The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love books about books. Especially when the book is practically a character in the story. "The Manual of Detection" feels like it was made for me.
Spoiler-ish Summery
Are you, like me, bored of the "perfect" detective with the steely blue eyes, unnatural intelligence and the strong chin trope? Then let me introduce you to Unwin. He's a thin necked pencil pusher of a man. A Niles Crane type who is practical, punctual and perfectly keen to keep things just so.
As a Clerk, Unwin has a simple but important job. He takes notes and he files clues on behalf of Detective Sivart. (He plays the Diane to Sivart's Detective Cooper). Unwin has never met Sivart. Unwin is the faceless person whom Sivart sends his thoughts too during every case. Unwin offers no feedback. He only notes and files the clues - weeding out the emotions and filing only the facts.
One morning Unwin is late for work. He wakes up from an odd dream, he gets caught in the rain that never seems to end, he misses a train, and when he arrives at work his desk has been assigned to someone else. He learns that he's been promoted to detective. In fact he's replacing Detective Sivart whom has gone missing.
Unwin doesn't want this job. He feels completely unqualified for it. The only way to get his Clerk position back however is to find the missing detective. He only has his decades of notes from the missing detective, the odd dream that triggered the morning's set backs, and a little green book that is supposed to explain his job to him: "The Manual of Detection". (Diane ventures alone into Twin Peaks in search of the missing Agent Cooper.)
Take a Stab in the Dark
The mystery is solid good fun! Clues are laid out and easy to follow as they increase the tension of the plot from one beat to the next. Unwin as a character is easy to relate too as he is swept into this drama as an unwilling participant. Unwin learns how little he knows about the world he lives in, and we discover it along side him. He just wants things back to normal as quickly as possible. As the story unfolds he finds that this mystery has been underway under his nose much longer than he knew.
Anyone well versed in noir or who-dun-its will feel the tension of Unwin's early mistakes as he crashes through cliches by accident. He does things that Humphery Bogart and Dick Tracy would cringe to see. But that is why he is the perfect person to solve the case.
The Author
Jedediah Berry is an American writer born in Catskills New York. Learn more about him and his up coming projects on his website.
Berry rewards readers who are fans of the surrealism and mystery genera with samples of Kafka and noir radio dramas mixed with a little Twin Peaks. It's ok if you haven't read the prerequisites - this is a sample platter, maybe even a starter kit. If you have then join the club! I felt as though I'd been invited to a party and I was happily surprised that I knew a few of the guests already.
Consider "The Manual of Detection an introduction to surrealism for middle grade readers. It has the same kind of dreamy feeling that Kafka could invoke without the hard nose somewhat dizzying Cold War terror of Metamorphosis or the Trail. The Manual of Detection is much more light hearted and fun romp through a dream. And like a dream it is totally unique in it's tone and material despite the homage to noir detective stories.
This mix of surrealism and noir was right up my alley. I just found this book on my husband's shelf and dove in and I'm trying to learn how to write mysteries myself. Berry somehow makes a dark and rainy world of criminals and liars fun to be in. I will be daydreaming about this book for years to come.
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