Fri 23 Oct 2009
Review: LAURENCE GOUGH – Serious Crimes.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[8] Comments
LAURENCE GOUGH – Serious Crimes.
Viking Press, US/Canada; hardcover, 1990. Paperback reprint: Penguin, Canada, 1991. British editions: Gollancz, hc, 1990; pb, 1992 (shown).
As far as police procedurals go, if they’re published in Canada by a Canadian author, not to mention ones that take place in Vancouver, BC, they might as well have never been written at all, as far as American readers are concerned. Generally speaking, of course.
Which is not to say that none of Laurence Gough’s thirteen books in his “Willows and Parker” series have not been published in the US, but most of them haven’t, or if they have, it was barely.
Take the test for yourself (assuming you live in the US). Take a look at the thirteen books below, for some of which the covers have been provided, and see how many of them you recognize. An easier test: Raise your right hand if you’ve heard of Laurence Gough. I hope you have, but I have a feeling that he’s all but unknown in this country.
There is a little bit of soap opera going on along with the cases that Jack Willows and his partner Claire Parker are assigned to. Just how much, I couldn’t tell you, as this is the first one of them I’ve happened to read. But in the opening few chapters of Serious Crimes, Willows’ wife has left him, along with their two kids, and he’s getting ready to sell his house.
There is something going on, I think, between him and Parker, but if it is, it’s awfully subtle and/or it simply doesn’t come up this time. A little investigation on my part has revealed, however, that things heat up in the books that follow. Parker, by the way, is all but completely invisible in this book. She’s always around whenever Willows is; other cops look at her when she’s with Willows with ogling eyes, and that’s about it. Tune in for more next time, or so it appears.
Dead is a local Chinese businessman, found frozen in a pond covered with several layers of ice. A botched kidnaping? It looks like it. Interspersed with the two cops’ investigation are the adventures of two young hoodlums, one of whom falls in lust with one of his victims, a bored housewife who seems (unknown to him) to have similar feelings about her attacker.
There’s not much in the way of detection involved, which is par for the course as far as work of most homicide cops is concerned. But the tale the author weaves is as gripping as it is understated, as paradoxical as that may sound. The case (or cases) are never boring, and more, at least one of them ends in a blazing hell-raiser of a finale.
The Willows and Parker series —
1. The Goldfish Bowl (1987)
2. Death on a No. 8 Hook (1988)
3. Hot Shots (1989)
4. Serious Crimes (1990)
5. Accidental Deaths (1991)
6. Fall Down Easy (1992)
7. Killers (1993)
8. Heartbreaker (1995)
9. Memory Lane (1996)
10. Karaoke Rap (1997)
11. Shutterbug (1998)
12. Funny Money (2000)
13. Cloud of Suspects (2003)
October 24th, 2009 at 1:30 am
I have a Canadian writer friend who tells me it is almost impossible to interest a Canadian publisher in anything but what they call Can Lit — Margaret Atwood, Modrechai Richter, and endless novels about lonely farmers on the plains. Essentially what we would call regional literature in the lower 48.
I can think of a few contemporary Canadian genre writers, L.R. Wright, Ted Wood, Ian Slater, John Buel, Michael Slade, and now Gough, but if it is as hard to crack the Canadian market as it seems it’s no wonder they don’t drift south as often as you would expect with a common language and border. There is a humorous bestselling Flashman like series by Donald Jack that has never been touched by American publishers. At least a few Canadian television dramas show up in late night syndication and quiet a bit of their animation, but books seem the last frontier.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I’ve read five of Gough’s Vancouver police procedurals. They’re….well…they’re okay.
I got the first couple while visiting Vancouver where I expect they are easiest to find. I adore Vancouver–other than my hometown L.A. it’s my favorite city in the world–so I keep an eye out for them.
I invariably find myself wanting to like them more than I actually do, but they are a bit bland and dull. (*sigh*) Still, I am happy to find that there are eight more for me to track down.
(A fine example Of Mystery File’s value to me. :))
October 24th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
David —
Of those Canadian genre writers you mention, L.R. Wright, Ted Wood, Ian Slater, John Buel, Michael Slade, I’ve read only Wood and Ihave one or two of Wright’s. That’s it. I think only Wood has made any kind of impression in this country at all, and since he seems to have stopped writing about 15 years ago, I’m sure he’s all but forgotten again, alas! His Reid Bennett books are quite good.
Rick —
I’m not much of a fan of police procedurals, so I don’t read a lot of them, mostly because of the puzzle aspect that’s missing from most of them.
But I chugged my way through this one fairly quickly, which means Gough caught my attention, which says something about his writing style, I think.
I’d have to admit that there’s not a lot of substance to the story, though, which as I said in the review, probably reflects what murder investigations are really mostly like.
But bland and dull? Not quite, at least for me, but then again, I can’t say that I have the same urge that you do to complete the set.
— Steve
October 24th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
John Buel had one major bestselling novel, The Pyx, that had international reception, and Ian Slater wrote big thrillers along the lines of Alistair Maclean and Elleston Trevor, that sold well in England and the Commonwealth, but only drifted down here in Bantam Canadian paperback editions.
Of course some major figures in the genre were Canadians in the past — namely Frank L. Packard creator of Jimmie Dale the Gray Seal and author of the book The Miracle Man that became the classic Lon Chaney film.
Oddly enough one of the most influential Canadian literary writers, Hugh MacClendon, has never been that well known here.
Rick
Isn’t bland the cliche always thrown at the Canadians, eh?
Oh, well, have to go, Corner Gas is on.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I find Laurence Gough’s books compelling and unique. They are hard to find in the U.S., but I have been able to read at least half of them and hope to read the others. I am going to Vancouver soon so would like to read a couple before I go.
January 16th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
And hopefully find the missing ones while you’re there!
April 14th, 2010 at 2:37 am
Look for used copies of Mr. Gough’s books in Lawrence Books at the corner of West 41st and Dunbar in Vancouver, just a few blocks from the author’s home (if he hasn’t moved).
May 8th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
I trust that you’ll find me a little bias (being Laurence’s cousin) but I’m his biggest fan. As a Vancouverite (born and raise) I appreciate the accuracy of his story locations and find each and every novel an exciting, can’t put down, easy read. When’s the next one Laurence?? And what a great tv series the Willows & Parker team would make.
BG