This is a dark tale set in 1980's Aberystwyth. But it is an Aberystwyth that is not on the tourist posters.
This Aberystwyth is controlled by the Druids. Those men in sharp Swansea suits, silk handkerchiefs and tear drop dark glasses.
It is a world of Tea cosy shops that don't sell tea ... Read review
Malcolm Pryce's witty and scabrous comic thriller Aberystwyth Mon Amour is an original and ... more
diverting entry into the field of black-comedy writing--a genre which has enjoyed a long and healthy lineage, from Voltaire through Evelyn Waugh to the present d...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Malcolm Pryce's witty and scabrous comic thrillerAberystwyth Mon Amouris an original and ... more
diverting entry into the field of black-comedy writing--a genre which has enjoyed a long and healthy lineage, from Voltaire through Evelyn Waugh to the present day...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Fascinating new take on detective story Disadvantages: Some people will have trouble with names
...Aberystwyth. But it is an Aberystwyth that is not on the tourist posters.
This Aberystwyth is controlled by the Druids. Those men in sharp Swansea suits, silk handkerchiefs and tear drop dark glasses.
It is a world of Tea cosy shops that don't sell tea cosies, Toffee apple dens that don't sell toffee, bars, dives and gambling dens, the 24hr whelk stall and the ice cream kiosk run by the philosopher, Sospan. It is the ... ...turpitude pickets the most notorious club, The Moulin Gorch.
The hero of this book is a private investigator named Louie Knight. He is asked to look into the latest disappearance of a schoolboy, one of several from the town. The schoolboy is called Evans the boot. The lady who is a asking is his cousin, the star singer at the Moulin, Myfanwy Montez.
The book is written from the perspective of Louie Knight, We see through ... more
This is a dark tale set in 1980's Aberystwyth. But it is an Aberystwyth that is not on the tourist posters.
This Aberystwyth is controlled by the Druids. Those men in sharp Swansea suits, silk handkerchiefs and tear drop dark glasses.
It is a world of Tea cosy shops that don't sell tea cosies, Toffee apple dens that don't sell toffee, bars, dives and gambling dens, the 24hr whelk stall and the ice cream kiosk run by the philosopher, Sospan. It is the world where the ladies of the Sweet Jesus league against turpitude pickets the most notorious club, The Moulin Gorch.
The hero of this book is a private investigator named Louie Knight. He is asked to look into the latest disappearance of a schoolboy, one of several from the town. The schoolboy is called Evans the boot. The lady who is a asking is his cousin, the star singer at the Moulin, Myfanwy Montez.
The book is written from the perspective of Louie Knight, We see through his eyes. We hear his conversations, and are aware of his thoughts.
Louie Knight is the usual tired. cynical private eye. He just happens to be welsh and based in Aberystwyth. The town and the landscape of the surrounding areas are drawn with a fine eye for detail.
The people who inhabit this world all fit into the narrative seamlessly.You do not feel that this is just a standard detective fiction transplanted from L.A. to Mid Wales. Though that does help with the humour.
There is a current of very dark humour running through this book. You only have to look at some of the characters names to see that.
The story moves along at a pace that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next.
People who are not Welsh may have some trouble with the Welsh place names and personal names but this does not detract from the book in my opinion. The same can be found in novels and books describing places different from those we are used to. (Russia, Poland, etc)
There are many twist and turns before the conclusion of this story. Some may surprise you. But it is a book well worth the read
The biography of the author Malcolm Pryce says that he was born in Shrewsbury but was brought up in Aberystwyth. Those early days must have had a big impression on him.
This book is published by Bloomsbury at £6.99 Paperback of 256 pages ISBN: 0747557861 Listed at Amazon.co.uk at £5.59
Some reviews have said that this book is Chandleresque. As I have not read enough Raymond Chandler recently I cannot comment. Presumably others who have know what they are saying.
Advantages: funny, black comedy Disadvantages: you read it too quick!
Aberystwyth in the eighties was a dangerous place to be, Druids ran the town with their speakeasies and the money made from the 'protection' of the townsfolk. Only one man stands alone, mainly because he knows that getting involved will only lead to trouble, and that man is Louie Knight, the towns only private detective.
But trouble walks through his door in the form of Myfanwy Montez, the singer at the Moulin, Aberystwyth's most notorious club ... ...expenses. Malcolm Pryce populates his Aberystwyth with recognisable characters, from the philosophical Ice cream man, Sospan, where Louie regularly goes to get his fix. To the old ladies obsessed with tea cosies. Even the names, anyone growing up in Wales would know of someone who had the word 'the' ingrained into their names like the missing Evans the Boot in this novel. But as this is a black comedy, Pryce also adds tragedy to the story, to add ...
Squinkle 25.04.2006 (23.05.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Aberystwyth Mon Amour - Malcolm Pryce
Advantages: funny, fast moving, original Disadvantages: weak ending
The first book in the Aberystwyth series, by Malcolm Pryce, and I really enjoyed it. The book is a pastiche of the pulp fiction books from the 50s, and while it should be silly and completely unbelieveable, it is far better than that. Yes, the story is too incredible to be really taken seriously, but when I was reading it, I really found myself getting sucked in to it.
Louie Knight is a private detective in Aberystwyth, in the 1980s. The mysterious ... ...disappearance of her cousin Evans, and despite his initial reluctance, Louie finds himself getting drawn into the mystery. Evans is just one of a number of schoolboys who has disappeared recently, and Louie has to find the connection between all the missing boys, as well as finding out who might want to hurt them.
The book is populated by unusual characters, and the incidents pile on top of one another at a furious pace. In fact, that is my only ...
Book_Junkie 02.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Aberystwyth Mon Amour - Malcolm Pryce
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Advantages: darkly funny, continues were mon amour left off in quality Disadvantages: some jokes only those who can speak or understand welsh will get
Louie is taken on a wild ride full of intrigue, mystery, scientific experiments and a run in with an old P.E Teacher, because in Aberystwyth, nothing is what it seems.
MalcolmPryce triumphs in the sequel to his first book AberystwythMonAmour , his skill at writting hasn't diminished (thankfully), instead he has progressed as he now understands his characters more. Followers of the first book, will recognise and be glad to see the return of both much loved and much hated characters, that formed the bases of Pryces' Aberystwyth from the first.
Pryce achieves what so few writers have done in their lifetime, let alone with their second book, he has storyline that moves from the absurd and back without being any less believable, the storyline is enjoyable, with enough mystery once again to keep you guessing to the who and the what ...
