Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Hardcastle’s Actress by Graham Ison

Graham Ison spent 30 years in the Special Branch at Scotland Yard and then four years at 10 Downing Street as Protection Officer to two Prime Ministers. Thus equipped with a uniquely specialized background, he began writing crime fiction. His Brock and Poole, Tommy Fox, and Gaffney and Tipper series are all contemporary. His Hardcastle series is set during World War I. One article about Ison says he turned to historical crime fiction when his contemporary police procedurals could not keep up with the changes in real-life policing, thus rendering his books inaccurate before they were published. See the article in Shots, http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/feature_view.aspx?FEATURE_ID=232

Hardcastle’s Actress (Severn House, 2007) is the fifth book featuring Ernest Hardcastle, Division Detective Inspector in charge of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Whitehall Division of the London Metropolitan Police. The Hardcastle family is happily preparing to sit down to its 1914 Christmas Day goose when a messenger from Scotland Yard arrives with an urgent summons from the detective chief inspector of the CID. Mrs. Hardcastle is considerably put out but Hardcastle leaves promptly to learn he’s to go to Windsor to investigate the murder of a young woman whose body was found in the Great Park that morning. Hardcastle ruins Detective Sergeant Charles Marriott’s Christmas by requesting his assistance.

The dead woman was an actress who had been part of a troupe appearing at a local theatre. She was the star performer and supported the war effort by encouraging members of the audience to step up and enlist after the show. In addition to the military men hanging around the stage door, hoping to take her to dinner, she’d also been getting anonymous letters, some proposing marriage. Hardcastle felt he would not have far to look for her killer.

The story is rich with period detail. Set in the early days of the war, the English people were just starting to realize what they were in for. Casualties were pouring in and the impact of loss was beginning to be felt. Ison does a great job in portraying how little ordinary folk cared about international politics. The police procedures of the time are well documented as well. Automobiles were still a rarity then, and the police had to conduct a stakeout with a horse-drawn carriage.

Hardcastle is an admirable series lead. He is a curmudgeon while thoroughly professional. Marriott is a good foil, knowing when to argue with Hardcastle and when to be silent. The frequent use of Cockney rhyming slang, while no doubt an accurate reflection of the usage of the time, sent me to an online dictionary repeatedly.

A fine piece of historical crime fiction. Recommended especially for fans of World War I mysteries.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Severn House (August 1, 2007)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Hardcover: ‎216 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎0727865153

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-0727865151

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.