Melita Pargeter belongs in the “older woman sleuth" category somewhere between Miss Marple and The Thursday Murder Club. Published in 1986, Brett created her before the current torrent of what one of my friends refers to as Old Fart Fiction. Unlike Miss Marple, who is very moral (and judgmental truly), Mrs. Pargeter has lived with a husband who we infer was a charming criminal. She has picked up certain skills and contacts from her partner before his death.
Thinking of Miss Marple and Agatha Christie, I've been reading Christie's novels in publication order, one per month, for a couple of years now. One of the interesting aspects of this reading is watching the evolution of England's class system over the decades. Simon Brett picks up where Christie left off. He presents us with a boarding house for the elderly. But, heavens, we mustn't call it that! It's a hotel and its penny pinching manager, Miss Naismith, bullies the inmates into “suitable" behaviour. She carefully curates her clientele and judiciously raises the rent whenever possible. Mrs. Pargeter rather enjoys tweaking Miss Naismith, whose imagined gentility in public is followed by gin and soft porn in private. Neither habit is disgraceful unless you're pretending to be above such failings. Brett has fun peopling the hotel with an assortment of characters of varying backgrounds and allowing them to bump into each other's prejudices in amusing ways.
Who better to solve a crime than the attentive spouse of a successful criminal? Mrs. Pargeter is an interesting main character and I am glad to see that Brett has penned more adventures for her.
No comments:
Post a Comment