Thu 20 Feb 2020
JONATHAN GASH – The Judas Pair. Lovejoy #1. Harper & Row, US, hardcover, 1977. Dell (Scene of the Crime #30), US, paperback, 1981. Published earlier in the UK by Collins Crime Club, hardcover., 1977. TV Adaptation: “The Judas Pair.” Lovejoy, BBC, UK, 07 Feb 1986 (season 1, episode 5) starring Ian McShane).
The Judas pair in is the thirteenth pair of flintlock dueling pistols made by a master craftsman named Durs. Their existence is purely a legend, or so believes Lovejoy, noted antiques dealer, until he’s commissioned to locate them by the brother of the man killed by one.
Those also afflicted by the mania known as collecting will best understand the killer’s motive and will watch with fascination as Lovejoy explains the world of antiques while methodically turning it upside down. The style is determinedly high-key, too much so for the long haul, and when the mood abruptly becomes serious, it leads to a melodramatic ending more notable for the many gaps in its wake.
February 20th, 2020 at 7:34 pm
Reading this old review now, it doesn’t sound as though I had any idea that it was be the first of what would eventually be 24 in total. I read most of the first 10 or so, then as I seem to do withtoo many authors, I sort of drifted away.
I think I was correct in stating what the greatest appeal of the book was, that of Collecting, with a capital C.
I wonder, though, why I didn’t say more about the character of Lovejoy himself, notorious for a certain lack of scruples, shall we say.
February 20th, 2020 at 9:43 pm
I was a sucker for Ian’s Lovejoy and Phyllis Logan’s Lady Jane, when we lived in Louisville in the early nineties. Eventually the series n its entirety became available on DVD and I compulsively ran them, one after another, and that cured me; only Tinker Dill resonated.
February 20th, 2020 at 11:56 pm
The books were better than the TV series but I enjoyed both.
In both it was the character of Lovejoy that was my main attraction. The problem with the books was like Spenser the stories and style never grew and became repetitive. The TV show had the same problem. I was a fan of Lady Jane as well even if they had to tone the book’s Lovejoy to make their relationship believable.
I also enjoyed the antique dealer con man premise but it limited the stories for the character.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:27 am
Cast changes in later seasons. especially the disappearance of lady Jane/Phyllis Logan, hit the series hard. The stories seemed repetitive, angry, and charmless. Asa for Ian, he remained a star, but not an especially appealing one.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:35 am
Ian McShane is probably best known in this country for his role as saloon owner Al Swearengen in DEADWOOD. It is remarkable that he is apparently still active (at my age) in AMERICAN GODS.
February 21st, 2020 at 6:33 pm
A similar gun to the one in the novel figures in Gavin Lyall’s humorous thriller VENUS WITH PISTOL, which had a delayed publication because Lyall was such a stickler he wouldn’t allow for the gun trick that his novel turned on until he could successfully duplicate it in reality.
Luckily Gash was a bit lighter hearted about the whole thing.
I liked, and still like, Lovejoy best when I pick one up out of the blue (book or series episode) and indulge randomly. It preserves the freshness and I don’t grow as tired as I did with say Spenser and Parker in print and on screen.
When I was younger I tended to binge certain writers when I could, but I do so less often today, especially for hour long episodic network type series. It is one thing to binge PEAKY BLINDERS with its relatively closed arcs and another to binge LOVEJOY or SPENSER.
February 21st, 2020 at 7:10 pm
My review of the Lyall book is here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=36174
but I’m afraid that I read the Lovejoy book so long ago I didn’t make the connection.
I’m glad you did, David. Thanks!
February 26th, 2020 at 9:30 am
Steve, like you I read about 10 Lovejoy mysteries and then drifted away from the series. Repetitive plots doom most series.
February 26th, 2020 at 10:56 am
Right. The world of Lovejoy was fun to visit for a while, but the options for the character to go on and do other kinds of things just weren’t there.