A SPRINKLNG OF CYANIDE by Ian Ashbridge

REVIEW: A SPRINKLING OF CYANIDE BY IAN ASHBRIDGE

For those who like the whodunit genre, A Sprinkling of Cyanide has it all. A retired detective, Craker, is tenant of a multi-occupied house where a poisoning takes place. The dead man was never liked and it is not just the tenants who had a grudge against him. An open verdict is returned, with the possibility of suicide, but Craker is dissatisfied. He is determined to discover the truth, opening up new lines of enquiry. There ensues a failed attempt on his own life and confrontation with former colleagues, preceding a second disturbing death. Only at the eleventh hour does the truth come to light, when a chilling scenario of loathing and pitiless elimination is fully revealed, against a backdrop of other illicit activities.

Review: The title of A Sprinkling of Cyanide has a hint of Agatha Christie about it (she is namechecked in the novel at one point) and so does the novel, though it is a contemporary story set in the present day in the north western city of Redcastle. Indeed, it is so contemporary it also lists a lesbian couple amongst its list of suspects, something I imagine Christie never included in her whodunits. The prose seems to intentionally reflect Christie’s mannered and old-fashioned style which was a drawback for me, particularly in the dialogue, which strikes a modern reader as very unrealistic, if not a little overblown and tedious after a while. It also makes the characters sound elderly, even when they’re in their thirties! There are also too many characters to keep track of for my tastes, though it certainly keeps you guessing and the identity of the killer was a surprise to me, which is, after all, the main point of this type of crime novel.

However, it is an interesting experiment to delve into contemporary issues and mores using the style of the greatest of the Golden Age of crime writing’s authors. I have not read many Christie novels myself, but I don’t imagine too many of them involve drugs, bad language, a detective who can handle himself in a fight, and lesbian couples, though I cannot vouch for this personally! There is also criticism of modern society, the justice system and the modern police force in the novel and it is always nice to see these themes tackled in the crime novel.

Overall, though, I’m afraid that this is a rather complicated and convoluted whodunit. It has a hard-to-pin-down plot that frequently left me a little confused, though some of that could have been down to the old-fashioned, long-winded style of the writing. However, it is an interesting experiment to blend Christie’s style to a more up-to-date storyline and this may appeal to older readers or fans of Christie – of which there are many, after all! – who also enjoy slightly less genteel, more modern crime novels.

PLOT: 3/5

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 2/5

ENDING: 4/5

COVER ARTWORK: 3/5

READING EXPERIENCE: 3/5

OVERALL SCORE: 3/5