Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

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Little John
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Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by Little John »

I love Peter May's style. Very readable. But lately I'm not too sure about his plot lines.

This is one of his "Enzo file" books. Enzo MacLeod is a forensic scientist and university lecturer who is bet 2,000 euros that he can't solve 6 unsolved crimes in a book by his friend Roger Raffin, whose wife's own murder is the final case. But before we get there, Enzo has set out to find who killed Lucie Martin who disappeared in 1989 with links to a convicted killer and pimp.

There are a lot of people and names to remember and I must admit I got confused at times. Not helped by the fact it all takes place in France with lots of French places and names. There are a few red herrings and I think some took up whole chapters. Enzo has a lot of children by different mothers and they keep popping up and getting kidnapped by people trying to stop him digging any further. Then when he refuses to give up - even at the possible risk to his daughter's life, the ending when it comes is - dodgy.

Of course I cant say a lot more than that. Except his use of description is a joy in itself. Although I wonder if he isn't getting a bit blase about writing.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

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I wonder if he has lost the hunger? I really didn’t like the ending of the one I sent you.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

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Its almost like he reaches a point where he does a word count and says "that'll do".
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by marymary »

I blame the editors.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by SRD »

What editors?
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by Little John »

I think Most publishing companies have editors who proof read first drafts and ask for or recommend changes
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by SRD »

I think you'll find that the vast majority of publishing companies use automated spelling & grammar checkers and have cut the number of actual 'readers' whilst increasing the number of books published, the added workload for the remaining 'editors' thus renders their job impossible. If you add to that the redundancies and early retirement amongst senior, even middle rank, editors that leaves the industry not only under-staffed but also relying on barely literate undergraduates.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by marymary »

Possibly. I know an editor though of children’s fiction so presumably they also proof read adult fiction.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by SRD »

I understand that, for obvious reasons, childrens literature is much more heavily 'policed'.
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Re: Cast iron - Peter May (ok)

Post by Lady P »

I have just read this book and must agree about the above. It does not help that this is the sixth book of the Enzo books. I don't know how much detail of previous wives that are mentioned and his various children, All adds to confusion.
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