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Clare Burtonall #1
Different Women Dancing
After a curious incident, Dr. Clare Burtonall finds herself contacting the underworld to learn about her husband and the truth about who he really is, only to discover that she is in too deep and fears that upon reentering the real world, she may never be the same again. Reprint.
Paperback
First published June 14, 1997
46 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Gash
93 books73 followersJohn Grant is an English crime writer, who writes under the pen name Jonathan Gash. He is the author of the Lovejoy series of novels. He wrote the novel The Incomer under the pen name Graham Gaunt.
Grant is a doctor by training and worked as a general practitioner and pathologist. He served in the British Army and attained the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was head of bacteriology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the University of London between 1971 and 1988.
Grant won the John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr. Clare Burtonall.
Grant lives outside Colchester in Essex, the setting for many of his novels. He has also been published in Postscripts.
Grant is a doctor by training and worked as a general practitioner and pathologist. He served in the British Army and attained the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was head of bacteriology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the University of London between 1971 and 1988.
Grant won the John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr. Clare Burtonall.
Grant lives outside Colchester in Essex, the setting for many of his novels. He has also been published in Postscripts.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 8, 2012
I admit I was put off by the pseudonym for years. When I saw Different Women Dancing in the public library new book display, I read the flap and first chapter; I then had to borrow it. Holy Moly! What an interesting story.
In an odd but very different way it reminded me of Yulio Mishima's trilogy which starts with descriptions of clouds as seen by a man in a lighthouse watching ships go past--for several pages. I kept reading faster and faster trying to get to 'the story' until I finally realized that the author was asking me to read it differently from other books. In his case, to slow down. So I started the book over from the very beginning, was convinced and amazed.
In a similar way, DWD took me a few chapters to get used to the style, to let the author show me how he wanted it to be read: in essence, to trust him. And then I couldn't put it down. It's not for youngsters or the faint of heart, certainly.
Different Women Dancing is the story of two different cultures interlocked but separate like those two interpenetrating cubes by Escher. The first is the overt American culture, work, families, houses, daily life with school or shopping and socializing. The other is the world of pay-for-sex in which the famillies, culture, work and daily life are decidedly very different from the other.
Dr. Claire Burtonall, the protagonist, because of an automoble accident she witnesses, becomes aware of that other world in trying to solve the mystery. As I said, not for youngsters or the faint of heart!
In an odd but very different way it reminded me of Yulio Mishima's trilogy which starts with descriptions of clouds as seen by a man in a lighthouse watching ships go past--for several pages. I kept reading faster and faster trying to get to 'the story' until I finally realized that the author was asking me to read it differently from other books. In his case, to slow down. So I started the book over from the very beginning, was convinced and amazed.
In a similar way, DWD took me a few chapters to get used to the style, to let the author show me how he wanted it to be read: in essence, to trust him. And then I couldn't put it down. It's not for youngsters or the faint of heart, certainly.
Different Women Dancing is the story of two different cultures interlocked but separate like those two interpenetrating cubes by Escher. The first is the overt American culture, work, families, houses, daily life with school or shopping and socializing. The other is the world of pay-for-sex in which the famillies, culture, work and daily life are decidedly very different from the other.
Dr. Claire Burtonall, the protagonist, because of an automoble accident she witnesses, becomes aware of that other world in trying to solve the mystery. As I said, not for youngsters or the faint of heart!
November 15, 2022
I had no idea that Gash wrote another series besides Lovejoy. This is the first of the Bonn and Dr. Clare Burtonall mysteries. Each chapter introduces us to a new word in thieves' cant, which is useful because we are taken into the hidden world of male escorts and events get quite steamy. This is not for those looking for cozy village murders; the setting and approach is quite novel and unusual.
July 7, 2008
This was different. An ex-monk gigilo and a cardiologist with a treacherous husband formed the amateur detective team. I didn't know what the heck was going on at many points, but it kept me turning pages anyway.
January 18, 2009
It held my interest, mostly because I wanted to like the characters but never quite got there. The characters all end up connected by a series of circumstances and coincidences that frequently left me shaking my head.
August 26, 2016
A completely different series from Jonathan Gash. A good mystery plot with interesting characters and lots of twists but I couldn't really get into it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews