23 January 2014

Review: HANK OF HAIR, Charlotte Jay

Synopsis (Wakefield Crime Classics)

For I prefer beauty always a little soured. When it comes to me as a spoonful of syrup, I spit it out.

Gilbert Hand hasn't been the same since his wife died. He's moved to a dull but respectable hotel where silence seems to brood in the hall and stairway. In a secret drawer he discovers a long, thick hank of human hair, and his world narrows down to two people - himself and the murderer.

The Wakefield Crime Classics series revives forgotten or neglected gems of crime and mystery fiction by Australian authors. Many of the writers have established international reputations but are little known in Australia.

My Take

This plot didn't quite turn out the way I expected it to. It is a relatively short novel, but I can't see how the author could have made it much longer. In this Wakefield crime classics reprint there is an interesting epilogue in which the author discusses with the editors Gilbert Hand's hair fetish. The author raises points that I didn't see in my reading of the novel, so perhaps I really missed the point.

My rating: 3.9

I've also reviewed 4.5, BEAT NOT THE BONES

Other titles in Wakefield Crime Classics

A Hank of Hair
Arms for Adonis
Beat Not the Bones
Common People
Ligny's Lake
Sinners Never Die
The Secret of the Garden
The Souvenir
The Whispering Wall
Vanishing Point

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmm... sounds an odd sort of book, Kerrie. But I shouldn't judge as I've not read it. Thanks for calling it to my attention.

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