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unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
Last year I read and adored Janice Law's previous novel featuring 20th century painter Francis Bacon, Fires of London. (It made my top ten of 2012!) I loved it for its dark and slightly raunchy tone, for being gritty and gay (homosexual, not cheerful), and for being atmospheric and escapist.
I hadn't realized there was a chance of more Bacon so when I learned Law had written a second novel featuring him, I was over the moon. To my delight, the novel opened (literally, the second line!) with the same flippant seediness I loved in the first book. (We had flags and bunting, and I got marvelously drunk and committed a public indecency in Hyde Park -- my little contribution to Britannia's celebration. p5)
The war is over, and Francis is ready to leave post-war London, with the food shortages and lingering stink of war. He rallies his childhood nanny, who is nearly blind and deeply devoted to him, and his respectable lover Albert, for a trip to Monte Carlo. But after witnessing a man getting shot outside a club in London, Francis is tasked with taking the man's effects to his widow who just happens to live on the Riviera, and the endeavor proves more complicated than he anticipated.
Francis narrates the story, and in Law's hands, he's wry, pithy, and sarcastic. Coy, too, for he sadly never dishes details on his liaisons. His voice is what makes these books so captivating: he's a reliable narrator who prefers night to day, the grotesque to the beautiful, the luxuries of life while slumming it. Law evokes the post-war Riviera in its complicated contradiction -- gorgeous beaches and sunny vistas, Vichy collaborators transforming themselves into Allied supporters -- and it makes a fascinating backdrop for a murder mystery.
Fans of WWII settings will enjoy this one; the inclusion of a gay lead makes it all the more novel and interesting. Those new to the series will be fine picking this one up without being lost, but you will want to indulge in the delicious seediness of Francis, and I strongly encourage you to get Fires of London. Then get this one, so there will be a third Francis Bacon book!Â
I hadn't realized there was a chance of more Bacon so when I learned Law had written a second novel featuring him, I was over the moon. To my delight, the novel opened (literally, the second line!) with the same flippant seediness I loved in the first book. (We had flags and bunting, and I got marvelously drunk and committed a public indecency in Hyde Park -- my little contribution to Britannia's celebration. p5)
The war is over, and Francis is ready to leave post-war London, with the food shortages and lingering stink of war. He rallies his childhood nanny, who is nearly blind and deeply devoted to him, and his respectable lover Albert, for a trip to Monte Carlo. But after witnessing a man getting shot outside a club in London, Francis is tasked with taking the man's effects to his widow who just happens to live on the Riviera, and the endeavor proves more complicated than he anticipated.
Francis narrates the story, and in Law's hands, he's wry, pithy, and sarcastic. Coy, too, for he sadly never dishes details on his liaisons. His voice is what makes these books so captivating: he's a reliable narrator who prefers night to day, the grotesque to the beautiful, the luxuries of life while slumming it. Law evokes the post-war Riviera in its complicated contradiction -- gorgeous beaches and sunny vistas, Vichy collaborators transforming themselves into Allied supporters -- and it makes a fascinating backdrop for a murder mystery.
Fans of WWII settings will enjoy this one; the inclusion of a gay lead makes it all the more novel and interesting. Those new to the series will be fine picking this one up without being lost, but you will want to indulge in the delicious seediness of Francis, and I strongly encourage you to get Fires of London. Then get this one, so there will be a third Francis Bacon book!Â
avoraciousreader68's review
4.0
*Book source ~ NetGalley
WWII is over and Europe is trying to rebuild. Painter Francis Bacon and his lover witness a shooting while leaving a gambling hall and then, a few days later, he’s asked to take a packet to the widow of the man he tried to save. In exchange, the owner will forgive his losses from that night. Finding this a strange request, he decides to do it since he’s heading to France on vacation anyway. But a task that should have been simple turns out to not be and Francis soon finds himself neck deep in post-war intrigue.
At times this mystery can be a bit tedious going, but for the most part it flows from one incident to another with poor Francis stuck smack dab in the middle with not much choice but to go along for the ride. It has its moments of being a bit hard to believe and at times the plot is bit too twisty to follow. However, it did entertain me and Francis is quite the character.
WWII is over and Europe is trying to rebuild. Painter Francis Bacon and his lover witness a shooting while leaving a gambling hall and then, a few days later, he’s asked to take a packet to the widow of the man he tried to save. In exchange, the owner will forgive his losses from that night. Finding this a strange request, he decides to do it since he’s heading to France on vacation anyway. But a task that should have been simple turns out to not be and Francis soon finds himself neck deep in post-war intrigue.
At times this mystery can be a bit tedious going, but for the most part it flows from one incident to another with poor Francis stuck smack dab in the middle with not much choice but to go along for the ride. It has its moments of being a bit hard to believe and at times the plot is bit too twisty to follow. However, it did entertain me and Francis is quite the character.
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