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Lily Pascale #1
Dead Clever
Lily Pascale is the hippest new heroine to come from London since Bridget Jones.
324 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 1998
2 people are currently reading
441 people want to read
About the author
Scarlett Thomas
32 books1,839 followersScarlett Thomas was born in London in 1972. Her widely-acclaimed novels include PopCo, The End of Mr Y and The Seed Collectors. As well as writing literary fiction for adults, she has also written a literary fantasy series for children and a book about writing called Monkeys with Typewriters. Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages.
She has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, shortlisted for the South African Boeke Prize and was once the proud recipient of an Elle Style Award. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing & Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent in the UK. She lives in a Victorian house near the sea and spends a lot of time reading Chekhov and Katherine Mansfield.
She is currently working on a new novel and various projects for TV.
She has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, shortlisted for the South African Boeke Prize and was once the proud recipient of an Elle Style Award. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing & Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent in the UK. She lives in a Victorian house near the sea and spends a lot of time reading Chekhov and Katherine Mansfield.
She is currently working on a new novel and various projects for TV.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 9, 2015
Yes, yet another Scarlett Thomas book. (Only one - the second Lily Pascale mystery - to go now!) I hadn't planned on reading this, but I got the chance to snap it up at a bargain price and couldn't resist. It's the first book the author had published, way back in 1998 when she was just 25, and the first of a trilogy featuring Lily, a crime fiction lecturer who uses her academic knowledge and interest in detective stories to help solve mysteries. In Dead Clever, Lily takes up a part-time lecturing post only to find herself embroiled in an investigation into a student's gruesome death. The story has some really fascinating elements; there's a mysterious cult, a lot of drugs, bizarrely behaved students, gothic storms, a mad professor (literally), hints of romance and a beguiling campus setting. The whole thing is very '90s', though - references to Britpop bands and illegal raves abound; much of the drug stuff (particularly the demonisation of ecstasy and Lily's general attitude to drugs) is a bit cringe-inducing and everyone's clothes sound frankly awful.
I could write the same sort of review for this as I did for Seaside, really. It's daft, often feels amateurish and is barely recognisable as the work of the same person who wrote PopCo, The End of Mr. Y and Our Tragic Universe. There's frequently two adjectives where one would suffice, and faintly ridiculous sentences, for example when Lily describes how she's 'trying to blink away the orange dots imprinted behind my eyes, as though a polka-dot ra-ra skirt had been imprinted on my mind'. There are elements of the story that could have been much more interesting if they'd been expanded on; I'd have liked to read more about the cult, Stephanie's diary and the Secret History-esque group of odd first-years, and I found the way the Fenn sub-plot was wrapped up quite weird. That said, even though I figured out 'whodunnit' (well, kind of) very early on, I enjoyed the ride anyway and Lily is a very engaging, likeable heroine. As with Seaside, I found the book addictive despite its flaws, and might even read it again.
This was an enjoyable read but it felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure, akin to reading a young adult novel or some trashy chick-lit. To me, it was mostly interesting as the early work of an author whose later books I adore. It's both interesting and inspiring to see how Thomas's writing has evolved from this to something as brilliant as Our Tragic Universe. I've recently discovered that she did indeed write the Lily Pascale series simply in order to get published while working on her more serious novels, and has since described them as 'shallow'. This doesn't really surprise me, but nevertheless, they're entertaining; I'd still like to read the remaining book of the three, In Your Face, but this seems unlikely as it appears to be the rarest of the lot. Who knows - maybe I'll stumble across it in a charity shop or something.
I could write the same sort of review for this as I did for Seaside, really. It's daft, often feels amateurish and is barely recognisable as the work of the same person who wrote PopCo, The End of Mr. Y and Our Tragic Universe. There's frequently two adjectives where one would suffice, and faintly ridiculous sentences, for example when Lily describes how she's 'trying to blink away the orange dots imprinted behind my eyes, as though a polka-dot ra-ra skirt had been imprinted on my mind'. There are elements of the story that could have been much more interesting if they'd been expanded on; I'd have liked to read more about the cult, Stephanie's diary and the Secret History-esque group of odd first-years, and I found the way the Fenn sub-plot was wrapped up quite weird. That said, even though I figured out 'whodunnit' (well, kind of) very early on, I enjoyed the ride anyway and Lily is a very engaging, likeable heroine. As with Seaside, I found the book addictive despite its flaws, and might even read it again.
