wmartin@brl-smoke.ARPA (Will Martin ) (01/28/86)
First off, let me give a round of applause in appreciation of the lists of mystery writers' books that have been posted recently. Though not a real mystery buff myself, I pass them on to my wife, who is, and who finds them valuable. Now, I thought I'd post a pointer to a recent mystery that is set in London in 1722. My wife just got it from the library and recommended it to me after she read it, so I read it too, and enjoyed it. MAN'S ILLEGAL LIFE, by Keith Heller (Scribner's, 1985, $12.95, 166 pp) (copyright date is 1984, though) This is a murder mystery and the sleuth is George Man, a "parish watchman" in the days before there were any police in London. There is a lot of historcal background and color, plus 18th-century speech, which lends an air of authenticity to the novel. The jacket blurb indicates other books featuring this character will follow. Regards, Will