Tue 22 Jul 2014
Reviewed by Marvin Lachman: FRANK PARRISH – Death in the Rain.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[3] Comments
by Marv Lachman
FRANK PARRISH – Death in the Rain. Dodd Mead, hardcover, 1984. Perennial Library, paperback, 1986. First published in the UK as Face at the Window (Constable, hardcover, 1984).
Fans of Dick Francis will enjoy that other master of the narrative, Frank Parrish, whose fifth book about Dan Mallett, Death in the Rain, is in paperback from Perennial Library. We identify with Francis’s heroes and feel every bit of pain inflicted by sadistic villains. With Parrish’s “professional” poacher, we observe nature as if we are also lying on the English ground, feeling the cold and dampness. He is marvelously knowledgeable about the Wessex countryside made famous by Thomas Hardy.
Death in the Rain plays down the major weakness in prior Mallett books, his long-standing attempt to get money for the hip operation his mother won’t consider free, under British socialized medicine. Yet Mrs. Mallett plays a greater role in this book, and she is a delightful supporting character.
She and Natasha Chapman, a very believable young actress, help compensate for a plot with some structural weaknesses. There are too many coincidences, too many blackmailers, and too many people simultaneously in (or watching) the murder flat.
Those are the only flaws I can discuss without giving away too much plot, but suffice it to say that, warts and all, this is as much fun to read as Parrish’s prior novels about one of the more unusual series characters of the 1980s. The first four Mallett books are also available from Perennial and equally recommended.
Bibliographic Notes: Frank Parrish was the pen name of Roger Longrigg. (1929-2000). Under his own name he has two marginal entries in Hubin. Other pseudonyms are: Laura Black (four novels), Ivor Drummond (nine adventures of Jennifer Norrington, Alessandro di Ganzarello & Coleridge Tucker III) and Domini Taylor (nine novels).
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. US: Death in the Rain.
Fly in the Cobweb. Constable, 1986.
Caught in the Birdlime. Constable, 1987. US: Caught in the Net.
Voices from the Dark. Constable, 1993. No US edition.
July 22nd, 2014 at 9:35 pm
I enjoyed these books as much as Marv did. Good stuff.
July 22nd, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Same here. I think Marv’s review, especially the first paragraph, sums up the setting and the character very well. Problem is,when I post an review like this, it reminds me that after reading the first three or four, I found some other author and drifted away from the Parrish series. I don’t think I ever knew about the last one, until now.
I liked the Ivor Drummond books, too. I haven’t thought about them in years. I had to go online and find a site that talks about them. Here’s the best:
http://www.spyguysandgals.com/sgShowChar.asp?ScanName=jenny_sandro_colly
How could you not like a series of spy-type adventures with titles like these?
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)
July 22nd, 2014 at 11:34 pm
The Drummond books were tremendous fun to read and hold up well. Those evocative titles almost always paid off, and I can’t think of a dull outing in the bunch. There were echoes of Wheatley’s Duc de Richielu novels (the non supernatural ones), some later Saint’s, the Avengers, and the Clubland Heroes, but all modernized, sharply observed, and with a bit of bite.
Lady Jenny, Colly, and Sandro were an unusual lot and curiously believable despite their wealth nd adventures.
They were one of the most entertaining series of the era. The Parrish books were well worth reading, just lacked the appeal of the Drummond books for me. I only read a couple of the Taylor titles, but they were both good.
Before I knew Longrigg was the author I recall thinking Drummond might be Philip Loraine (Robin Estridge).
Anyway, those deserve to be back in print or at least in e-book editions.