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GOLDEN GATE MURDERS, THE
by Peter King
Signet, November 2002
262 pages
$5.99
ISBN: 0451207467


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I really wanted to like this book.

Jack London, the main character, was one of my favorite writers when I was a teenager. San Francisco, at the turn of the twentieth century, with its lawlessness and pretensions, is a very colorful setting‹and an almost perfect one for a murder mystery. The saloons, the gambling rooms, the gold miners, dancing halls‹does it get any better than this? And Peter King does an excellent job of bringing old San Francisco to life. You can almost smell the sawdust on saloon floors, taste the whiskey, and see the dancing girls up on the stage. He also does an excellent job of turning Jack London into a living, breathing character that is likable.

Unfortunately, King is unable to focus on the task at hand‹having Jack London solve a mystery. When Jack is investigating, the book moves very quickly and engages the reader. But King seems unable to write a historical mystery without pausing to give a history lesson, and this slows down the narrative considerably. A good example of this appears on page 195:

"Earp led the way along Montgomery Street, familiar to every San Franciscan as being named after Captain John Montgomery, commander of the USS Portsmouth, the man who raised the United States flag here to fix the boundary between Mexico and the United States."

This happens all too frequently. Another problem is that King wants to firmly establish in his readerıs mind that London is a writer starting to have some success. The action of the novel is sidelined all too often to discuss Londonıs writing habits, his correspondence with magazines and publishers, and to send him off to a literary party where he discusses his work and career ad nauseum ad infinitum.

Another trap King steps into is what I often refer to as the John Jakes problem. Jakesı historical fiction was unbelievable because his characters always mixed with famous historical characters‹even just bumping into them on the street. Is it necessary for Wyatt Earp to be a character? Lillian Russell? Russellıs appearance in the book seems only there to add historical "flavor"; and to give London and his girlfriend Flo the opportunity to talk about her seemingly endlessly. This adds nothing to the story.

The mystery itself is done well, and Jack London makes for not only an interesting character but a fascinating detective. Some judicious editing and revision, and this would have been a true gem of a novel; unfortunately, as it stands, it is merely a diamond in the rough.

Reviewed by Greg Herren, November 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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