Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
Non-series
Metropolitan Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8927-6 (0805089276)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8927-1 (9780805089271)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $20.00
Review: Hannah Berry's debut mystery, Britten and Brulightly, is an exquisitely drawn, well-crafted noir thriller written as a graphic novel.
Fernandez Britten is a private investigator whose specialty is tracking down cheating spouses and exposing their secret lives. "I had made something of a name for myself in the field," he says. "That name was 'The Heartbreaker'." But he's tiring of the depressing work, so he and his partner, Stewart Brulightly (a teabag), decide to accept more challenging assignments, in particular murder cases. And he prefers the term "private researcher" to describe his work; it has less connotations.
His latest case is the fiancé of a man who killed himself. But she thinks it was murder, or at least he was coerced to do the deed. "He would never have used a pencil to write his final words. He was better than that. I bought him a perfectly good fountain pen for Christmas." Britten's investigation ... err, research ... suggests she may be right. But it also suggests she may not want to know the truth either.
Britten and Brulightly is quirky, clever, and gorgeous to look at. The images have a subtle wash of color to them and are filled with wonderful details. For such a short novel, the story is satisfyingly rich in plotting and the characters have surprising depth. Stewart (the teabag) is something of an anomaly. It isn't clear whether he's Britten's alter ego, his conscience, or just a figment of Britten's imagination. He provides, though, an interesting contrast to the somewhat sedate character of Britten, and often plays devil's advocate to his thought process.
About the only drawback to the book, and it's a significant one, is that the first-person narrative text is exceptionally hard to read. The block text used for the dialog is fine, but the odd cursive letters and low contrast between the text and the background make reading Britten's words a real challenge. It really detracts from the pleasure of reading what is otherwise a singular graphic novel.
Special thanks to Henry Holt for providing a copy of Britten and Brulightly for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
If you are interested in purchasing Britten and Brulightly from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.
Synopsis (from the publisher): Private detective Fernández Britten is an old hand at confirming the dark suspicions of jealous lovers and exposing ugly truths of all varieties. Battered by years of bearing ill tidings, he clings to the hope of revealing, just once, a truth that will do some good in the world. It is a redemption that has long eluded him.
Then Britten and his unconventional partner, Brülightly, take on the mysterious death of Berni Kudos. The official verdict is suicide, but Berni’s fiancée is convinced that the reality is something more sinister. Blackmail, revenge, murder: each new revelation stirs up the muddy waters of painful family secrets, and each fresh twist takes the partners further from Britten’s longed-for salvation. Doing good in the world, he discovers, may have more to do with silence than truth.
Return to Mystery Books News ...
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Virginia Smith (book cover shown)
