This is the second Julian Symons' novels that I have read. I have to admit that prior to seeing them on Netgalley, I hadn't heard of him. Although these books have a certain similarity in style to those of the golden age of murder mysteries, they are quite different too. They are written and set later, in the post-war era of the 1950s, but this is still 'old-fashioned' enough to us today to seem similar to the earlier books.
The story itself is told in two halves, with the first being the lead up to the murder, told by the accused, as he shares his story to a psychologist. The second half takes place in court, with the cases for the defence and prosecution. This means that it's slightly different to the usual classic puzzle types of murder mysteries, although there is still a question over who done it and why.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. Partly because it's a well-written look at both life in the late '50s in England, partly because of the way that the court scene is portrayed and partly because of the story itself. It's a little different to many other books of its genre and I suspect when it first came out it would have been something very new.
This might be my first two Symons' novels, but I'd certainly been keen to look out for some more. They are well written, engaging and a glimpse at an earlier time as well as being good examples of the mystery genre.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Unfortunately for John Wilkins he meets a young girl who he is attracted to after he is married, unhappily married. But what can he do about his situation. While suffering from one of his blackouts has he committed murder. This first part of the story his Wilkins version of events while the second part is the trial.
An interesting and well-written mystery (originally written in 1957).

As I expect you know from the publisher’s description, this is a book of two parts. The first part is a statement by John Wilkins to a psychiatrist. Wilkins is accused of murder and he explains the events leading up to the event. The second part is a conventional narrator-written courtroom drama covering Wilkins’ trial.

I found the first part very uncomfortable reading. Wilkins is very self-centred. He desires another woman, fantasising about coming home to her instead of his wife. He suffers “blackouts”. It seems obvious that he drinks to excess and then can’t remember what he did when drunk. I know it’s only a novel, but it is so well-written that I found myself wanting to smack Wilkins and tell him to think of his wife’s feelings. However, she is rather a snob and isn’t a terribly pleasant person either. What a pair!

Anyhow, I persevered and really enjoyed the second half of the book. Although most plot twists are not unexpected, some of them come as surprises. The characters aren’t the extreme types we met in the first part. They’re human: the private investigator employed to find witnesses kisses the photo of his wife every night when he’s away from home – a sweet touch. The defence barrister’s daughter has mumps and he’s concerned about her. I liked the prostitute who wasn’t ashamed of her profession.

One chapter is simply a series of vignettes showing the various people from court (barristers, judge, accused, relatives, etc.) having their separate lunches. Other chapters show the barristers’ tactics – how they employ witnesses almost like a game of chess.

The book was originally published in 1957 and captures 1950s’ Britain very well. People aspired to buy a car. I have no personal knowledge of tennis clubs, but I guess there were “good” and “not so good” clubs to join when considering one’s social standing.

I do recommend this book – you, like me, may find the first part distasteful, but I promise you that the second part makes up for it.

#TheColourOfMurder #NetGalley

This is a gem of a classic Golden Age crime novel and rightly won the Crossed Red Herring Prize (now known as the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger) Award in 1957.
Written by a leading light of crime fiction of the time the novel is interestingly plotted in two parts. The first is an in depth interview statement between Mr John Wilkins and Dr Max Andreadis, a Psychiatrist and the second a detailed view of John's trial for murder at Lewes Crown Court in Sussex, following the discovery of a woman's murdered body on Brighton beach.
"It all began one day in April when I went round to change a library book", begins John's statement. Yet he is open and explicit about his life. His sad and unfulfilled marriage to May, the daughter of parents she pretends are dead and who seeks to lift herself socially and financially beyond her own background. John himself, the son of a gushing and over protective mother, unloved by an errant father, is acting out a desperate little life until he meets librarian Sheila Morton.
John's pathetic little job and his strange blackouts (usually linked to drink) make him a weird man - I could feel the link with sad Pinkie in Graham Green's classic 'Brighton Rock' and the low life bars, gambling and prostitutes of London and Brighton make for a seedy background which is lifted by the excellent characterisation and dialogue.
It is very modern to read and documents a lot of British social history - 'television parties' and racist attitudes. When the evidence of the blood leads to the evidence of an 'expert' scientist in a new benzedrine test and the use of psychological profile to try and defend John as readers we also question what might have been our initial view of who is guilty.
Great twist at the end and although many of the characters are left in their continued dreary existences the whole tale has unearthed deep emotions and furtive manipulations that of course reflect all good crime novels.
Had never heard of the author but shall seek out others and it is great to see these British Library Crime Classics being restored to our reading shelves.

