Body Of A Girl

Gilbert is one of the great mystery writers. This is not his best book but it is very enjoyable. Chief Inspector Mercer is an interesting character- a bit tougher and less civil than Gilbert's usual policemen. And the plot is clever.

Gilbert is my favorite all time mystery-suspense writer.

Wow, a real old-time detective story. Now I know the origins of Mercer, who later appeared in Mr. Gilbert's collection of short stories "The Man Who Hated Banks." Would recommend both books.

This is one of my favorite mysteries, in part because of the twisty plot but mostly because of the beautifully developed characters.

THE LARGER TRUTH OF FICTIONMost readers dismiss the truths that fiction can reveal as superfluous.They are missing out.A friend passed along Michael Gilbert's 1972 BODY OF A GIRL to me. This brilliant procedural provides insight--though it is set in postwar London--about how local uniformed police departments have become militarized as crimes become more heinous, technology advances, veterans offer drastic new skills, and the public begins to participate in police decisions. My perspective widened perceptibly.

Every page of this book is written with a master's deft interweaving of plot, theme, and character development.It is the story about the disappearance of two girls from a small close knit community that likes to keep things private and that has remained silent about their disappearance for years.The turbulent Thames River of London England is used as a setting for the story and gives a flow and ebb to the story's focus on the claim these lost girls have on the community. It is a claim made vivid and intense by people's emotions and past concerns and desires which they had hoped had been left hidden and buried but are now stirred back to the surface of their lives when a girl's bones and decayed body is found buried at the low tide mark. An experienced detective, who is from a different local police force and is on a different secret assignment, takes an unexpected personal interest in the matter. And so, in a most public way, the missing girls' claim for justice are made, and the long hidden stories behind the two girls disappearances are made to be of account and to unfold.

A good story, well told. Recommended