A Murder in Mayfair : A Novel of Suspense

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining crime thriller
Review: Colin Pinnock feels he is on his way up the ladder of success when he receives an appointment as junior minister. Everyone congratulates Colin on his new assignment. his euphoria is disturbed by a strange post card that states,"Who Do You Think You Are?" Colin knows the card was sent before news of his appointment, leaving him to interpret the message quite literally that it has to do with his past. A second card follows shortly afterward.

On his first day at the job, his "boss" Margaret Stevens is stunned because Colin looks just like Lord John Revill who vanished in 1962 after allegedly killing his wife. Colin knows he was adopted and begins a search for his roots.

A MURDER IN MAYFAIR is an entertaining thriller that centers on the real identity of the lead protagonist (or for that matter, anyone). The story line is crisp and filled with unexpected surprises that never reveal the climax. The characters are intriguing, especially Colin. The villain is crazy, but does things at the end that seems a bit loose. Still, Robert Barnard shows his talent to hook an audience from the start and keep them interested until the novel is finished.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: The master nods
Review: Everything Barnard writes under his own name is worth reading, and this one is no exception. His weaker mysteries are better than 99% of the stuff being published. Still, Murder in Mayfair reads like it isn't quite finished. There are long static scenes of dialogue and one unbelievable coincidence (involving the location of two flats) that makes no difference to the plot. The resolution is not a surprise and, worse yet, relies on a deus ex machina. It reads a bit like a draft rather than a finished novel.

Read Barnard's other political mysteries -- Scandal in Belgravia and Political Suicide -- first, and then this one.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent mystery by prolific UK writer
Review: In its authors native UK this book was published as "Touched by the Dead2 ,the title being a quotation from Tennyson,reflecting the writer's main career as a professor of English literature.It is a more evocative title than Murder in Mayfair and illustrates a key theme of the book-tghe role of the past in shaping events of the present.
It opens in May 1997 the day after New Labour has been returned to power in the UK following 18 years of Conservative government.The narrator is Colin Pinnock a Labour MP who is designated a junior minister in the Department of Education.He receives a note thrust under the door of his London apartment aking the stark question "Who do yopu think you are?
It prompts him to undertake a search for his family origins which lead back to a minor sixtoies political scandal.This is clearly modelled on the real life affair of Lord Lucan who went missing after allegedly killing his wife.
In the book the Lucan figure is Lord Revill who vanished after killing his wife and conducting an affair with his children's nanny.Research uncovers that Pinnock is the illegitimate child of the liasion between Revill and the nanny and there are other ,less welcome suprises lurking round the corner as he delves deeper into the case including a stalker,an assailant with a knife and other relatives emerging from the woodwork.
Barnard has tackiled political themes before and his view of politicians stops some way short of idolatory.He makes some sharp observations about our political lords and masters and his disillusion with the present adminstration comes through loud and clear
Well and clearly written with compassion and warmth this a good book and nerits reading by sall devotees of the British crime novel

Rating:
Summary: Barnard Turns Out Another Good One
Review: Robert Barnard's latest mystery, A Murder in Mayfair, contains a number of devices Barnard has used before. There's an engaging young man embarked on a quest for his parentage, a bit like the earlier Out of the Blackout. Then there's the solving of a 35-year old murder to help clarify current events, much like A Scandal in Belgravia. Finally, there's an unexpected homoerotic twist, like...oh, how many Barnards shall I name? All in all, this was a fast-paced, interesting, and engaging mystery. Not Robert Barnard at his best, but Robert Barnard in good form.

Rating:
Summary: A journey of discovery
Review: The award-winning British author focuses his characteristic wit on British politics, the background setting for this story of a man's search for his origins.

Ambitious and dedicated, young Colin Pinnock, member of Parliament, is thrilled to be named a junior minister in his Labor party's new government.

Basking in his new importance Pinnock is brought up short by an anonymous postcard sneering, " 'Who do you think you are?' " Or could the taunt be meant literally? An offhand remark from his failing father reinforces this speculation and prompts him to begin inquiring into the circumstances of his birth.

But it's a top civil servant's brief start of recognition on seeing him that points him toward his aristocratic and possibly murderous antecedents. Pinnock's search enlists the aid of a host of people, among them the girlfriend who left him rather than play a poor second to his job.

As Pinnock ponders such things as the importance of his happy childhood and the place of family in his scheme of things, the anonymous prankster ratchets up the intimidation. Postcards give way to phone calls, humiliating frame-ups and, finally, escalating violence.

A thoughtful test of character rather than a whodunit, "A Murder in Mayfair" offers atmospheric menace, a pointed but still unclear picture of British parliamentary government and an over-the-top conclusion. Fine writing and a well-developed protagonist on a journey of discovery make this a winner from the author of "A Murder In Belgravia" and "The Corpse at the Haworth Tandoori."