Great fun! ( )

Pretty enjoyable. A little quirky and a couple things that could've been better. At times I felt it was too long, but actually that space was needed to make the next development seem feasible. I'll probably read another. ( )

I stumbled over this series in a bookstore a while back, and finally got around to reading the first volume. The Vinyl Detective (who unless I seriously missed something is never actually named) hung a shingle on a lark, only to have his services engaged by a mysterious woman who sends him on a quest for a rare and mysterious jazz album, recorded nearly 50 years earlier. VD (unfortunate initials, but what can you do in the absence of a name) isn't really a detective, in the familiar, literary sense of the word. Although he has the patience and knowledge required for searching through charity shop bins and jazz-nerd events for those obscure and almost unfindable musical gems, he isn't equipped to deal with the inevitable violence and mayhem that he encounters (and maybe creates, a little) on his quest to fulfill his mission. There are some tropes here that might be tired (beautiful and ultimately irresistible female client, gaggle of quirky side characters, obstacles that must be overcome) except that the dialogue is very snappy, totally believable, and flows directly from the page into my brain. He even has two cats, and his client wins both him and me over by talking to them just as every goofy cat lover talks to cats. This is kind of a wiggly story, with part of the main story ending much earlier than expected, with a big chunk of the novel left to read, only to morph into a different, tangential story, into which the threads of the original story twine. An overall enjoyable read, the first "first" in a while that I've read and immediately wanted to launch into the next one. Highly recommended for anyone who loves mysteries, music, or cats. ( )

This is one of those books that is somehow better than it should be. It's a reasonably straightforward detective novel with an interesting twist (the hero is a record enthusiast who hunts down rare vinyl); but it's written with an obvious love for the subject matter and a playfulness with the genre that makes it all irresistible. I loved every page and can't wait to read the next book. ( )

4.5 Stars

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When I first came across this novel in the bookstore, I expected to like it. It sounded very British, and the recommendation from Ben Aaronovitch, author of the Rivers of London series - another favourite of mine, made it all sound very good. There was a single slight hesitation on my side though as I don't know the first thing about vinyl, and this being the Vinyl Detective, I wasn't sure this wouldn't bother my reading experience.

I needn't worry, because despite having already quite some expectations, they were still exceeded by Written in Dead Wax. One thing for sure, the author loves his vinyl, but the book is written in such a way that you don't need to love (or know anything about it really) to understand why the character loves it. This genre of books, I pick up for the witty descriptions, London in general and some absurdism on the side, as the mystery, also in this case, was not the strongest. However, I do think that all the rest more than compensate for that, and the only real downside is the fact that it takes so long before the next book comes out! ( )