Book Log 2012 #4: A Lily of the Field by John Lawton

So I got a new phone recently, and in the process of transferring information from my old phone I managed to delete the file where I'd been keeping all of the book titles I'd not yet logged here. It was a solid dozen, so well done by me.

This is actually one of the more recent books I've read, and to add annoyance to annoyance it's the eighth book in a series featuring a London police detective and cases he's picked up before, during and after World War II. There's one, maybe two previous books to which I likely now know who the guilty party is, so even more well done by me.

Even so, I am glad that I picked this one up as I enjoyed it quite a bit. The set-up is a little odd, in that the main character of the series doesn't show up in the book until it's well underway. The first third of the book (if not more) follows a group of characters who become important to the actual crime. It was a little confusing at first, but given where this book is in the series it's not like you have to trot out the main character on page one.

The actual murders in the book are secondary to the great period detail, from the social and musical life pre-war Vienna to post-war London and its rationing. I would certainly recommend this book, but I'd also recommend starting from the beginning (and to throw another wrench into things, the books take place in a different chronological order than their published order).