The International Writers Magazine: Review

Wasp–Waisted by David Barrie ISBN 978-0-9562518-0-0 Publisher: John Law Media •Sam North review The setting Paris - the cop Frank Guerin on secondment from the DST to the Brigade Criminelle.  Catching a case of a beautiful dead fashion model photographed by the killer in very expensive lingerie - not your everyday M&S frillies.

This is the first Frank Guerin book by David Barrie and Frank seems to work very much alone under the guidance of Le Juge.  This is not the gritty realism of Paris cops as found in Spiral or rival detectives that inhabit Trente-Six (Police HQ) it’s more Lord Peter Whimsy than serious police work, but Frank has his methods and luckily for him the people involved are all very cooperative.  Who did it? The maker of underwear that costs 4000 Euros for a pair of knickers and whose sales are soaring now the dead girl has been 'Exposed' or some deranged but very talented photographer, perhaps anyone of the subscribers to a particular magazine devoted to girls in sexy lingerie?

This is not the Paris of surly inhabitants that we know and love, or even of the dog fouled pavements, but one where all manner of suspects seem quite willing to help and educate our man in the expensive world of women’s under garments.  In fact there is a lot of help and education as to how thin the silky gussets are and more. Unbeknownst to Frank he is being followed all the time by a photographer...

Luckily all the victims in this novel are beautiful and Frank doesn’t seem to have to do any paperwork, lucky sod.  Wasp-Waisted is a tad voyeuristic, you’d expect that with strippers and models being killed all the time. It is very technical when it comes to underwiring.  I’d like to have been more convinced that this was police procedure in Paris and although an entertaining divertisment - this is not the Paris I think I know.

There are three more Frank Guerin novels in the series

© Sam North May 2012
author of Author of Diamonds – The Rush of 72 (Print)

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