‘Behind Closed Doors’ by Michael Donovan

Published by Moth Publishing,
30 May 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-901888-89-8

There’s a danger with private eye novels that, consciously or not, they will fall into the trap of imitating the master of the sub-genre, Raymond Chandler. Philip Marlowe is a hard act to follow; one might almost say he defines the profession, at least in fiction.

Certainly Michael Donovan, author of Behind Closed Doors, one of the launch titles from new indie crime publishers Moth, shows himself to be familiar with Chandler’s style; short sentences, a wry view of the world, a wisecrack every other line. At times I wasn’t sure if he was paying homage or aiming for pastiche. 

His P I Eddie Flynn has all the right trappings: quirky car, squalid attic office, dubious past in the police, no money coming in, and of course a blunted conscience when it comes to bending the law in the line of business. The ongoing characters – this is presented as the first of a series – include a stunningly beautiful longsuffering girlfriend, a quick-witted secretary who doesn’t seem to mind not being paid and a sidekick with a knack for being in the right place at the right time. 

Donovan produces a nicely complex, workmanlike storyline. In a nutshell, a teenage girl goes missing and her family is determinedly close-mouthed, even when she turns up again apparently unharmed; a sleazy club owner, a rival P I firm and a high-class call girl are also involved. And though both Donovan and his publisher reside a long way north of Watford, he clearly knows his way around the mean streets of London. 

If I hadn’t been distracted by the wealth of wisecracks and clever-clogs observations which had the effect of slowing down the action, I would have found the narrative more absorbing. But it is Donovan’s first novel; given that he applies a sure hand to characters, plot and location, perhaps it’s only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

Michael Donovan was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1955 and brought up in St Helens. Having a mechanical and scientific bent he opted for engineering as a career. Took a technology degree at Loughborough University and later registered as a chartered engineer. After a couple of decades of hands-on engineering and management in the aerospace sector Michael moved into consultancy on technology projects. He has lived in Lytham St Annes for the last thirty five years bar periods elsewhere in the UK and Europe. 

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.