Tue 7 Aug 2018
Mystery Review: FRANK PARRISH – Snare in the Dark.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[6] Comments
FRANK PARRISH – Snare in the Dark. Constable, UK, hardcover, 1982. Dodd Mead, US, hardcover, 1981. Perennial, US, paperback, 1983.
Dan Mallett is a poacher by profession — he once was a banker and didn’t like it — so he went back to the way of his father — to his now aged mother’s dismay.
Caught in the open while setting up snares for a forest filled with plump pheasants, a shot rings out (in all honesty, not quite — it’s an arrow from a crossbow) and his gamekeeper nemesis is dead. Mallett has to spend the rest of the book with the police on his trail. The only way to clear himself is to find the real killer.
It doesn’t seem like a lot to base a full length novel on, but Parrish somehow finds a way to fill the pages and keep them turning at the same time. What’s amusing about this case is how women are attracted to Mallett, a short and not very handsome man. But obviously not one without some charm, and in its own quiet bucolic way, so is this, his third of eight adventures. If you like books about the rustic side of English life as it was in the 1970s and 80s, don’t miss this one.
The Dan Mallett series —
Fire in the Barley. Constable, 1977.
Sting of the Honeybee. Constable, 1978.
Snare in the Dark. Constable, 1982.
Bait on the Hook. Constable, 1983.
Face at the Window. Constable, 1984.
Fly in the Cobweb. Constable, 1986.
Caught in the Birdlime. Constable, 1987.
Voices from the Dark. Constable, 1993.
August 7th, 2018 at 9:06 am
Agreed, it doesn’t seem much of a premise. Am I correct that Mallett is laying snares for plump pheasants, and not “plump peasants”? If the latter, I may just give this one a read!
August 7th, 2018 at 1:11 pm
Brian
What a difference an “h” makes! And I’ve fixed it, perhaps to your regret. Thanks!
August 7th, 2018 at 4:50 pm
I enjoyed the Mallet series, but was for more of a fan of Roger Longrigg’s Ivor Drummond novels about Sandro, Colly, and Lady Jenny.
August 7th, 2018 at 7:53 pm
Ivor Drummond wrote some of the most over the top worldwide spy adventure novels ever written. The trio of Sandro, Colly and Lady Jennifer’s fought drug dealers, porno kings and crooked diamond cartels with equal abandon. A greater contrast between those stories and the Dan Mallett books would be difficult to imagine. And both series from the same author!
August 7th, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Even the titles are terrific:
The Colly, Sandro and Jenny series —
1. The Man With The Tiny Head (1969)
2. The Priests Of The Abomination (1970)
3. The Frog In The Moonflower (1972)
4. The Jaws Of The Watchdog (1973)
5. The Power Of The Bug (1974)
6. Tank Of Sacred Eels (1976)
7. The Necklace Of Skulls (1977)
8. A Stench Of Poppies (1978)
9. The Diamonds Of Loretta (1980)
Here’s a link to my review of THE NECKLACE OF SKULLS:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=49274
August 11th, 2018 at 8:19 pm
The Drummond books fell somewhere between the Saint and Modesty Blaise with just a touch of John Steed and Emma Peel, and were among the most sheerly entertaining books of their type produced, certainly more entertaining than the Dennis Wheatly Duc de Richlieu series they are said to have been inspired by.