John Wilkins is a strange young man, prone to fantasy and blackouts. In the first part of the book he describes his life in writings addressed to a consulting psychiatrist. Given the title of the book, it is no real surprise that we learn at the beginning of the second part of the book that he has been accused of a murder. There are several candidates for victimhood and it's only a short while before the identity is revealed. After that John plays only a marginal role in the narration of the story. The British justice system takes cover and his trial occupies most of the reminder of the book, up to the rendering of the jury's verdict. In a short epilogue, there's a surprising twist to resolution of the murder.

I found the first part overlong -- it was becoming tedious to read. The second part was more interesting as the trial played out: the arcane method of presenting evidence in court was well-done The lawyers and the judge are fairly portrayed as professionals, which adds to the authenticity of the story. The conduct of the examination and cross examination of the blood test expert was well done. As was the behind-the-scenes pondering about what witnesses to present to the jury. It's an outstanding courtroom drama.

A strong part of the story-telling is an amazing cast of supporting characters: the prostitute, the defence's private detective, the elderly eye-witness and so on. They added local colour to the story. It's told against the background of post WW2 Britain which dates it but not to a significant degree.

It's recommended as an entertaining mystery story. As a British Library Crime Classic it contains the usual informative introduction by Martin Edwards, which covers this book and the author's other work. Well worth the time to read it.

I received my review copy from the publisher Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley. The comments are my own.

A claustrophobic story as a man in a dull marriage falls into fantasy love with a new woman, has blackouts - and finds himself on trial for murder. Symons is smart in his characterization, and makes much of the vagaries of the legal system somewhat akin to Christie's Witness For The Prosecution. Good on the puzzle aspect of Golden Age crime.

This is a mystery which was originally written in Britain in the 1950's. I am a fan of Classic British Mysteries.

John is a young man. His life is routine. His job has responsibilities. But, recently he has been missing some of the tasks he normally can easily handle. He is married to a woman who was enchanting and wonderful when they married. Now, he recognizes that she was not honest with him. She lied in order to trap him into marriage. His mother is his biggest fan. She spoils John. He has an uncle who jokes and teases and offers advice. He also has been pursuing a young woman who works in the library.

John has blackouts. When he awakens, he has no memory of where he has been nor what he has done. That can be troubling.

This is a psychological mystery and was ahead of the times when it was first published. The author is a very talented writer. I recently finished another book he wrote and I enjoyed it very much.

This is a mystery. There is a murder.

Normally those two phrases make my heart beat faster. This time, I felt as though there were places which bogged down.

I am not sure why, but I did not like John at all. It was difficult for me to get into his story, because basically I did not care for him. I believe if he were more appealing to me, this book would have been more appealing to me. Maybe I was not supposed to like him, I am not sure.

The mystery is well done. The characters are well developed. Mr Symons was well versed in human nature and he exhibits his knowledge in this story. He can create a word picture of a person which brings that person to life. I like character driven stories and that part of the book held my interest. But, overall it is not one of my favorite British classic mysteries.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

historical-novel, murder, British

Interesting mystery written in an earlier time when some behaviors were viewed differently and the mystery novel was evolving. The characters are very clearly portrayed and the reader can't help but react to them. The drama and plot are fascinating. Not for everyone, but for those of us who revel in subtleties. That means that I truly enjoyed it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

A very different writing style which was very interesting to read, and I can understand why it captured the audience imagination at the time of writing.
The story was very unusual too, as was the final ending which kept one returning to the mystery time and again to see if it all fitted. I enjoyed it very much and the twist was something that was a long time coming. I would recommend this book to anyone that like books from this period, or likes something a little different in a murder mystery.

"The Colour of Murder" is a crime story set in England and originally published in 1957. The first half of the story was John recounting to a psychologist the events leading up to the murder. He's unhappy with his wife and attracted to a beautiful, young girl. He makes up an elaborate fantasy world around this girl, though she's not consciously encouraging him. He has blackouts when he drinks too much, but he's so unhappy that he's drinking too much. Then a murder occurs and John is arrested for it. He has no memory of the critical parts of that evening because he was drinking.

At this point, I was bored as I was expecting a mystery rather than a story of a pitiful mid-life crisis. Then we get into the actual murder trial. The evidence increasingly showed that John was unlikely to have committed the murder (though it was still possible). However, the police and jury don't see anyone else with an obvious motive--though they weren't looking too hard. There were clues and, at the very end, John's lawyer is certain he knows who did it.

Basically, this novel is less a mystery and more of a commentary on the justice system and how lawyers twist the truth to fit the image they are trying to build. John couldn't stand being seen as the type of person they made him out to be and ends up insane. I found it a rather depressing read. There was a fair amount of bad language (including b**ch). There were no sex scenes.