Masters and Green series - Douglas Clark ****

By Brian Clegg

I have to admit, I was initially drawn to this box set of 13 murder mystery novels because it was just £1.99 ($2.99) on Kindle, but it has proved largely enjoyable. The series features a Scotland Yard murder squad, sent out to help struggling provincial police forces, headed up by the urbane Superintendent Masters and the rough and ready (chief) inspector Green (he was promoted part way through the series), who initially seriously dislike each other, adding to the fun.

It’s important to realise that these books were written in the 60s and 70s – the earlier books in particular feature a decidedly dated approach to women from the male police. (To be fair, this was also true of, for example, the earlier Morse novels.) What I really liked about the first seven books though, was both the period feel and the old fashioned approach of portraying the entire story from the viewpoint of the investigator (just as was the case, say, with Sherlock Holmes). Once the books reach the 70s, there is more of a tendency to open the novel with a chapter or three featuring the people involved in the crime – but for me (at least in Douglas Clark’s hands), it doesn’t work as well as giving us exactly the same information viewpoint as the investigators. I hadn’t realised how much difference this makes until I was able to make the comparison.

Although one or two of the books have pretty easy-to-guess outcomes, there are some clever plot devices, and a good range of settings. I did get rather fed up with the opening part of The Libertines, set in Yorkshire, where there was too much background before the police got involved – and much of that seemed to involve cricket, which was dull indeed if you don’t like the game… but that’s only one out of 13. My only other complaint is that it’s quite hard to have been reading for many hours and find you are only 25 per cent through the whole – it would feel less of a marathon if each book were a separate file, rather than all 13 in a single Kindle book.

Even so, I enjoyed this extended read, and at the ridiculously cheap rate, it was definitely a good buy.

You can buy the Masters and Green series from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here

Now Appearing is the blog of science writer Brian Clegg (www.brianclegg.net), author of Inflight Science, Before the Big Bang and The God Effect.