The Herring Seller's Apprentice

Those of us who really appreciate it, often bemoan the lack of wit these days. Everybody and everything has to be taken SO seriously, with political correctness or fear of offence being one of the major obstacles to wit, and so it was with a great deal of joy that I stumbled across this title in my library’s e-book collection while searching for something light, short and entertaining.

It is all those things, although I suppose there are hidden messages to be found if you’re the type of reader who can’t take things at face value and have to dig around for dark or sinister purposes.

Ethelred Tressider is the “herring seller”, a somewhat jaded mystery writer known for the red herrings strewn throughout his “Fairfax mysteries”. Under other aliases he also writes romances and about the 14th Century. He is supported in his endeavours by his agent, the chocolate-obsessed fashion-flop of Elsie Thirkettle. When Ethelred’s ex-wife appears to have been murdered but he doesn’t seem too keen to get involved, Elsie sets herself up as his apprentice in order to solve the crime.

Some readers are unlikely to “get” this book. It’s laugh out loud in some spots and far more subtle in other places. The switches in the first-person narration between E and E work smoothly for the most part, and I liked the quirky diversions with the italicised sections where the bored Ethelred is fighting his protagonist Fairfax in his latest novel and gets his revenge every time with the “Edit. Select All. Delete” button. (All fiction authors will identify with this type of thing!)

The mystery can be guessed at and there are the usual coincidences and contrivances to reach the conclusion, but it’s the journey along the way that makes this such a delightful read. I shall definitely hunt up the following books in this series.

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