This was an enjoyable read but it felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure, akin to reading a young adult novel or some trashy chick-lit. To me, it was mostly interesting as the early work of an author whose later books I adore. It's both interesting and inspiring to see how Thomas's writing has evolved from this to something as brilliant as Our Tragic Universe. I've recently discovered that she did indeed write the Lily Pascale series simply in order to get published while working on her more serious novels, and has since described them as 'shallow'. This doesn't really surprise me, but nevertheless, they're entertaining; I'd still like to read the remaining book of the three, In Your Face, but this seems unlikely as it appears to be the rarest of the lot. Who knows - maybe I'll stumble across it in a charity shop or something.
July 2, 2008
Up till now, I’ve only read Thomas’ “literary” novels, The End of Mr. Y and PopCo. I found both fascinating, if ultimately frustrating. Dead Clever, Thomas’ first novel and first of a trio of mysteries, is much the same. Thomas’ prose is compelling and exudes intelligent; her heroine, Lily Pascale, is, like her other heroines, complex and interesting. However, the central premise of Dead Clever is, perhaps, too clever, involving academic cults (shades of The Secret History) and clandestine medical research when I think a simple murder would have served her better. The intense complexity of the crime makes it even more unbelievable when everything ties up so neatly at the end; she really lost me in the last few chapters—which actually kind of happened in Mr. Y and PopCo, too. At least there aren’t any lengthy proselytizations about vegetarianism in this one.
It’s weird: I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Scarlett Thomas novel if I came across one—her writing is that good—but every one I’ve read has exasperated me in one way or another. This is no exception.
It’s weird: I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Scarlett Thomas novel if I came across one—her writing is that good—but every one I’ve read has exasperated me in one way or another. This is no exception.
December 17, 2007
If you like Patricia Highsmith or any of Kate Atkinson's mystery novels you would probably like the Lily Pascale mysteries. They are anti mysteries. There is great character development with a side story of mystery. Less CSI, and more old school detecting with believable motivation for actions and crimes.
March 31, 2008
the critique on the bottom of the book says "Twin Peaks condenced into book form."
how could i NOT read this?
i liked it. i'm not some big book snob, though, so i never know what i should ACTUALLY reccomend to people. but i will say that i liked it enough to postpone reading pop-co so i can read the next book in this series...
how could i NOT read this?
i liked it. i'm not some big book snob, though, so i never know what i should ACTUALLY reccomend to people. but i will say that i liked it enough to postpone reading pop-co so i can read the next book in this series...
Read
October 19, 2012simply atrocious. after this i realize what geniuses writers like sarah rose etter Tongue Party and nina marie gardner truly are Sherry and Narcotics
February 3, 2024
The cover has a blurb from USA Today calling this book "Nancy Drew and Miss Marple rolled into one." I have to question if this reviewer has ever read a Miss Marple book. I could not find the connection and the Nancy Drew stories that I recall had a kind of innocence about them.
The main character comes back to her home town to teach English at a local college. Just before she arrives, a female student is found violently murdered, which has the community on edge. So we can assume that there's a killer at large. These things happen soon after: she meets a very engaging man and goes out for drinks, gets too drunk to go home, spends the night on his couch, wakes up not sure what happened. And then he disappears.
Not very smart. Next, she finds a strung out student who looks in desperate need of medical attention. She goes looking for help, but can't find anyone. When she circles back, he's gone. She does not alert anyone, go to a campus police office, nothing. In fact, she seems to feel very little about this except, wow, that was weird. Next morning he's found dead. And her reaction is more of the same. Wow, bummer.
She is, however, somehow, invested in finding out more about the murdered girl. There are hints that something is off with the campus culture. A student tells her that drugs are commonly accepted as they lead to a better understanding of the world and open up avenues for better art and poetry.
For a brief moment, I thought maybe the novel was going to take a folk horror twist, but no, she interviews a very eager chemist who offers up a lengthy explanation of the quest for the perfect drug to create a euphoric experience and confirms that there is a campus cult built around this. Okay, makes sense. You need folks to test out the product on... From here, I lost interest. I didn't feel there was a huge mystery to solve and yet there were about 50 pages left.
I didn't get enough of a sense of why the main character was trying to figure it all out on her own. She wasn't a PI or a detective and the cult was obviously dangerous. She cared about finding a killer but didn't seem to care about the guy she might have helped who later died of an overdose. Also, she was supposed to be teaching classes, but spent NO time on lesson plans and winged it as she went. Really? I was more dedicated as a middle school substitute teacher than I feel she is at the college level.
