Malcolm Martlands review of Mr. Clarinet on the bookshow on 25th Sept 2008:
Nick Stone is a British thriller writer. His father is the famous and frequently controversial historian Norman Stone and his mother descends from one of Haiti's oldest families, the Aubrys. Her uncle was the first finance minister to Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haiti's infamous dictator, but he fell foul of the regime when he openly criticised its murderous ways, and was imprisoned and tortured in Fort Dimanche, Haiti's notorious prison. Published in January 2006, 'Mr Clarinet' became a critical and commercial success in the UK, reaching number 12 on the paperback bestseller lists.
Judging by other reviews this one looks like a "love it or hate it" book. Unfortunately I am firmly on the fence. It was all ok and reasonably enjoyable but didn't really get going at any point and suffered from a complete lack of originality and an ending that anyone who has read crime fiction will see coming. Let's hope the next one is a bit better.
This is a big, ambitious thriller which relies heavily on the author's obvious familiarity with Haiti. For the first half, it is well-paced and engrossing. The main character - Max Mingus - is about as believable as a chocolate firework, but no matter. Interest is maintained. He has the kind of back-story you just don't get out of serial killer novels - dead wife, execution of suspects. Max is offered millions to find a child who has been abducted - apparently by a ghostly French Drummer boy - on the island of Haiti. The strengths of the story are the pacing of the first half and the setting; the weaknesses are the sudden pulling together of the story at the end and the disappearance of the main female character in the last few chapters. The author spent some time building her up and suddenly she's gone. I thought the book had echoes of the John Connolly books and the plot owed a lot to Greg Iles work. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the writer was better at atmosphere rather than plot.
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2 comments:
Hi Linda- that's not my review. Malcolm - I play a straight sax in case you were wondering ;-)
Here is my Radio Scilly review:
Mr Clarinet – Nick Stone 2006 – Penguin £6.99
A friend of mine bought this simply because of the title and he thought of me – because of my clarinet playing – but he thought it was a worthwhile read anyway and recommended it to me. Well I’m very glad I’m not anything like the Mr Clarinet or Tonton Clarinette from the book – allegedly a Napoleonic child soldier in Haiti who was buried alive still playing his clarinet he was supposed to lure children away according to voodoo and black magic folklore. But in reality a modern day Mr Clarinet is taking the children and the rich family Carver’s son Charlie has disappeared. Previous private investigators have failed to find him and many have disappeared or been physically and mentally destroyed in the attempt.
The Carvers approach ex-detective, ex-private investigator and ex-convict Max Mingus while he is still serving a sentence for murdering some guys who really annoyed him one day. He doesn’t plan to take any cases on though because he and his wife plan a world tour – but she dies in a car crash shortly before he comes out of prison and when he is finally released he takes the job on - more to avoid having to face up to the reality of life without his wife - than for the $10 million reward to locate Haitian billionaire's son Charlie Carver - missing now for over three years.
The story relies very much on the writer’s experience of Haiti where he spent his early life and where he later got the idea for this book. He relays the growth of the country under the Tonton Macoute – the Haitian militia and secret police force lead by presidential dictator Papa Doc Duvalier, and his son Baby Doc Duvalier until US intervention – how half the country became rich and the rest degenerated into squalor – the poor led in this novel by a charismatic figure Vincent Paul. I felt it was a good history lesson well taught – a lot of thrilling adventure thrown in to boot – with insights into voodoo and the related but senseless black magic that the poorest had faith in.
In Haitian/Creole mythology Tonton Macoute was the name of a bogeyman who at Christmas Eve snatches bad children from their beds and puts them in his macoute – which is a sack - and makes them disappear forever – some resemblances there to the Tonton Clarinette storyline and also similarities to the Michaelmas folklore of many European Countries too.
The ending is perhaps predictable – Max Mingus finds the kid, bags the villains – but the twist in the tale is what makes the whole story worth reading. It is surprising to find out who the modern Mr Clarinet is and why for years he has been tempting children away from their families.
In style and content it’s quite an easy book to read – although some of the most violent scenes are possibly a bit gratuitous and harrowing. I did find myself wishing there was a map of Haiti somewhere at the front. The author obviously intended the Private Investigator character to continue as he subtitles Mr Clarinet as “The First Max Mingus Thriller” and a prequel “The King of Swords” also featuring Max Mingus in more voodoo adventures was published in 2007.
Clearly the CWA thought this was an excellent first novel and in 2006 they awarded the author Nick Stone the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best adventure/thriller novel in the vein of James Bond.
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