Murder Isn't Easy

A slow build up, but a great ending!

I would compare this book to coming home and smelling something delicious cooking in the kitchen. Unfortunately, you know it is not dinner time for a good few hours, but the smells keep getting better and better! Finally, you get to eat and it is amazing!
That is what this book was for me, I really enjoyed it a lot!

I enjoyed reading this book. It started off rather slowly but builds up faster. This story had an ending that I just did not expect. Some characters were very likable and others I disliked immensely. I would read more by this author.

The NeO-aD advertising agency was the brainchild of Nicholas Latimer – unfortunately for him, to make the business work, he had to recruit two partners. And as the days pass, and his business plans continue to be undermined by Paul Spencer, Latimer becomes convinced that the firm would be much more successful – and his work so much easier – if Paul Spencer simply wasn’t part of the company. But as Spencer isn’t going to leave of his own accord any time soon, Latimer soon decides that he will need to take matters into his own hands.
But is murder really the answer? Latimer certainly thinks so. But the best laid plans often go astray. After all, despite what Dame Agatha might think… well, read the title.
Richard Hull was the author of fifteen works of crime fiction from 1934 to 1953, and is probably best known (if known at all) for his debut work The Murder Of My Aunt, recently re-issued by the British Library Crime Classics range – review coming soon, hopefully, along with Excellent Intentions. Ipso Books have also re-issued a Hull title, namely this one, and I thought I’d take a look at this one first – and it’s rather impressive.
It’s not a traditional murder mystery but… you know, this is a spoiler-free blog, so I can’t go into any of the specific reasons why I loved this one. It’s clever, unpredictable and entertaining. This is probably going to be one of my shortest reviews ever – just go and read it. Highly Recommended.

I am a big fan of Hull's work so I was excited to find this new reprint.

In the main Hull’s style of mystery writing lies within the inverted form and his stories invariably have a big sting in their tail for one or other of the characters. Today’s read is no different, though I think Hull certainly takes the inverted form and the trope of unreliable narrator to whole new and highly enjoyable levels.

Given the inverted format of the book I’ll try to be sparing with my details concerning the plot. So in a nutshell the story begins with Nicholas Latimer, one of three directors at an Advertising Agency called NeO-aD. He is increasingly feeling infuriated towards one of the other directors, believing him to be a burden on the company and the likely source of it failing. Of course Latimer initially tries more orthodox routes for ousting him, but what will he do when he realises they won’t work? Well you’ll have to read it and find out…

With this sort of plot, it is natural for the reader to try and predict how things will turn out and what direction events will ultimately take. In fact I would suggest that Hull heavily encourages us in this, as of course he so beautifully leads us up the garden path with our own predictions. Having read a number of inverted mysteries I had some ideas as to how things might turn out, yet I was happily proven wrong in a number of respects, as I think Hull is good at unleashing unexpected twists and surprises on the reader; another reason why I was careful that my synopsis wouldn’t even hint at them. The success of this book rests a lot on its structure and narrative voice, as both these elements, combined with the story’s characterisation, skilfully influence the reader’s viewpoint on events. I think I am safe in saying that this is a novel in which the author very cleverly plays around with our sympathies, making us wonder which character(s) we should be siding with and who we can trust to be telling the truth. The advertising agency setting was a successful choice for Dorothy L Sayers in Murder Must Advertise (1933) and C. S. Forester’s Plain Murder (1930) and I can say the same is the case for Hull, though I found his depiction of such a work place quite different to the other two. As with other mysteries by Hull you can rely on him for the unexpected in his endings and this one doesn’t disappoint. It definitely got a big thumbs up from me. A sneaky look at my final rating will reveal that this is a thumbs up all around for the book and is one that I unsurprisingly strongly recommend.