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Chelsea Murders
First U.S. edition. The police receive a series of literary clues to the brutal murders in the Chelsea section of London. They include snips of verse and an intricate reading of a Times crossword puzzle. Jacket is tape repaired. iv , 236 pages. 1978 , 8vo., cloth-backed boards, dust jacket.. McCann & Geoghegan.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 1978
About the author
Lionel Davidson
47 books92 followersAka David Line
Lionel Davidson was a three-times winner of the Gold Dagger Award (for The Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shilo and The Chelsea Murders). His thrillers and adventure novels have won him enormous international acclaim. He also wrote children's books under the name of David Line.
See also Obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[this reference added 12-Aug-2013].
Lionel Davidson was a three-times winner of the Gold Dagger Award (for The Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shilo and The Chelsea Murders). His thrillers and adventure novels have won him enormous international acclaim. He also wrote children's books under the name of David Line.
See also Obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[this reference added 12-Aug-2013].
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 29, 2018
This is my third time reading The Chelsea Murders, and this time I actually remembered which of them was the killer about halfway through. I don't think there's a murder mystery out there that I've ever enjoyed quite as much, certainly not of the classic English variety which this both is and sends up.
We are, as it were, led by the nose through a series of murders terrorising London's bohemian Chelsea area. The killer, who enjoys sending cryptic literary notes to warn of his coming exploits, is one of three students making a film. The police are all over them and the press are sniffing round like bloodhounds and everyone's trying to work it out, but the killer always seems one step ahead.
By all accounts this is packed to the rafters with London arty/publishing/whatever in-jokes of which I can fairly confidently say I got bugger all. That doesn't matter. It's clever, sharp, witty, full of characters that are mostly unlikeable but who are all doing interesting things and the whodunnit aspect is utterly, deliciously maddening in a way that most whodunnits just aren't.
Davidson didn't write another one like this. Like DCS Warton he'd had enough of the murder game, which was almost a pity. Luckily he wrote some other great stuff instead, and we can always go to Chelsea.
We are, as it were, led by the nose through a series of murders terrorising London's bohemian Chelsea area. The killer, who enjoys sending cryptic literary notes to warn of his coming exploits, is one of three students making a film. The police are all over them and the press are sniffing round like bloodhounds and everyone's trying to work it out, but the killer always seems one step ahead.
By all accounts this is packed to the rafters with London arty/publishing/whatever in-jokes of which I can fairly confidently say I got bugger all. That doesn't matter. It's clever, sharp, witty, full of characters that are mostly unlikeable but who are all doing interesting things and the whodunnit aspect is utterly, deliciously maddening in a way that most whodunnits just aren't.
Davidson didn't write another one like this. Like DCS Warton he'd had enough of the murder game, which was almost a pity. Luckily he wrote some other great stuff instead, and we can always go to Chelsea.
November 3, 2023
Ein Mörder geht um in Chelsea: Nach mehreren brutalen Morden innerhalb weniger Wochen tappt die Polizei noch ziemlich im Dunkeln, zumal eine Verbindung zwischen den Opfern bislang nicht gefunden wurde. Die Presse schlachtet die Morde genüßlich aus, versucht mit allen Tricks an Hintergrundinformationen zu kommen. Nach dem dritten Mord an einer 25jährigen Frau, die als Modell in der Kunstakademie und als Bardame gearbeitet hatte, gerät eine Filmcrew der Akademie in den Fokus von Chief Superintendant Warton.
Diese Filmcrew aus Studenten und Absolventen der Akademie dreht einen blutigen Independent-Krimi und waren zum Zeitpunkt des dritten Mordes bei Dreharbeiten am anderen Themseufer in Sichtweite des Tatorts. Die treibenden Köpfe des Teams sind Artie Johnson als Produzent, Steve Griffard als Regisseur und Frank Colbert-Greer als Art Director. Permanent klamm hangeln sie sich von Drehtag zu Drehtag und versuchen zwischendurch Sponsoren oder Spender für weitere Kosten des Films aufzutreiben. Immer wieder an ihrer Seite ist die junge Journalistin Mary Mooney, die mit ihnen bekannt ist und die Morde als Chance sieht, ihre journalistische Karriere nach vorne zu bringen.
Der Chinese Chen hatte das Geschäft um zwanzig vor sieben verlassen. Die beiden jungen Männer hatten die Leiche zwanzig vor acht entdeckt.
In dieser einen Stunde war der Chinese ermordet worden. Und für diese Stunde hatten sie Alibis. Warton hatte sie laufen lassen müssen. Er hatte es nur widerwillig getan, weil er Alibis nicht leiden konnte. Wer unschuldig war, hatte selten eines vorzuweisen. In diesem Fall schien jeder ein Alibi zu haben. (Auszug Pos. 2019)
Der britische Autor Lionel Davidson war zunächst als Journalist tätig und arbeitete als Berichterstatter aus ganz Europa für britische Medien. Dabei entwickelte sich die Idee, es auch als Romanautor zu versuchen. Er war – wie oben bereits an den Preisen ersichtlich – in den 1960ern und 1970ern äußerst erfolgreich mit mehreren Thrillern und Spionageromanen. Große Bekanntheit erlangte auch sein 1962 veröffentlichter Abenteuerroman „Die Rose von Tibet“, in dem ein Brite nach Tibet reist, um nach seinem bei einer Everest-Expedition verschollenen Stiefbruder zu suchen. Davidson verstarb 2009 in London. In seinem Werk ist „Tod in Chelsea“ thematisch ein Ausreißer, denn hier setzte Davidson zum ersten Mal auf einen Polizeikrimi mit relativ klassischem Whodunit-Aufbau.
Der Roman beginnt auch relativ bedächtigt. Davidson lässt sich viel Zeit, um sein Personal und die Beziehungen untereinander vorzustellen, was die Spannungskurve nicht gerade erhöht. Doch spätestens, als Mörder beginnt, der Polizei Gedichtsauszüge als Ankündigung und Hinweis auf folgende Taten zuzuschicken und sich das Verdächtigenkarussell immer mehr auf die drei seltsamen und alle nicht unverdächtigen Gestalten von der Filmcrew verengt, greift dieser Whodunit-Reiz und das macht Davidson dann auch ziemlich ordentlich.
Der Roman gibt zudem einen Einblick in die knallharte Medienkultur in Großbritannien und in die Subkultur rund um die Filmcrew, wobei so manche Nebenfigur allerdings am Rande der Karikatur und darüber hinaus skizziert wird. Letztlich also eine Lektüre, die den versierten Leser etwas unentschieden zurücklässt. Positiv verbleibt allerdings die Schilderungen der polizeilichen Bemühungen und das gut gelungene Rätsel um den Mörder bis zum Schluss.
Diese Filmcrew aus Studenten und Absolventen der Akademie dreht einen blutigen Independent-Krimi und waren zum Zeitpunkt des dritten Mordes bei Dreharbeiten am anderen Themseufer in Sichtweite des Tatorts. Die treibenden Köpfe des Teams sind Artie Johnson als Produzent, Steve Griffard als Regisseur und Frank Colbert-Greer als Art Director. Permanent klamm hangeln sie sich von Drehtag zu Drehtag und versuchen zwischendurch Sponsoren oder Spender für weitere Kosten des Films aufzutreiben. Immer wieder an ihrer Seite ist die junge Journalistin Mary Mooney, die mit ihnen bekannt ist und die Morde als Chance sieht, ihre journalistische Karriere nach vorne zu bringen.
Der Chinese Chen hatte das Geschäft um zwanzig vor sieben verlassen. Die beiden jungen Männer hatten die Leiche zwanzig vor acht entdeckt.
In dieser einen Stunde war der Chinese ermordet worden. Und für diese Stunde hatten sie Alibis. Warton hatte sie laufen lassen müssen. Er hatte es nur widerwillig getan, weil er Alibis nicht leiden konnte. Wer unschuldig war, hatte selten eines vorzuweisen. In diesem Fall schien jeder ein Alibi zu haben. (Auszug Pos. 2019)
Der britische Autor Lionel Davidson war zunächst als Journalist tätig und arbeitete als Berichterstatter aus ganz Europa für britische Medien. Dabei entwickelte sich die Idee, es auch als Romanautor zu versuchen. Er war – wie oben bereits an den Preisen ersichtlich – in den 1960ern und 1970ern äußerst erfolgreich mit mehreren Thrillern und Spionageromanen. Große Bekanntheit erlangte auch sein 1962 veröffentlichter Abenteuerroman „Die Rose von Tibet“, in dem ein Brite nach Tibet reist, um nach seinem bei einer Everest-Expedition verschollenen Stiefbruder zu suchen. Davidson verstarb 2009 in London. In seinem Werk ist „Tod in Chelsea“ thematisch ein Ausreißer, denn hier setzte Davidson zum ersten Mal auf einen Polizeikrimi mit relativ klassischem Whodunit-Aufbau.
Der Roman beginnt auch relativ bedächtigt. Davidson lässt sich viel Zeit, um sein Personal und die Beziehungen untereinander vorzustellen, was die Spannungskurve nicht gerade erhöht. Doch spätestens, als Mörder beginnt, der Polizei Gedichtsauszüge als Ankündigung und Hinweis auf folgende Taten zuzuschicken und sich das Verdächtigenkarussell immer mehr auf die drei seltsamen und alle nicht unverdächtigen Gestalten von der Filmcrew verengt, greift dieser Whodunit-Reiz und das macht Davidson dann auch ziemlich ordentlich.
Der Roman gibt zudem einen Einblick in die knallharte Medienkultur in Großbritannien und in die Subkultur rund um die Filmcrew, wobei so manche Nebenfigur allerdings am Rande der Karikatur und darüber hinaus skizziert wird. Letztlich also eine Lektüre, die den versierten Leser etwas unentschieden zurücklässt. Positiv verbleibt allerdings die Schilderungen der polizeilichen Bemühungen und das gut gelungene Rätsel um den Mörder bis zum Schluss.
May 1, 2022
Over the past few years I've read four other books by Lionel Davidson, all thrillers. The Chelsea Murders, a police procedural, has been my favorite. It's similar in style to other such mysteries I've enjoyed, like JJ Marric's Superintentent Gideon, or Ed McBain's 87th Precinct, and a couple of others.
What I enjoyed about the story was how it moved from police investigation, to following the suspects and also the intrepid reporter trying to get her own byline out of her investigation. It's all very well-paced, exciting and all in all an excellent story.
The story begins with the murder of Dutch student, Grooters, in her student residence in London. The story then moves back in time a couple of weeks and we meet three pals, university students Artie, Steve and Frank, making a movie about 'murder'. We also meet Mary Mooney, newspaperwoman, their friend btw, a reporter trying to be hired full-time by the local rag. She heads off to the scene of a murder, gets there before the cops, talks her way into the crime scene and becomes both the bane of the cops, while still sort of assisting them.
And then there is Inspector Warton, a tired cop, but still the best man to solve the various events that will be taking place over the course of the story. It's nice to see a smart, competent police officer working a case. He has an excellent team as well, especially his assistant Summers and new cop Constable Mason who will be used effectively throughout the story.
It's all just a fascinating case, or cases more exactly. The three friends are all suspected but as you go through the story and gather clues yourself, you (well, maybe it was just me) start to see other possibilities. (Let me know if you have any others). We move from a woman attacked by a kissing bandit, a hanged Chinese clothier and other victims. The police are still organized and under Warton's careful eye, the clues are gathered and you get the feeling that he will solve the case quite satisfactorily. Every character is interesting and well - crafted. There are secrets and lies that will leave you suspecting first one, then another... Mary Mooney is a great character, reminding me of the reporter in the Endeavour TV series.
All in all it was a great way to start off a new month. The story is a page turner, entertaining and ultimately so very satisfactorily concluded. Try it. (4.5 stars)
What I enjoyed about the story was how it moved from police investigation, to following the suspects and also the intrepid reporter trying to get her own byline out of her investigation. It's all very well-paced, exciting and all in all an excellent story.
The story begins with the murder of Dutch student, Grooters, in her student residence in London. The story then moves back in time a couple of weeks and we meet three pals, university students Artie, Steve and Frank, making a movie about 'murder'. We also meet Mary Mooney, newspaperwoman, their friend btw, a reporter trying to be hired full-time by the local rag. She heads off to the scene of a murder, gets there before the cops, talks her way into the crime scene and becomes both the bane of the cops, while still sort of assisting them.
And then there is Inspector Warton, a tired cop, but still the best man to solve the various events that will be taking place over the course of the story. It's nice to see a smart, competent police officer working a case. He has an excellent team as well, especially his assistant Summers and new cop Constable Mason who will be used effectively throughout the story.
It's all just a fascinating case, or cases more exactly. The three friends are all suspected but as you go through the story and gather clues yourself, you (well, maybe it was just me) start to see other possibilities. (Let me know if you have any others). We move from a woman attacked by a kissing bandit, a hanged Chinese clothier and other victims. The police are still organized and under Warton's careful eye, the clues are gathered and you get the feeling that he will solve the case quite satisfactorily. Every character is interesting and well - crafted. There are secrets and lies that will leave you suspecting first one, then another... Mary Mooney is a great character, reminding me of the reporter in the Endeavour TV series.
All in all it was a great way to start off a new month. The story is a page turner, entertaining and ultimately so very satisfactorily concluded. Try it. (4.5 stars)
March 8, 2020
Mixed feelings on this one. Really struggled in the first half: I became incredibly close to giving it up but, after persevering, it did get better.
