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Ben Elton is a writer par excellence. He has written for stage, large screen and small screen. This polymath has even written musicals. I must confess, however, that were I to be pressed for my favourite Elton work, I would have to name the popular television programme BLACKADDER. The author, in his novels, has tended to push causes and comment on society's problems. Could any wistful would-be parent ever forget INCONCEIVABLE or the movie based on that wonderful book, MAYBE BABY? PAST MORTEM sees Elton once more draw his crusading sword from its scabbard as he attacks the curse of both school and workplace: bullying. Detective Inspector Edward Newson and Detective Sergeant Natasha Wilkie are called upon to investigate the death-by-not-quite-a-thousand (347, to be precise) cuts of Adam Bishop. Bishop was a bully, feared by most of those who knew him, yet someone had managed to overpower and bind him, then inflict hundreds of small punctures on his powerful frame -- and tender eyes. Newson turns his remarkable intellect to solving the mystery despite at times begin distracted by his beautiful sergeant, with whom he is in love. Newson has always felt inadequate. He is very short -- five foot four -- and a redhead. Amazingly, despite his having been given rather insulting nicknames when at school, he had escaped the kind of bullying visited on some of his contemporaries. He knows there is no possibility that the fair Natasha could ever be interested in him -- for one thing, she has a boyfriend -- so Newson decides to join the Friends Reunited site on the Net. To the Detective Inspector's surprise, quite a few from his class of 1984 have signed up and written profiles of themselves. Soon he is in contact with Helen, with whom he had been friends at school. Then he meets once more the girl who had occupied his dreams at the time and with whom he had had a brief romantic success. On the murder front, Edward decides Bishop is the victim of a serial killer and sets out to prove this. His extra-curricular amorous exploits tend to mar his investigating success but he perseveres. Despite his efforts, the appropriately punished corpses multiply. It goes without saying that this is an excellent book. The author pushes for reform in areas that every reader would know need reforming. He does this in a pleasantly sugarcoated way. Even while we wince at what Elton's characters are uncovering, we can laugh at some of Newson's thoughts and blunders. Bullying and, by extension, domestic violence are only a part of what the author presents for our consideration. The depth of his characterisation of Newson is excellent although some of the other characters are mere caricatures. The mystery is very well plotted -- I certainly had no inkling of the murderer's identity. The red herrings are tastefully planted as the interest of the story is maintained. Never does the ethical message overwhelm the narrative, yet never is it hidden. The prose is clear and concise although some of the descriptions of the sex scenes might prove a bit much for the faint-hearted. This is certainly a book to make one think as well as to be very much enjoyed.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, October 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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