictional account of an actual murder suspect from Great Britain in the early 70s. Lord Lucan was accused of murdering his children's nanny and the attempted murder of his wife, but escaped capture. Although there are those that suspect he then killed himself, there are others who believe he has been living in some form of exile, with the help of many of his wealthy friends, the aiders and abettors the novel's title refers to. In this novel, we meet two "Lord Lucans", both seeking treatment in the present day from Dr. Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist practicing in France. She too is escaping some deceptions of her past (although they are no where near as heinous as murder). She initally believes they are both frauds, but things begin to change her mind. The novel also follows the paths of two people who believe they are closing in on Lord Lucan. But are they? This is an intriguing novella that tells an interesting story. Spark's writing is fabulous, as usual. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: An ingenious little book : absolutely wonderful !
Review: Muriel Sparks' latest novel "Aiding & Abetting" doesn't take up much shelf space but sure proves the adage that less may be more ! This psychological thriller, based on the unsolved Lord Lucan murder mystery, is so cleverly constructed and seamlessly meshed with the subject of another true story - that of the fake stigmatic Beate Pappenheim - I found myself unable to stop until I finished it in one sitting. Sparks' ingenious plotting is once again evident in the way the pulsating narrative takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps you in total suspense with the unyielding promise of a surprise ending. I felt my heart thumping and my mind racing just watching the two Lucans and Hildegarde and their aiders connive and plot to outwit each other. The novel may have taken class as its starting point but it is blood that binds their fate. Nobody writes like Sparks these days. Her dry wit and rare economy with words make for an eloquence that is both unique and unparalleled. It is also a hallmark of great writing. "Aiding & Abetting" may be her best work in recent times. This slim novel sure packs a wallop. It comes highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An ingenious little book : absolutely wonderful !
Review: Muriel Sparks' latest novel "Aiding & Abetting" doesn't take up much shelf space but sure proves the adage that less may be more ! This psychological thriller, based on the unsolved Lord Lucan murder mystery, is so cleverly constructed and seamlessly meshed with the subject of another true story - that of the fake stigmatic Beate Pappenheim - I found myself unable to stop until I finished it in one sitting. Sparks' ingenious plotting is once again evident in the way the pulsating narrative takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps you in total suspense with the unyielding promise of a surprise ending. I felt my heart thumping and my mind racing just watching the two Lucans and Hildegarde and their aiders connive and plot to outwit each other. The novel may have taken class as its starting point but it is blood that binds their fate. Nobody writes like Sparks these days. Her dry wit and rare economy with words make for an eloquence that is both unique and unparalleled. It is also a hallmark of great writing. "Aiding & Abetting" may be her best work in recent times. This slim novel sure packs a wallop. It comes highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Light, brisk satire mocking yesteryear's British aristocracy
Review: The high-brow farce of "Aiding and Abetting" revolves around two drawn-from-real-life criminals who both have "blood on their hands." The first, Lord "Lucky" Lucan, who intended to murder his wife but mistakenly killed his children's nanny, disappeared in 1974 and hasn't been seen since. The second is Beate Pappenheim/Hildegard Wolf, a fraudulent stigmatic and faith healer who bamboozled her followers before escaping with a fortune.
But, to complicate matters even further, Spark adds a third impostor: a former butler who looks so much like Lucan ("They were not indistinquishable, but they might have been brothers.") that the two work in league to thwart either's capture. The comedy results when Spark brings together her three characters: a fraud who reenters the "real" world by assuming a new identity, a murderer who flees to the underworld by assuming a fake identity, and a butler who straddles both worlds by assuming the identity of a killer pretending not to be a killer. Each of the three becomes dependent on the other two for survival, and an uneasy detente results because the exposure of any of them would likely result in the exposure of all three.
Since authorities suspected that Lucan's escape was enabled by his aristocratic peers, the author adds further irony depicting an upper class who protects a murderer because it's the "proper" thing to do: "They seemed to have been faithful in the class-conscious sense." No doubt it's hard for modern (especially young) readers to imagine that, only thirty years ago, upper-class snobbishness extended even to assisting a homicidal maniac. British aristocrats "are not the same people as [they] were a quarter of a century ago . . . Since Lucan's day, snobs have been greatly emarginated." Spark is ridiculing both British aristocracy and their hankering for the "good old days"; it is this theme in particular that recalls the early satires of Evelyn Waugh.
