Nondirective detective

Press, 8 May 1982, Page 16

Nondirective detective

Fields of Heather. By Alan Hunter. Constable, 1981. 158 pp. $19.25. (Reviewed by Ken Strongman) “Fields of Heather” is the latest in the possibly never-ending Superintendent Gently series. Hunter gives the impression that, writing to the formula he worked out years ago, he aims to keep the English “Whodunnit” going single-handedly. This is the 28th Gently novel in 26 years. Perhaps he is building up to a saabatical. In “Fields of Heather,” Gently leaves the flesh-pots of New Scotland Yard to investigate a murder where it should be

— in wildest Suffolk. There are several suspects mainly from two families the members of which spend much of their lives intermarrying and re-intermarrying. Their characters, however, do not develop much further than this.

It may be a measure of Hunter’s 'barrelscratching in characterisation that he brings up on his finger-nail a suspect from a previous Gently case. This is an artist with such an engaging manner that it is obvious from the start that he is a nonstarter. Perhaps Hunter shot his originality bolt with the creation of Gently himself. He is, of course, a man of integrity, who manages to persuade people to spill whatever beans they are clutching by grunting like a nondirective therapist, or by ao'opting a stony-faced silence. A clever idea this, since it reduces the necessity for writing intricate verbal interchanges. In sum, "Fields of Heather” is a twohour escapist read from the library, rather than a book to buy.