This didn't hold together for me.
The main character comes back to her home town to teach English at a local college. Just before she arrives, a female student is found violently murdered, which has the community on edge. So we can assume that there's a killer at large. These things happen soon after: she meets a very engaging man and goes out for drinks, gets too drunk to go home, spends the night on his couch, wakes up not sure what happened. And then he disappears.
Not very smart. Next, she finds a strung out student who looks in desperate need of medical attention. She goes looking for help, but can't find anyone. When she circles back, he's gone. She does not alert anyone, go to a campus police office, nothing. In fact, she seems to feel very little about this except, wow, that was weird. Next morning he's found dead. And her reaction is more of the same. Wow, bummer.
She is, however, somehow, invested in finding out more about the murdered girl. There are hints that something is off with the campus culture. A student tells her that drugs are commonly accepted as they lead to a better understanding of the world and open up avenues for better art and poetry.
For a brief moment, I thought maybe the novel was going to take a folk horror twist, but no, she interviews a very eager chemist who offers up a lengthy explanation of the quest for the perfect drug to create a euphoric experience and confirms that there is a campus cult built around this. Okay, makes sense. You need folks to test out the product on... From here, I lost interest. I didn't feel there was a huge mystery to solve and yet there were about 50 pages left.
I didn't get enough of a sense of why the main character was trying to figure it all out on her own. She wasn't a PI or a detective and the cult was obviously dangerous. She cared about finding a killer but didn't seem to care about the guy she might have helped who later died of an overdose. Also, she was supposed to be teaching classes, but spent NO time on lesson plans and winged it as she went. Really? I was more dedicated as a middle school substitute teacher than I feel she is at the college level.
This didn't hold together for me.
October 28, 2022
When Lily Pascale leaves her boyfriend and returns home to Devon she's only planning a short stay initially. She manages to land a job at the nearby university though, teaching literature, and specialising in her favourite genres - horror and mystery. Little does she know she's about to be immersed in her own real life murder mystery.
I've had this on my reading list for an absolute age, part of the reason being that I wanted to buy a copy as I've enjoyed a lot of Scarlett Thomas' books. For something that I waited so long to read it was a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad book as such, I just had quite high hopes for it and it didn't live up to them.
I found Lily to be a character that I didn't really gel with. She seemed almost more like a student herself than a young professional. Her thought processes didn't make sense to me, and she put herself in some very dangerous situations without even seeming to consider the danger associated with them. Her younger brother came across as the more mature of the two of them from the brief interactions we had with him, and that felt wrong.
I'm not really sure what age group Thomas was going for here, but it reads and feels more like a young adult sort of book than an adult murder mystery. That's in part because of Lily's character, but also there's a serious Nancy Drew sort of vibe running through the book too.
Something else that struck me when reading this was it felt a little dated. It's not even that old, first published in 2000, but that 20 year gap seemed to be very noticable in this one. The amount of references to Lily lighting up a cigarette or smoking were the thing that really made that hit home. It reminded me of that era in the late nineties/early 2000s where smoking was seen as kind of cool in some circles, as if that was the vibe Thomas was going for.
I didn't dislike the book, I thought there was a lot in it, from literature references to cults to unethical medical research amongst other things. Knowing that this was one of Thomas' first books makes me give some allowances for the things I was less keen on. I'll definitely read the other two in the series but there could be a bit of a wait between them again.
I've had this on my reading list for an absolute age, part of the reason being that I wanted to buy a copy as I've enjoyed a lot of Scarlett Thomas' books. For something that I waited so long to read it was a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad book as such, I just had quite high hopes for it and it didn't live up to them.
I found Lily to be a character that I didn't really gel with. She seemed almost more like a student herself than a young professional. Her thought processes didn't make sense to me, and she put herself in some very dangerous situations without even seeming to consider the danger associated with them. Her younger brother came across as the more mature of the two of them from the brief interactions we had with him, and that felt wrong.
I'm not really sure what age group Thomas was going for here, but it reads and feels more like a young adult sort of book than an adult murder mystery. That's in part because of Lily's character, but also there's a serious Nancy Drew sort of vibe running through the book too.
