2. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from The Princess Bride

By Cary Elwes    

1. Claire Dewitt & the City of the Dead

By Sara Gran

When I finished reading Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, I hadn’t posted my impressions of it at all (now writing something in 2025), and I could barely recall what the novel was about.  I remember feeling disappointed as I didn’t quite know what to make of it.  Even though it was a character-driven detective novel, the mystery part was probably the weakest factor, being quite anti-climactic when it was finally solved.

 

According to the blurb, P.I. Claire Dewitt “is a follower of the esoteric French detective Jacques Silette, whose mysterious handbook Détection inspired Claire’s unusual practices. Claire also has deep roots in New Orleans, where she was mentored by Silette’s student the brilliant Constance Darling—until Darling was murdered. When a respected DA goes missing, she returns to the hurricane-ravaged city to find out why.”

 

This was definitely a detective novel that focused more on the journey itself (be it physical, metphysical and/or personal) than on how the mystery got solved.

 

According to this blog review:

What is unique and disconcerting about Claire DeWitt is that she does not depend upon traditional investigation or procedure. Rather, she depends on vibes and seeming coincidence. She does not run down the list of suspects and evaluate alibis and hard evidence. Instead, she uses a lot of hallucinatory drugs and relies on leads received in dreams. She takes her cue from a (fictional) obscure French handbook called ‘Détection’ by Jacques Silette, from which she constantly quotes.

   And it’s the quotes that make this a compelling read. Not the detection. Which is hair-brained and unconvincing.

I can see now that the author was trying to subvert the detective genre, with mixed results (for me, at least).  However, a few years later, I unknowingly read another book by Gran, the effectively chilling, Come Closer, which balanced psychological horror with demonic possession.

 

I was planning on to writing a quick post for Claire DeWitt and put it in the trade pile, but after reading some reviews from readers who really liked the book, I may give it another chance (at some other time).  I also like the cover, so will hold onto this for now (I remember buying it new at Dark Carnival), as there are at least two more books that are part of the Claire DeWitt series!