What a quirky send-up of the noir genre! I was unfamiliar with the author's work before this book. There was not a whole lot of suspense, but the characters were quirky and I liked the lead character's wife being a woman in the police department, which added a little modern touch. The writing was good but not exceptional. I enjoyed the book and would read another one by this author in the future.

Say now, was this ever a romp. Norman is a treat, and even when he goes noir on us he does so with style, wit and campy (but not silly) humor. A dame and a gent, an art mystery, some murder, a dash of war history, and libraries. Old-timey radio, dinner parties, questions of paternity, a bad cop and a worse cop. What more could you want? Fun, fast, and good.

I'm not sure how to comment effectively on this- one the one hand, it's an interesting premise and a sort of experimental dip into noir. On the other, it's predictable and not that entertaining. I found myself flipping Kindle pages to find the conclusions because I wasn't especially engaged with the characters. In looking at the reviews, this is a polarizing novel that readers seem to love or hate. I find myself in the middle; I'm not sorry I spent the time I did with it but I don't think I'd do it again. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Told in the first person, this novel is a neo-noir story of Jacob and his fiancee Martha, who is the darling detective. Jacob's trajectory from being a factotem for an elderly art collector, then disgraced, then a graduate student in librarianship provides the structure for his quest to uncover the secrets of his past. His librarian mother has been hospitalized for mental illness, he has never known his father, and Martha is a city detective with access to all kinds of information about his family. The characters are quirky and appealing, and the story of Jacob and Martha's romance is sweet and engaging. The mystery of Jacob's past is pretty secondary to the characters but moves the story along to a satisfying conclusion.

3.5 Halifax, 1970's and Jacob is working for a wealthy woman, placing bids at auctions for photographs or photographic collections. His mother, a former library director, is a resident of a local mental hospital for defacing a photograph at a, auction, a photograph showing three men and taken by Capa. The police team investigating the incident includes Jacob's fiancée Martha.

So the story begins with a misstep made by Jacob, archangel in career path follows and he will soon learn much more about his mother and the man he was told was his father, revelations that will put him and his little family in danger.

This is not an edge of your seat thriller, the pacing and plot is even toned throughout. I love that this author writes in straightforward prose, not at all dramatically. Has a noir and old fashioned feel, he creates this atmosphere by the dialogue he uses and it is much aided by the police radio drama that is a staple of Martha and Jacobs life together. This provides for a quick moving and interesting foray into the past, an atmospheric read, with some interesting characters and revelations.

ARC by Netgalley.

Not a bad read. Jacob works for a very rich lady who uses him to buy art, among other things. At the auction, his mother shows up out of the nursing home and attacks the photograph he is trying to purchase. Things go downhill for Jacob for a while after that. His fiancee is a local detective, so she gets involved with the investigation. A number of twists and turns that all wind through Jacob's life before getting to a resolution.

I am always impressed by mysteries that can be humorous and fun while still being intriguing. This one hits all marks I want this to be a never ending series because the writing is so great. I can't wait for more!

I've read and enjoyed Howard Norman's books before. I was engaged from the start.

Witty, stylish, the patter/pattern immediately said to me: noir. And I was correct.

Set in Halifax in 1974/75, Jacob Rigolet, is a soon-to be former assistant to a wealthy art collector, Ester Hamelin. His mother, Nora, former head librarian at the Halifax Free Library, escapes from the rest home [i.e., loony bin] she’s been confined to, and throws black ink at a photograph Jacob is there to bid on for his employer. And the plot is set in motion.

Martha, a police officer, is the interlocutrix, in the case of Nora’s actions. Though Jacob cannot bring himself to visit his mother [for several years], Martha does, and indeed bonds with Nora. Martha is by far my favorite character. In fact, the whole Jacob and Martha relationship was lovely—their listening to radio broadcasts, dining, bedding one another—all charming.

The story goes back in time to 1945 and anti-Semitism—particularly at the hand of Robert Emil, former Halifax police offer, who may be Jacob’s father [since his own father was serving overseas at the time—his conception would have been off]. But that’s another part of the story. Robert Emil is now a cold case Martha and two other police officers are working on—I also enjoyed the interactions between Martha and Detectives Hodgon and Tides.

And the movie going and dining interactions between with Jake and Martha and Mrs. Hamelin, and her friend, Mrs. Brevittmore –who became devoted to Martha [and Jake] also are quite charming.

The novel goes back and forth from its setting in 1975 to 1945. Letters from Nora’s husband Bernie to her. Transcripts from the radio broadcast Jake and Martha are devoted to and the deepening of their relationship [especially after she becomes pregnant]. The hunt for and pursuit of Robert Emil.

There are many coincidences. Thomas Hardy. Librarians. Births. Detectives and radio shows—Detective Levy Detects—to which Martha and Jacob are devoted listeners—set in 1945-- and parallels.

I recommend this well-written and entertaining novel.

There's a story here but it is well-hidden underneath layers of noir-ish tribute language. If only this had been a real noir story with dark issues and murky characters. Instead, like the radio program that constantly plays in the background of this tale, this story is too-cute by a half. Who still listened to radio in the 1970s? Our intrepid police detective and her librarian-to-be fiancé who spend most evenings listening to the radio and imagining themselves in their very own noir radio mystery. I wish I enjoyed this more, as it was, the whole endeavor just began to get on my nerves.

My Darling Detective is an engaging tale in the style of the classic detective noir. It begins when Jacob Rigolet's mother turns up at an auction to deface a valuable photograph of soldiers in WWII. The incident opens up a cold case and new details about Jacob's past, eventually leading to a tense resolution. Throughout is a radio program that somewhat mirrors the lives of Jacob and his detective fiancee Martha. All in all it is an entertaining story, and librarians and library-lovers will enjoy how central the library is to the narrative.

Such a mish-mash mystery, this one. The premise is definitely an attention grabber for all book lovers - a young man (Jake) sits in an auction house, waiting to bid on a WWII photograph when an elderly woman runs up and throws a small bucket of ink on it. Turns out, the elderly woman is Jake's mother! Nora! She's an elderly ex-librarian who has been in a rest home for three years after a series of breakdowns at the library. Jake's fiancee is the lead detective on Nora's ink-blot case, a case which eerily ties to an old unsolved murder from the 1940s. This was, initially, a really quirky and fun read. Lots of interesting tangents, tons of seemingly (and eventually actually) unrelated side anecdotes and musings. I was interested all the way up to the end. Everyone knows I like a good "BANG" ending, and this was more of a whimper. 3 stars