Something else that struck me when reading this was it felt a little dated. It's not even that old, first published in 2000, but that 20 year gap seemed to be very noticable in this one. The amount of references to Lily lighting up a cigarette or smoking were the thing that really made that hit home. It reminded me of that era in the late nineties/early 2000s where smoking was seen as kind of cool in some circles, as if that was the vibe Thomas was going for.
I didn't dislike the book, I thought there was a lot in it, from literature references to cults to unethical medical research amongst other things. Knowing that this was one of Thomas' first books makes me give some allowances for the things I was less keen on. I'll definitely read the other two in the series but there could be a bit of a wait between them again.
January 19, 2024
Three stars, three and a half for engagement.
Aside from the need to suspend disbelief regarding everything from how & why our heroine wasn’t busted while sleuthing, how she lived on cigarettes and hardly any food, to how neatly she put the pieces together, etc., we’d guess that one’s response to this story may well hinge on one’s experience and/or feelings regarding the college environment.
We did like Lily’s family, especially her Mum, her younger brother Nat, and her mom’s friend Sue, but not enough to subject ourselves to any additional books in this series.
In some ways, though, the writer can tell a story. It was often difficult to put the book down, even with our various dissatisfactions.
Aside from the need to suspend disbelief regarding everything from how & why our heroine wasn’t busted while sleuthing, how she lived on cigarettes and hardly any food, to how neatly she put the pieces together, etc., we’d guess that one’s response to this story may well hinge on one’s experience and/or feelings regarding the college environment.
We did like Lily’s family, especially her Mum, her younger brother Nat, and her mom’s friend Sue, but not enough to subject ourselves to any additional books in this series.
In some ways, though, the writer can tell a story. It was often difficult to put the book down, even with our various dissatisfactions.
June 23, 2018
Unexpected as Scarlett Thomas' books always are and surprisingly identifiable considering the genre. I've never really liked crime fiction, but because of the author I decided to give it a go, and I do not regret a bit of it.
(tiny spoiler ahead):
The ending was a little to sappy for my taste, but all in all I really liked the book. It will never overtake Agatha Christie, but amazing none the less.
(tiny spoiler ahead):
The ending was a little to sappy for my taste, but all in all I really liked the book. It will never overtake Agatha Christie, but amazing none the less.
July 19, 2018
amaturish
February 12, 2020
I love Scarlett Thomas. This is very much a classic mystery, unlike her other genre smashing books. You can see she was always interested in code breaking and crosswords etc. Fun, fast, good voice
December 21, 2020
Rather average thriller/detective novel. Seemed rather far-fetched and obvious at the same time. Quite readable though and a likeable character in Lily Pascale. Good first novel.
February 27, 2021
A fun read, but this book read like an early draft. There were times when the descriptions were redundant, and the perspective could have been woven together with more intention.
January 3, 2022
3.5 stars. Enjoyable college mystery. Will definitely try to source the other two Lily Pascale books.
June 20, 2022
DNF at 90%.
December 7, 2022
A little more far-fetched than most of the mysteries I read, but still a fun story.
May 22, 2024
Not my favourite Scarlett Thomas book but eh, it was OK.
July 19, 2016
I love Scarlett Thomas. I love her clever, thoughtful, wry humour, her astute characterisations and her imagination. I've gobbled up all of her books in print, and have been eagerly awaiting the out of print Lily Pascale mysteries - Thomas' first books, written at 25 years, and classed as "anti-mysteries". Well now, they are very clearly identifiable as Scarlett Thomas books: they show clear indications of her unique style, and they are as compulsively readable as ever. Having said that, it is also easy to see why they are no longer in print, and why Thomas herself has apparently disowned them as being written purely as an attempt to get in print. Lily has her moments of charm, nevertheless I found myself wanting to scream out loud "MARY SUE MUCH?" at various points in the narrative. Dead Clever is very much a product of its time, and as I am very much a contemporary of Thomas, I feel both affection and a slight sense of cringe at much of its contents. Thomas opts for a dual narrative in this, where the story unfolds both with Lily's admittedly charming narration and a sort of archly disingenuous, deliberately obscure telling of events from the murderer's POV. I wondered whether this esoteric voice might turn out to be the product of one of Lily's creative writing students, which would have explained its "high prose" style, but after reading In Your Face where Thomas employs a similar split-narration I guess it was just an exercise in experimentation. It doesn't entirely work - partly because Thomas' gift has always been in her earthy and smart as a whip characterisation. When focalising as the murderer, her writing exudes neither joyfulness nor accuracy, I felt. It simply slows the pace and demonstrates none of the perspicacity with which she normally writes character exchanges. Rather than being an intriguing contrast that helps build suspicion,it simply appears clunky and slows the pace of what is actually interesting: Lily's family, her interactions at the university. Anti-mystery indeed: in many ways the mysteries here were the least interesting parts of the book. Having said all of this, I read it in one sitting and immediately reached for the sequel, so Thomas is as addictive as ever. Though I am not sure I'd recommend Dead Clever to anyone who wasn't as much of a fan of Scarlett Thomas as myself!
