Thu 22 Oct 2015
A Review by Barry Gardner: A. E. MAXWELL – The King of Nothing.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[5] Comments
A. E. MAXWELL – The King of Nothing. Fiddler & Fiora #7. Villard, hardcover, 1992. Harper, paperback, 1994.
The “A. E.” stands for Ann and Evan, who are the husband and wife who together write the Fiddler books, and have written several others besides. Their characters are no longer husband and wife, but lovers still. Fiddler is wealthy, by somewhat shady means detailed in the first book in the series; Fiora is wealthier, by virtue of being a financial wheeler-dealer and entrepreneur. You might, without stretching things too far, look at them as a West Coast McGee and Meyer with a little sex and a lot of money thrown in.
Which is not to say that the Maxwells together are another John D. MacDonald, because they aren’t. They do combine to write very good prose, however, and I have thought highly of the series to date.
In the latest episode, Fiddler is fishing with an old friend at his place on the coast of Washington. One day the friend makes Fiddler aware that he is to be the executor of his estate, and the recipient of an old Samurai sword, a souvenir of war experiences. The next day the friend is found dead, apparently the victim of a break-in and robbery. The local police do not inspire Fiddler with confidence. Concurrently, Fiora has been in Seattle negotiating with a Japanese conglomerate to sell her financial firm.
Aha, Samurai sword, Japanese firm — can there be a connection? Well, maybe. Several gory deaths later you find out.
This wasn’t my favorite of the series, and I’m really not sure why. The plot was a tad far-fetched in places, but most books of this type suffer from that. The writing was competent as usual, and Fiddler and Fiora continue to be engaging characters. At one time I was afraid they were headed toward some of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser-Susan kind of foolishness, but the Maxwells seem to have drawn back in time.
Oh well, some you like more than others, some less. Still recommended, as are the first six in the series.
The Fiddler and Fiora series —
1. Just Another Day in Paradise (1985)
2. The Frog and the Scorpion (1986)
3. Gatsby’s Vinyard (1987)
4. Just Enough Light to Kill (1988)
5. The Art of Survival (1989)
6. Money Burns (1991)
7. The King of Nothing (1992)
8. Murder Hurts (1993)
October 22nd, 2015 at 9:17 pm
I remember this series quite well. I was selling used mystery paperbacks by mail back then, and I could sell as many Fiddler and Fiora books as I could find. They were very popular.
But did I ever read one? No, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t. I always meant to, but I never got around to it. I don’t know if I’d have cared for them, but I was curious, and now I am again, just having posted this old review of Barry’s.
October 22nd, 2015 at 9:54 pm
I was a fan of the series and the Maxwells. While it did get a bit to Silverman and Spenser for a while as Barry said it pulled back in time and took off on its own different, and at least for me,and better directions.
I would not mind rereading some of the Fiddler books though, it was one of the few series to survive when I did the great private eye cutback at the end of the eighties. . They were well written and plotted with solid incident, suspense, character, and action. All in all a superior series that managed to come into its own after an derivative start.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:53 pm
As popular as it was, I don’t think that anyone remembers this series at all any more.
October 23rd, 2015 at 5:39 am
Never read them, though my wife has all of them in paperback (I think she’s read the first two) because she is a big fan of Ann in her “Elizabeth Lowell” persona. Under that name she’s written about 50 books.
May 18th, 2023 at 4:25 pm
This was a great series. I even have them all in 1st ed. hardcovers. I don’t remember how Fiddler got his money, only that in the first book he talked about having a steamer truck full of it, before Fiona started investing it for him.