This is an odd little story published over forty years ago but because the author is one of my favourites, I figured it was worth trying it as one of this series.A typically suppressed obsessive and rather vain little Victorian man, Albert Moscrop is convinced that spending his Brighton holiday "testing" the science of his various optical instruments, their designs and accuracy justifies his actual peeping tom pursuits. His life is limited to this dangerously narrow hobby (and thus his "madness"?) implying all the isolation and peculiar perceptions he owns could easily lead to further more aggressively illegal results. As the tale trickles on, the assumptions Moscrop makes through his prolonged snooping activities inevitably involve him in what turns out to be the slow reveal of a domestic tragedy that typically must be covered up for the sake of everyone's reputation.The glacial pace could irritate some. Had the writing not been as good as Lovesey's usual standard I would have bailed and moved on. As it is the actual puzzle itself wasn't so unusual. Consequently, the length of this novel's tooth betrays its age and that has nothing to do with the Victorian setting but everything to do with what a writer could get away with publishing back in the 1970s and the pace of story telling we all expect today four decades later.Finally, while I see the trendy leverage in the title, I still am mystified over it's relevance. Moscrop sells optics not hats...so what gives? or am I being too obtuse?
In 1882 the Brighton Beach Resort is a beautiful place to visit, relax, and do some sightseeing; at least that’s what Albert Moscrop was hoping to find. Through his sightseeing and wonderings about the resort, Moscrop finds himself slowly becoming fascinated by a family of vacationers, the Protheros. As Moscrop becomes more acquainted with the Protheros, he becomes inadvertently involved in a gruesome murder that sends the whole town of Brighton into an uproar. In the shock of this horrible murder, Scotland Yard is called, and they send in Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray. As the two begin to investigate, it becomes clear that this will be one of the most challenging, and definitely strange, cases they’ve ever had.Follow Cribb and Thackeray on another adventure of baffling proportions. This story will keep you turning the pages and you won’t want to put it down until everything’s resolved. Another excellent Victorian-era mystery from an author who does the genre so well.www.suspensemagazine.com
What do You think about Mad Hatter's Holiday (1981)?
This is an odd book. The famous Sergeant Cribb isn't even mentioned until page 147. We get instead a Proustian description of a not-quite-voyeur trying to get close to a woman. Halfway through the book, no one's dead yet.Don't read the blurb on the back. It gives away details that I'm sure the author would have preferred to withhold.Eventually, we find out how the people all fit together, who's dead, and finally who dun it and why. Slow-paced, but an interesting variation on the theme. And credit for an excellent look at life in Brighton in 1882.
—Tim Hicks
Alfred Moscrop is looking forward to his holiday at Brighton. Like many other middle class Victorians, his two week stay by the sea is the high point of his summer.But Moscrop has an unusual hobby. Today we might call him a Peeping Tom, but he would describe himself as an "optical enthusiast." He enjoys trying out his newest telescope on the bathers. He's not really looking for sexual secrets, he's just sort of, well, peeping. (Which honestly, how many of us do? You know, taking a look in someone's window as you drive by.)This time, his spying has gotten him involved a little too deeply. He sees a remarkably beautiful woman. He can't help wanting to know about her. He follows her. He spies on her. He follows her stepson, her maid, her husband. And the more he watches, the more he gets tangled up in her life. He contrives a meeting with the family. He's convinced she's in the victim of a plot by her cheating husband. He sees himself as a rescuer.What I enjoyed about this book was that I really couldn't tell where the story was going. Is Moscrop to be trusted? Is the woman? Are any of the characters really who they seem?This is from a series featuring Victorian detectives Sergeant Cribb and was on the PBS show Mystery! But it wasn't quite like the others I had read in the series. I don't want to give too much away, so let me say that I really enjoyed it. There were some loose ends at the end of the book, but it felt like a realistic conclusion. Well done.
—Cindy