February 8, 2013
Scarlett Thomas has written some fantastic books - sadly this isn't one of them. The fact that she has written some of my favourite books, and that I'd had such high hopes for another Thomas book may have jaded my view a little and made it seem worse than it actually was, but this was very bog-standard. Definately a first book. I wouldn't recommend anyone starting on this book if they want to discover her work. Well, hey we're all allowed a bad-book day, and it was her first book. And the positive thing is, she got better; a lot better. I've actually already read the third book in this murder mystery series and I quite liked it, so even within these first early books, she got a lot better. And despite this, I will still crack on and read the second book in this series.
It's interesting to start at the beginning, get a proper introduction to Lily, her life and her situation. She's twenty five years old, moving back to Devon after coming out of a pointless relationship, and just walks into a lecturing job at the local university - of which it seems highly unplausible, but never mind. One of the students has recently been murdered - her head was chopped off and everything! - and as she very quickly (a little stiltedly) gets sucked into uni life, she gets mixed up into this growing mystery and feels compelled to super sleuth her way to the answer. There's a twee bit at the end when she confronts the murderer and feels the need to explain the whole plot to the murderer (as if the murderer didn't already know!), which always feels like generic murder mystery writing. Ok, the book isn't perfect, but there are elements in it I enjoyed and it was good to get an introduction to the characters and this world that the next two books follow up on.
It's interesting to start at the beginning, get a proper introduction to Lily, her life and her situation. She's twenty five years old, moving back to Devon after coming out of a pointless relationship, and just walks into a lecturing job at the local university - of which it seems highly unplausible, but never mind. One of the students has recently been murdered - her head was chopped off and everything! - and as she very quickly (a little stiltedly) gets sucked into uni life, she gets mixed up into this growing mystery and feels compelled to super sleuth her way to the answer. There's a twee bit at the end when she confronts the murderer and feels the need to explain the whole plot to the murderer (as if the murderer didn't already know!), which always feels like generic murder mystery writing. Ok, the book isn't perfect, but there are elements in it I enjoyed and it was good to get an introduction to the characters and this world that the next two books follow up on.
July 13, 2017
Having read more of Thomas' literary works, and seeing she has a new novel out The Seed Collectors, I decided to go read her earlier stuff.
Some things I found intriguing about the book was the set up of the murder, the normalcy of Lily and the complexities of the characters, how contemporary the book read even though it was 18 years old, and that it was placed somewhere other than a large city in England AND she was kind enough to give us a geographical map of the areas Lily ventured to by directions so we could get a sense of the isolation of the west country.
With all of that being said, I had a few problems with the book such as the use of "I" that began nearly every paragraph. Yes, it's a first person point of view but good lord woman, do you need to start every sentence, or nearly every sentence, with "I"? Yes, apparently so. The second issue was the constant use of smoking as plot device. I swear to deity Lily smoked from the time she used the bathroom in the morning until she fell asleep at night. Her lungs must be black as coal. (Not that I'm opposed to smoking but using it to move the plot along was a bit gauche.)
But the good outweighs the bad and I tend to agree with most of the reviewers here that even though this wasn't up to Thomas snuff, there is something compelling about her writing (and I agree with nod to Kate Atkinson) that propels you to want to read more. Now that is interesting.
Some things I found intriguing about the book was the set up of the murder, the normalcy of Lily and the complexities of the characters, how contemporary the book read even though it was 18 years old, and that it was placed somewhere other than a large city in England AND she was kind enough to give us a geographical map of the areas Lily ventured to by directions so we could get a sense of the isolation of the west country.
