“Fatal Frailties” by Peter Davidson

There are many reasons for writing a book but, in this attempt at a murder mystery albeit one that attempts to be funny, I cannot think about the reason I did so. I suppose that yet again it is self-indulgence,  a liking for the written word whether it is written by others or written by me.  Since I was a youngster I have always read and, I think, writing was a natural adjunct to that.

 So here it is. It is a book that was roundly castigated in the proofing as a work that did not move fast enough, something that was far too descriptive, a piece of work that took too much time to get to the nitty-gritty. I tried to take good advice to improve it, believe me I did, but then I discovered that an abbreviated, direct-to-the-point piece of work was not really me. It missed what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was to describe yet again, as in my memoir, places that I knew when I was growing up. Nostalgia crept in where there should have been edge of one’s seat, excitement.  What should have been ‘Top Gun: Maverick” became “The Remains of the Day”  without the excellent acting. It is like a folly built on a British estate, a tower that serves no practical purpose but looks good in the distance. But, Dear Reader, it is my folly and mine alone.

   I have always loved murder mysteries whether they be the works of John Buchan and Agatha Christie back in the day or Ian Rankin and Henning Mankell today.  So the story that I have written is indeed frail in its consistency, weak in its plot, strange in its denouement and abrupt in its conclusion. It is not going to set the literary world alight. I guess that if I had spent more time on it, nuanced it a bit more; toyed with the wording and phraseology ad infinitum; planned more effectively with the character development and plotted, oh dear, plotted with a better goal in mind. Then I guess it would have been a more polished piece of writing.

But, Dear Friends, if you bite the bullet and buy it, then I would of course appreciate it. If you read it as well then I will be tickled pink. But don’t ever say you haven’t been warned.

You can order “Fatal Frailties” by Peter Davidson at the variety of places indicated on my website. Thanks again for reading.