re:mote voices

Title: Aberystwyth Mon Amour/Last Tango In Aberystwyth
Author:Malcolm Pryce
Publisher: Bloomsbury

In typical fashion I managed to read Malcolm Pryce's Aberystwyth novels in the wrong order, which is a particularly bad idea. Given that while you can read Last Tango In Aberystwyth on it's own, it manages to cover the key events of Aberystwyth Mon Amour in such a way that it makes it a little tricky to go back and read the first novel.

As such, I'm not sure whether I did not enjoy Aberystwyth Mon Amour as much as Last Tango In Aberystwyth because I had too much of an idea of where it was going or because it is an idea that doesn't amuse as much second time round or indeed, whether I was just in the wrong mood. Though what I do know is that reading the second book first and the first book second, I enjoyed the second book more than I did the first.

In both novels we have the lead of Louie Knight, who is a hard-bitten private detective, and while these may feel like noir novels they are set in 80's Aberystwyth rather than 40's LA. Instead of gangsters, "druids" run the town, a sleaze-ridden place filled with corruption and dubious morals. So that Malcolm Pryce's novels have a curious mix of noir meets the UK sitcom League Of Gentlemen. The ice-cream peddlers, war veterans from the war between Wales and Patagonia, and the crazy-golf barons. Where the Sweet Jesus League protests outside night clubs. And in an Austin Powers style manner, money has a curious value, where a pound or two is considered to be a sum to reckon with.

With this Malcolm Pryce still works with the familiar tropes of the genre. Femme fatales turn up in his office. Banter is exchanged. A case of missing persons quickly become more than it appears. And the PI maintains his cool, despite the strained relations with the local police and repeated warnings from the bad guy's heavies. This is pretty much the pattern for both novels, and you quickly get the feel for it as you read.