With all of that being said, I had a few problems with the book such as the use of "I" that began nearly every paragraph. Yes, it's a first person point of view but good lord woman, do you need to start every sentence, or nearly every sentence, with "I"? Yes, apparently so. The second issue was the constant use of smoking as plot device. I swear to deity Lily smoked from the time she used the bathroom in the morning until she fell asleep at night. Her lungs must be black as coal. (Not that I'm opposed to smoking but using it to move the plot along was a bit gauche.)
But the good outweighs the bad and I tend to agree with most of the reviewers here that even though this wasn't up to Thomas snuff, there is something compelling about her writing (and I agree with nod to Kate Atkinson) that propels you to want to read more. Now that is interesting.
November 30, 2010
Eh. So I was expecting to like this book more than I did. I raced through it and found it fairly enjoyable but I'm not sure I liked it enough to say I liked it, really. Definitely two stars, this one.
I've been recommend Scarlett Thomas by several people whose book opinions I care about (and that's not many people, let me tell you.) However, I have been reliably informed that this book and her other Lily Pascale novels are nothing like The End of Mr Y and Our Tragic Universe, both of which I'm really excited to read - and am still excited to read, despite not really enjoying this. They are so different, in fact, as to seem like a different author altogether. This suits me just fine as while I didn't dislike this version of Scarlett Thomas, I can't say that I was excited by it either.
Sure, Lily is perfectably likeable and as a mystery novel I suppose it has its required sense of mystery. There are drugs, murders, evil scientists, cults, disturbing video evidence, innocents framed, a disgusting average suburban club night and even a brain in a jar. So it has all the elements at least but despite my finishing it in a day, I can't say that it was captivating - just easy to read, I suppose.
One thing: I was annoyed at myself for not figuring out what had happened to Fenn because that was pretty obvious really, now that I come to think about it. I'm fully expecting his character to pop up in other Lily Pascale novels!
I suppose if I stumble across another LP novel I might give it a go, too. Maybe.
I've been recommend Scarlett Thomas by several people whose book opinions I care about (and that's not many people, let me tell you.) However, I have been reliably informed that this book and her other Lily Pascale novels are nothing like The End of Mr Y and Our Tragic Universe, both of which I'm really excited to read - and am still excited to read, despite not really enjoying this. They are so different, in fact, as to seem like a different author altogether. This suits me just fine as while I didn't dislike this version of Scarlett Thomas, I can't say that I was excited by it either.
Sure, Lily is perfectably likeable and as a mystery novel I suppose it has its required sense of mystery. There are drugs, murders, evil scientists, cults, disturbing video evidence, innocents framed, a disgusting average suburban club night and even a brain in a jar. So it has all the elements at least but despite my finishing it in a day, I can't say that it was captivating - just easy to read, I suppose.
One thing: I was annoyed at myself for not figuring out what had happened to Fenn because that was pretty obvious really, now that I come to think about it. I'm fully expecting his character to pop up in other Lily Pascale novels!
I suppose if I stumble across another LP novel I might give it a go, too. Maybe.
January 12, 2013
I very badly wanted to like this book, since I adored 'PopCo' and 'The End of Mr Y' by the same author. Since 'Dead Clever' was published years before, when Scarlett Thomas was only twenty-five, and since the Lily Pascale series was the last of her work in my local library that I hadn't read, I was willing to cut her some slack- And indeed, some of the elements that make me love Thomas's later work are here -a clever female protagonist who manages to be unconventional without delving into Special Snowflake territory, interesting side characters , a plot that jumped from one point to the next quickly enough to engross me without feeling rushed. Ultimately, though, I'm glad that Ms. Thomas didn't stick with writing mysteries- While Lily herself is personable and I found myself rooting for her to succeed, it was because I liked her enough to want to see her pull herself out of the dismal personal circumstances she'd found herself in at the beginning of the novel (no job, no money, and a recent break-up leaving her with nowhere to go but her childhood home) rather than her skills as a detective: There were countless occasions where I found myself wanting to yell at her to just call the police already or to take advantage of the ample opportunities she had to enlist the aid of various characters who were more knowledgeable or capable than she was. This seems to somewhat defeat the point of a mystery novel. I wouldn't be averse to reading its sequels, but at the same time, I'm in no rush to do so.
