Edward Marston writes a host of different series set in different time periods and all about crime, although they are usually set in Britain. Homicide in Chicago takes place in America in the Depression era and the main character is Merlin Richards who is a Welsh architect trying to make his name. He is employed to design a mansion for a very rich man in the city but this task is full of problems including arguments with builders and the interference of the owner’s wife. Merlin sticks to the task but even his commitment is challenged when a body is found on the site hanging from the rafters of his new house.
Merlin is young and a stranger to the area and it takes him a while to understand that he is in the middle of serious criminal activity and political corruption. Unfortunately, when he does realise what is going on it makes him a target. At the same time he engages with a young woman who also becomes embroiled in the situation.
This book is a bit of a change in style for this author (I believe that it was originally written under a pen name) in that it is written in a slightly less cosy style than usual, although it certainly isn’t particularly hard-boiled. Merlin is more ambitious than Marston’s usual main characters and he plays the field romantically. I think that the new style was chosen to match the era and location but I don’t think that the author is particularly sure of it and, at times, the narrative voice slips into his more usual cosier style. In truth, the book isn’t really that successful and, on occasion, it is quite boring to read – I just didn’t care enough about Merlin or anyone else.
Anne Is Reading 