Review: Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Price

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Aberystwyth Mon Amour (2001) is the first in Malcolm Pryce's Aberstwyth Noir series. Each title is a humorous version of a film title. The setting is an alternate version of the real Welsh coastal town of Aberystwyth (pronounced "aber・ ist ・with" according to the interwebs).

Noir and hardboiled detective stories have long been favorites of mine and when you add pastiche to the mix you can be in for a fun read. Based on this first book, I'd say that Pryce's Aberystwyth series delivers on that promise. The series is a humorous pastiche on the classic Chandler-esque detective. Aberystwyth's only private eye is Louie Knight who runs Knight Errant Investigations from a run-down office rented, furnished, from the library. With the name alone, already you know the territory you are heading into. Chandler's Philip Marlowe has been likened to a knight on a quest to make things right. Remember the opening scene in The Big Sleep when Marlowe looks up at the knight rescuing the lady tied to a tree? Like Marlowe, Louie doesn't make much money. And like Marlowe he'll keep working even if fired from the job. He works in a corrupt town, he doesn't respect authority, he's quick with a snappy remark, and he won't let go of a problem.

In Aberystwyth Mon Amour Louie is approached by the famous night club singer, Myfanwy Montez, to find her missing cousin, Evans the Boot. Though still in school, Evans the Boot is an unlikable thug. Louie turns her down but is curious enough to nose around quickly finding himself up against the local organized crime organization and a super secret militant religious organization. He finds more children missing under mysterious circumstances, people who aren't what they seem, and finds himself deep in danger and involved with Myfanwy.

To this straightforward sounding plot adds absurd details that will appeal to fans of Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde. The local crime organization is run by Druids. Tea cosies have an unexpected connotation. The local ice cream vendor runs an Existentialist promotion week. Cheese has different properties than we are used to and can be used to remove fingerprints.

Even if you don't get all the send-ups of Welsh culture this is still a fun read and I recommend it. I've already added the second book, Last Tango in Aberystwyth to my TBR stack.

Keywords: Wales fiction, noir, detective fiction, crime fiction, alternate reality, humor, pastiche, hardboiled