Keating, HRF -- The Soft Detective (1997)

C

One of Keating’s late books about policemen weakened by personal failings.  The policeman in this case, Chief Insp. Benholme, is ‘soft’ because he sees both sides of the argument, and forgives—is he too lenient?  The downtrodden, unconfident policeman is, in fact, rather Ghote-ish.

The plot is fairly standard, focusing on the detective’s moral dilemma: his only suspect is his son.  Some workmanlike detection, but the plot would be better suited to a short story.  The police questioning of the youth Alec is well handled, and the subsequent revelation and confession of the culprit is effective.

My one niggle was the introduction of a modern fascist organisation—is this really suited to Keating’s gentle, whimsical, philosophical approach?  Fortunately this red herring is soon dropped.

Nick Fuller.