A Killing in November: The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month (DI Wilkins Mysteries)

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A very readable debut and clearly the start of a new detective series starring DIs Wilkins and Wilkins.

T]his is a very individual piece of work, with a satisfying plot involving Syrian refugees, snobbish dons and nimble interaction between the ill-assorted protagonists. The story has modern relevance, ingenious plotting, vivid characterisation, a touching father-son relationship and impressively accurate city geography. The other characters don't have much substance yet and the plot isn't up to much but the book is a gripping enough read to make me want to read the second book in the series. And don’t get me started on his 2-year-old son seemingly having language skills that would put most secondary school kids to shame, a recurring feature which annoyed me more than it probably should).

Believable characters, and interesting plot, two detectives with interesting personal lives and some info on college life in Oxford.

Mason avoids the obvious tropes, and rather movingly focuses on Ryan's relationship with his young son. His novels have been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Branford Boase Prize for Best First Children's Novel, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Costa Prize for Best Children's Book, and have won the Betty Trask for Best First Novel and the Crimefest Prize for Best YA Crime Novel. A Killing in November also gives us a colorful murder with another to follow, an unlikely criminal, creepy academics, and a twisty ending.Oxford is shown with a class divide and not just a city of dreaming spires, with prejudices and violence but it is written with humour, poignancy and a well constructed mystery. The two central characters are perhaps a little overdone, but they are interesting studies nonetheless, both flawed in their own way and with plenty of messy stuff left unresolved, rather than the trite little Life Lessons which so often pollute this kind of portrayal. För övrigt: smart av Mason att så medvetet (och för historien avgörande) låta sina karaktärer ha så snarlika namn. This is a terrific crime novel, with a startlingly original protagonist we're going to see a lot more of. He dropped out of school at the earliest opportunity and ran wild with his girlfriend, who died young of an overdose, leaving Ryan with a child, Ryan Junior.