Tony White (2) (1964–)

This is a crime novel, but it's also literary fiction. It mixes a murder investigation in the present day with events that happened between the end of the Miners'Strike and the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985. It explores the nature of police brutality and the way in which the police close ranks when they feel the need to protect 'their own'. It also considers whether personal memory and official history is reliable.

I was gripped by the story and the way it is told. If you're a reluctant reader of crime novels, detective stories, police procedurals or other books of that ilk, I think there's enough of the literary fiction about The Fountain in the Forest to make it worth a punt.… (mais)

This is a great writer ... OK, so maybe I'm biased because he mentions the local food in some detail. It's not so much a footsteps book in that he visits the same places as Rebecca West, but that he observes the similarities, and changes in the Yugoslav people. The only aspect that proved particularly challenging for me was that he goes into some detail regarding the Yugoslav (and expat) arts scene. Highly recommended, although one needs some familiarity with Balkan history to appreciate the book.… (mais)