The novel's hasty ending likewise reminds the reader of Waugh's "A Handful of Dust"; it is somewhat unsatisfying, not the least because the perspective shifts unexpectedly during the final pages. Still, although a slim, brisk read (barely a novella, in fact), "Aiding and Abetting" hits many of its upper-crust targets while simultaneously mocking the meaning of identity.
Rating: 
Summary: Familiarity Would Help
Review: This book by Ms. Muriel Spark, "Aiding And Abetting", deals with a crime committed in 1974 and a perpetrator that is known, but still unaccounted for. The crime itself is true and the book is a study of what might have or could have happened in the last 27 years. It is entirely possible that the criminal could read this book, as he would be only 66 years old at the time of publication. Having no prior knowledge with the event it was difficult to be absorbed in the actual crime. For those who remember it I would imagine the experience of reading this book would be all the more interesting. I enjoyed it, but had I been acquainted with the event before, I believe I would have enjoyed it more. I imagine that many of the players in the book represented real or referred to persons presumed to be involved, but again not knowing the original players and their involvement this aspect was not readily apparent. The Author also chose to run a parallel story about another criminal, which seemed to make the events even more improbable. This is a very brief book and the number of characters was a bit overwhelming. What is very clear is the condemnation the Author continually points out about the supposed privileged persons of England, and their absurd sense of their self and their place in the world. This is not tabloid nonsense rather a very biting commentary on how this man most likely was able to flee the scene, and how to this day he is seen as something other than a person who should be hung until quite dead. Even the next generation who affects being appalled at their previous generation's behavior really is in search of an interview with the criminal and not an arrest. Ms. Spark takes this to every level of the upper classes and involves the Church as well. These persons who act as though they live in the 18th Century is morbidly demonstrated by their suggesting the lower classes are likely to bleed more than their aristocratic counterparts. The suggested story is brought to an end that is a bit too neat and predictable. It is a sort of, turnabout is fair play, event and was not as satisfying as I wished it were. The book is well written by a woman who is in the 9th decade of her life and is still producing quality work far above most contemporary writers.
Rating:
Summary: Satire, Irony, and Farce
Review: This book will be a four star effort for most British readers and a two star work for most American ones. I averaged the two to reach my three star rating. The absurdities of the upper classes always amuse the British, and this one is excellent in that regard. Being the 7th Earl of Lucan doesn't mean that you have any sense, have any purpose in your life, or do any good. Regardless of all that, people will rally around to help him . . . because of the old school tie and all that. For Americans, the joke runs a little thin. It could have been carried off in short story. Ms. Spark seems to have imagined her ending, and then simply developed a plot that could connect that back to the real-life murder and attempted murder that form the basis of the book. The second story line is about a fake stigmatic from Bavaria who disappeared after stealing donated funds. Being at least a little imaginative, Beate Pappenheim will appeal to more readers than Lord Lucan will. However, she wasn't really necessary for the joke, but does give Ms. Spark the ability to stretch a short story into a novella. To stir up a little interest, the book has a small mystery to solve. Who is Lord Lucan? In pursuing this idea of identity, the book takes off on modern psychiatry . . . basically pointing out that there's not much there. Ms. Pappenheim pretends to be a psychiatrist, ignores all the rules, and still creates a series of very devoted patients who depend on her. Ms. Spark also explores imagery in many significant ways to develop her story. Blood is the key image. Blood ties the upper classes together. Blood is part of a woman's monthly cycle. A messy murder causes blood to be spilled. Being able to use blood in new ways creates opportunity for Ms. Pappenheim. Being able to describe what it's like to kill in cold blood is a way to identify Lord Lucan. And so on. Ms. Sharp shows her writing brilliance in these ways. Ultimately, I was sorry that she didn't pick a more worthy subject for her humor. Lord Lucan seems like such a useless person that it seems like a waste of one's time to even have to think about him. That could have been overcome by spending more time satirizing those who helped him, but, alas, she did not do that. If you're British (or have a very British outlook), read the book. If you're American (or don't like British humor about the upper classes), skip the book. If you do decide to read the book, think about who would stick by you no matter what you had done. Why would they? How can you develop more close ties who would do the same, not because they will need to do so, but because you will benefit from that kind of close relationship? Support worthy activities!
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