The Broken Afternoon is the second DI Ryan Wilkins novel. A Killing in November is the first, which I haven’t read…. yet. However, very soon after beginning to read this book I reserved a copy of its predecessor from my library. Because I just have to know what happened to Ryan to bring him to the place he is in this second book. However, that’s not to say that this book doesn’t work on its own, it does, but it’s certainly made me want to know more of what went before.
I’ve read a fair few detective novels in my time, and my time is now a long time! But this is the first time I’ve come across two main characters with the same surname! I think it’s a great move. Ray Wilkins and Ryan Wilkins – you couldn’t find a couple of cops more different, in appearance and approach, but between them they get the job done.They are the yin and yang of contemporary policing.
Initially a missing child story - harrowing, emotional, it develops into a broader investigation in the city of Oxford, place of gleaming spires and enviable intellect, but in Mason’s hands, we see an alternative view of Oxford, with disgraced, impoverished detectives and altruistic millionaires.
It’s a complex plot that requires attention and concentration to keep all the plates spinning in the reader’s head, but it’s worth it because it’s a fine example of a police procedural, well researched, gripping and just quirky enough to give it a slight edge over its stablemates.
But the novel isn’t just about crime and policing. It has much to say about parenthood - existing and imminent. Ryan has a child, and Ray is about to become a father. Both seem to have less than straightforward relationships with their own fathers. And so, perhaps emotionally and philosophically investigating a missing child case would have a subtler resonance with both men, than if they were not parents or parents to be. And perhaps the story suggests to its readers to consider adult/child relationships on a variety of levels. I don’t want to give anything of the plot away, but I thought the theme was cleverly dealt with.
This case is a high-profile case, and, as happens all too often, ignites the attention of the wider public. Ray is catapulted into the public eye through television appeals, while Ryan stays backstage, as it were, to pursue his lines of inquiry, which are not always straight and above board. Another example of how different the two men are. And the situation allows us to explore both characters, their strengths and their weaknesses.
I’ve just checked my library reservation online. I am fourth in the queue. That’s good. It means other people are wanting to read the book. But if they didn’t, I might get it quicker. Ho-hum.
I hope Simon Mason is hard at work, writing another one as we speak. 😉
My thanks to Ana McLaughlin of Riverrun for a gifted copy of this book.
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