The biggest problem with this novel is its misogyny and racism. It makes it almost unbearable. In an article about Lionel Davidson by The Telegraph, the writer describes this as 'a lack of political correctness that was simply the linguistic currency of the time, and which is no direct fault of the author's.' I think this is a completely unfair comment that seems to place the blame on being offended by the novel on the reader rather than the writer. It's not just a matter of linguistics or even 'political correctness' - one element of the racism is the words used (each non-white character is repeatedly referred to by their race primarily) but also by their characterisation. There isn't amazing character building generally in this novel, but with the non-white characters it lends heavily on negative stereotypes. Artie, the black character, is aggressive and angry to the point of violence, thieving, has had previous run-ins with the police and early on, it's described as surprising that a black person would be artistic. There are other offensive racial caricatures but I won't go into them too much. The female characters are referred to as 'birds', the sexiness of every single one is commented on, the male characters leer at them and they're also killed in grim ways that are clearly meant to be a bit tantalising.
That last point said, I'm going to backtrack a bit and say that the first page in which we're launched into the murder of Grooters, whilst admittedly a part of the above-mentioned pattern, is incredibly creepy. That scene has stayed with me - and I do quite like when a book can creep me out.
There are actually some really good elements of this book - I could have used less focus on the film makers and as I said, the first half was hard to get through, but it became offensive in the second half and focused on the mystery which was gripping. I read the last third in a couple of hours.
The mystery itself seemed reminiscent to me of The ABC Murders but it was interesting. I also found it quite confusing and often had to flip back in order to understand what was going on.
Generally there were good bits in this book and the second half was really strong and that first scene and page was incredibly creepy and enthralling, it's just the slowness and bigotry of the first half that made it really hard to get through.
The biggest problem with this novel is its misogyny and racism. It makes it almost unbearable. In an article about Lionel Davidson by The Telegraph, the writer describes this as 'a lack of political correctness that was simply the linguistic currency of the time, and which is no direct fault of the author's.' I think this is a completely unfair comment that seems to place the blame on being offended by the novel on the reader rather than the writer. It's not just a matter of linguistics or even 'political correctness' - one element of the racism is the words used (each non-white character is repeatedly referred to by their race primarily) but also by their characterisation. There isn't amazing character building generally in this novel, but with the non-white characters it lends heavily on negative stereotypes. Artie, the black character, is aggressive and angry to the point of violence, thieving, has had previous run-ins with the police and early on, it's described as surprising that a black person would be artistic. There are other offensive racial caricatures but I won't go into them too much. The female characters are referred to as 'birds', the sexiness of every single one is commented on, the male characters leer at them and they're also killed in grim ways that are clearly meant to be a bit tantalising.
That last point said, I'm going to backtrack a bit and say that the first page in which we're launched into the murder of Grooters, whilst admittedly a part of the above-mentioned pattern, is incredibly creepy. That scene has stayed with me - and I do quite like when a book can creep me out.
There are actually some really good elements of this book - I could have used less focus on the film makers and as I said, the first half was hard to get through, but it became offensive in the second half and focused on the mystery which was gripping. I read the last third in a couple of hours.
The mystery itself seemed reminiscent to me of The ABC Murders but it was interesting. I also found it quite confusing and often had to flip back in order to understand what was going on.
Generally there were good bits in this book and the second half was really strong and that first scene and page was incredibly creepy and enthralling, it's just the slowness and bigotry of the first half that made it really hard to get through.
June 10, 2017
Just not in the same class as the brilliant Kokymsky Heights. Wouldn't even guess it is by the same author. Confusingly complicated and tedious to follow and really only finished it because of the author.
October 15, 2020
I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the writing style in this book (especially in the beginning, though later I got used to it). However, the story itself was pretty darn good. And the ending was indeed rather surprising. When the killer was revealed, it turned out to be someone I had only briefly suspected and then dismissed (I was clearly wrong, lol). It was an interesting read.
April 1, 2022
I’ve read several books by Lionel Davidson & very much enjoyed them.
This book is very different from the others.
A strange little 1970’s murder mystery written in a shorthand type style - certainly no wasted words or repetition here - which takes a few pages to get into.
It’s a real whodunnit with 4 suspects & the story takes you with the Detective Superintendent as he suspects each in turn.
This book is very different from the others.
A strange little 1970’s murder mystery written in a shorthand type style - certainly no wasted words or repetition here - which takes a few pages to get into.
It’s a real whodunnit with 4 suspects & the story takes you with the Detective Superintendent as he suspects each in turn.
June 4, 2017
Decent plot but takes ages to get started
July 6, 2021
I liked the plot. Not sure it all tallies but it was nice and twisty. Wasn't crazy about the writing style.
Want to Read
January 6, 2019Synopsis: a grotesque figure bursts into a young art student's room and beheads her. The police target three filmmakers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews