THE VINYL DETECTIVE BY ANDREW CARTMEL

A NEW SERIES OF BOOKS I'VE BEEN ENJOYING ARE THESE MYSTERY NOVELS BY ANDREW CARTMEL.  

DOCTOR WHO fans will know Cartmel as the script editor of the final 3 series of the classic run of DOCTOR WHO starring Sylvester McCoy.  Truth be told, I didn't even realize this fact when I first heard about these books about a detective who specialises in finding rare vinyl records.  I can't quite remember if I read about the books somewhere or saw someone on youtubers talking about them.  Either way, I decided I wanted to read them before seeing the author's name and realizing this was the same man who came up with the legendary "Cartmel Masterplan"!  

Regardless of Andrew Cartmel's Whovian credentials, these novels are wonderful page-turners mixing mystery/crime novels with nutty music/vinyl enthusiasts like me.  The title character is an unnamed detective who finds rare vinyl for his clients.  It's interesting that the main character is unnamed; just as Dashiell Hammett's "Continental Op" had no name (although Cartmel swears this was not an homage since he didn't realise it until later).  Besides his monumental hi-fi system, the Vinyl Detective shares his home with two beloved cats:  Fanny and Turk (short for Turquoise to match her eyes) who are secondary but vital members of the cast.  During the course of the first novel in the series (WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX), a mysterious woman named Nevada enters his life and the suddenly-turned-deadly case which he undertakes.  Along for the ride (literally!) is a London cabbie named Agatha whom our main characters nickname "Clean Head" because of her shaved head and as a tribute to jazz great Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson.  Clean Head soon becomes a member of our hero's team of sleuths along with the detective's slacker/audiophile friend Tinkler.  

The first book, as stated, is "WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX" which refers to the stretch of vinyl between the final song on a record side and the paper label inside which is usually etched a recording number and anything else that might find it's way there (like signatures).  An increasing number of (sometimes shady) people all seem to be interested in finding a certain rare jazz album . . . .and then people start turning up dead!  I read a ton of murder mysteries as a teenager but haven't read any for a very long time now.  I read the first Vinyl Detective novel cover to cover in about 4 days (which is very unusual for me since I always have about two dozen books going at the same time and I pop back and forth reading them all at the same time.  However, this can quite truthfully be called a page turner since I practically devoured it.  Then I started reading the second Vinyl Detective book "THE RUN-OUT GROOVE" which focuses on a rare psychedelic 60's by an enigmatic singer named Valerian who mysteriously hanged herself after her son disappeared.  This novel again I tore through in a few days!  Now, I'm in the middle of the third book in the series:  "VICTORY DISC" which concerns the Vinyl Detective's search for rare records of a British swing band during World War II . . . and a notorious sex murder.  

All the Vinyl Detective books I've read so far do have occasional violence and sex but these are depicted in a non-graphic fashion and the books themselves have a nice, light touch in the writing department.  In short, the books are a lot of fun.  Sort of if Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler had a baby -- that would be Andrew Cartmel's Vinyl Detective books.  And like in all book series, the recurring characters are what keeping bringing the reader back; you just enjoy spending time with them.  These are no towering classics of the mystery novel genre but they are ridiculously enjoyable for someone like me who enjoys murder mysteries as well as having a deep love of vintage music.  There are 5 books in the Vinyl Detective series:  Book 4 is called "FLIP BACK" and the soon-to-be-released "LOW ACTION" will be book 5.  I intend to read them all.