January 31, 2013
Quite ironic really considering the title of this distinctly routine piece; it wasn't dead clever to publish this and it must be wondered if Thomas regrets it now considering the outstanding Popco and The End of Mr Y rather like some actors have regretted appearing in certain films at the start of their careers. Let me put it this way, thank God I read The End of Mr Y first; if Dead Clever had been my introduction to Thomas' work it would have been my first and last. I won't bother giving yet another synopsis of the story, such as it is. Suffice to say that she does the English higher education system no favours at all: I mean can you really phone up, have a 2 minute chat and get a lectureship in a UK university and on the strength of a few weeks part time work, during which you do virtually no preparation, very little real teaching, no marking, give no tutorials and spend most of your time sleuthing around the `Devon drug scene', be rewarded by being made head of department?
Do yourselves a favour - skip this lightweight fluff and move straight on to either of the later novels. And to think some reviewers found it `brilliant'; the mind really does boggle!
Do yourselves a favour - skip this lightweight fluff and move straight on to either of the later novels. And to think some reviewers found it `brilliant'; the mind really does boggle!
February 14, 2009
In Dead Clever, following the break-up of her relationship, Lily heads back to her home town and manages to land a job lecturing at a local university. One of the students who would have been in her class has been found dead with her head removed and Lily finds herself becoming involved in figuring out what happened.
I have to say, the whole plotline of this book is incredibly dumb to the point of unbelievable but somehow it managed to keep my attention despite that, which must say something about the writer even if as a backhanded compliment. As a result, I hope to get my hands on the next book in the series, which is In Your Face.
I have to say, the whole plotline of this book is incredibly dumb to the point of unbelievable but somehow it managed to keep my attention despite that, which must say something about the writer even if as a backhanded compliment. As a result, I hope to get my hands on the next book in the series, which is In Your Face.
January 25, 2011
Ok, this is a qualified 4 stars.
I am a Scarlett Thomas fan. I read this as something showing the emergence of a very good writer, rather than entirely on it's own merits, and to that extent it's quite fun. There are odd glimpses here and there that foreshadow things to come.
Viewed totally on it's own, it's an interesting enough crime thriller, with a few clever asides. 2 or 3 stars only I'm afraid.
If you a big fan it's probably worth you time if you find it in a second hand shop.
If you've not read her before read The End of Mr. Y instead.
I am a Scarlett Thomas fan. I read this as something showing the emergence of a very good writer, rather than entirely on it's own merits, and to that extent it's quite fun. There are odd glimpses here and there that foreshadow things to come.
Viewed totally on it's own, it's an interesting enough crime thriller, with a few clever asides. 2 or 3 stars only I'm afraid.
If you a big fan it's probably worth you time if you find it in a second hand shop.
If you've not read her before read The End of Mr. Y instead.
August 9, 2008
I read this after PopCo, and I didn't enjoy it as much. A young teacher at college gets involved in the murder and decapitation of a female student on the college grounds. I was expecting the kind of mad enthusiasm that I loved about PopCo, but this was much more normal - a good thriller, although the ending was hardly a surprise. I quite liked Lily, our heroine - Thomas does write very engaging young women.
December 26, 2010
clever detective novel with a relatable heroine. liked it enough to order books 2 and 3 in the series, but really wish i could give it a 3.5. warning, though--if you're picking this up because you liked popco and/or the end of mr. y, you may very well be disappointed. although the heroine definitely has much in common with those in popco and mr. y, the story is much more straightforward and fits squarely in the detective fiction genre.
May 26, 2012
This was a nice book, but nothing too complicated or special. The writing, as always, flows nicely, and I love Thomas's first-person narration. Having said that, it cannot be compared to any of her most recent work (of which I am a huge fan), and it was evident that through the years she has grown immensely as a writer, both in the way she expresses her ideas and the degree of imagination and creativity involved in her latest publications. Overall it was a fun read.
August 13, 2016
Dead Clever by Scarlett Thomas is number one in her Lily Pascale series. Lily is a devotee of crime fiction, a speciality suddenly in demand at the university where her mother teaches. The headless corpse of a student has just been found in woods nearby upsetting everyone on campus, naturally. Lily agrees to teach three literature classes and takes an interest in the investigation. Thriller ensues.
November 12, 2016
Wow, upon re-reading this, it was pretty dumb - a solid okay. That's what happens when you re-read a beach read during the most stressful week of the year.
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Full disclosure: I really like British mysteries and books about British schools. So this book gets an automatic three stars for meeting those two criteria. And one more for being fun and quick, if not spectacular.
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Full disclosure: I really like British mysteries and books about British schools. So this book gets an automatic three stars for meeting those two criteria. And one more for being fun and quick, if not spectacular.
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