A review of Stephen Puleston's "Brass in Pocket

Brass in Pocket

A Detective Drake novel by UK author Stephen Puleston

This is a good, solid detective novel and is the first in a series of Detective Inspector Drake adventures.  Set in rural north Wales the American reader faces two interesting situations. First is the fact that we do not recognize some of the idiom and, while meanings can be gained from context, it helps to know in advance, for example,  that “biro” is the UK slang for “ballpoint” as it allows reading without speed bumps.  Secondly neither are we cognizant of the rivalry between various regions of the UK.  The word “Scouser” is used with some frequency and after some research, I found that the word pertains to those from the Liverpool area and they are considered by the Welsh to be less than honorable shall we say.  However, in this day and age of the Internet I think my two comments are more cavils than complaints.  We read books available to us from around the world and they open our minds, as good books should, to newer and certainly more different things.

All strong detectives should have an idiosyncracy if not an eccentricity and Detective Inspector Drake has a good one.  He suffers from an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder requiring him to frequently adjust everything on his desk to their assigned meticulous positions. There are other indications but the reader will find them as the story progresses and discover how they put forward or inhibit the detecting being done. Drake also solves Sudoku puzzles to help himself feel more in control.

Brass in Pocket is the title of a song by The Pretenders that came out in 1979.  The novel opens with the killing of two policemen and one of the clues was a note left at the scene containing the lyrics of the song under which was scrawled the number 4.  There are further murders and each is accompanied by a note containing the lyrics of a song from 1979. More and more pressure is brought to bear on DI Drake both from his superiors and journalists to solve the crimes before the murder can strike again and, as the story progresses, he even comes to fear for his job.  Several other crimes are revealed and solved as the investigation moves forward and the suspense builds well.  The denouement is has a nice hook and you are left wondering why you didn’t see it earlier, given what you now know.  Shades of Hercule Poirot. Good stuff for a detective story.

I have not read any of Mr. Puleston’s previous works but I look forward to doing so and certainly the second outing of DI Drake with his adventures in rural north Wales as he twiddles his biro and scowls over the machinations of Scousers.