MODUS OPERANDI: An Excursion Into Detective Fiction

by Robin W. Winks ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 1981

In the end, those who try to analyze detective fiction according to the language of academic criticism sound shrill, foolish, or simply sad. . . ."" So begins Winks (An American's Guide to Britain) in this short yet sprawling, ""intensely personal"" essay on mystery/espionage fiction--which is itself quite academic and (when jousting at those who don't take mysteries seriously) somewhat shrill. Most often, however, Winks is merely arch, verbose, or genially chatty as he mixes analysis of genres, lists of favorite authors, appreciations of favorite books, cross-literary allusions, and ""annoyingly autobiographical thoughts."" First, taking James' Turn of the Screw and Christie's Roger Ackroyd as quintessential totems, he circles around the mystery-novel crux: the figuring-out what really happened, the modus operandi. Then there's some stewing over the ""seriousness"" issue--with one intriguing notion that's insufficiently explored (perhaps detective fiction isn't treated seriously because ""it frightens many people"") and an awfully inflated tribute to serious Amanda Cross, a.k.a. Professor Carolyn Heilbrun. A mostly routine essayette on spy-fiction follows, though the favored authors--Buchanesque traditionalists like Desmond Bagley, William Haggard, and William Buckley instead of Le CarrÉ--are agreeably quirky. And finally Winks returns to detectives, with special attention to recent classes of the hard-boiled school (an idiosyncratic group of eight). Throughout, in fact, even when dispensing portentous generalizations (some dubious), Winks is a highly subjective, almost cavalier commentator; and his erudite, tortuous arguments nearly always produce only the most familiar conclusions about why we read mysteries. But there's an assured, up-to-date command of the whole gamut of suspense fiction here. So intellectually inclined buffs who aren't put off by Winks' donnish manner will find intermittent diversion--and even a few hints of something more.

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Godine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION