A Darker Shade of Blue: Stories

Will Grayson and Helen Walker #0.5

by John Harvey

John Harvey has been described as the master of British crime fiction: From the mean streets of London to the jazz clubs and clip joints of Soho, this is a world of broken families, revenge killings, and prostitution; drugs, guns, and corruption; a world of overstretched police forces and underpaid detectives; men and women who strive nonetheless for a kind of justice; a world in which everything, even friendship, has a price.


Featuring characters like Frank Elder, who tried to turn his back on police work and failed; Jack Kiley, ex-cop and now a London-based PI; and the renowned jazz-loving and much-loved Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick, John Harvey’s finely crafted vignettes perfectly encapsulate life in the badlands of contemporary Britain.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

aka Jon Barton, William S. Brady (with Angus Wells), L.J. Coburn (with Laurence James), J.B. Dancer (with Angus Wells), John B. Harvey, William M. James (with Terry Harknett and Laurence James), Terry Lennox, John J. McLaglen (with Laurence James), James Mann, Thom Ryder, J.D. Sandon (with Angus Wells), Jon Hart

John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.

Reviews

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Darker Shade of Blue by John Harvey is a collection of short stories set in the contemporary metropolitan area in and around London. Be sure to read the author's introduction, where he describes the appeal of writing a short story vs. a novel. "Allowing for time later to polish and refine, it can be done and dusted inside a couple weeks. Compare that to setting out on a new novel, all those months stretching into the distance with rarely an end in sight"

Long-running series protagonist Charlie Resnick makes several appearances, filling in details between series novels, fleshing out secondary series characters. Ex-footballer, ex-policeman turned private investigator, Jack Kiley appears only in this collection (he's in none of Harvey's novels, not likely to be).

"Short stories can also be invaluable for the opportunity they provide for trying out characters and situations you are unsure of": the Frank Elder mystery series grew from the story 'Due North', while 'Snow, Snow, Snow' is a prequel to the Will Grayson & Helen Walker mystery series. Tom Whittemore appeared briefly in a Frank Elder novel, "who's to say he won't appear again?"

The plots vary widely from a hired assassin to human trafficking, the drug trade, a sex offender, several styles of revenge...to the jazz scene in Soho. Not only hunting down criminals after a crime has been committed, but also trying to prevent one.

[Jo Jenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories which introduced me to other John Harvey Characters. Previously I had only read about Charlie Resnick by Kiley the ex met office ex footballer was a new character for me and I really enjoyed his stories.
There were a few stories which seemed more to enjoy Harvey's love of Jazz and the two stories involving Pat, Jimmy and Val were a little too removed from the actual crime stories the book was supposed to be about.
Most of the stories were about 20 pages long and I think I was helped by knowing a little of the Resnick cast of characters but as an introduction to Harvey this book was great and deserves your attention.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Harvey is just such a good writer - elegant, a master of character and plotting, and with a great heart. I don't usually read short story collections, even by authors I like, but I'll make an exception for him any time.

One of the things I liked best about this collection was how the stories were infused with music - titles from Thelonious Monk and Cannonball Adderley, references to players and venues from all over the jazz world. And there is the way he generously references and compliments other writers - K. C. Constantine, Raymond Chandler, Jim Harrison.

The collection includes a few incidents from Charlie Resnick's life, a couple from Frank Elder's and several stories about an ex-footballer, ex-cop turned PI named Jack Kiley who has not been in any of Harvey's novels. The last story brings Resnick and Kiley together in the search for a PTSD Iraq vet who has kidnapped his ex-wife and children.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Harvey is one of my all time favourite writers, regardless of genre. Although I first read his Charlie Resnick series (and wish I had another lifetime to re-read them all), I've enjoyed reading his short stories just as much. I have this book as an eBook on my Kobo eReader. It's an excellent travel companion. The short stories often take a particular character, sometimes from one of the novels, and gets right into what makes him or her tick. Marvellous!

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good group of stories, although some of them end leaving the reader hanging or saying "what??". The stories are interconnected, 2 different detectives, one a policeman, one private, and the stories seem to happen chronologically, but they end together. So, this is not a usual fiction novel, and not really short stories, but a combination of the two.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this book

what i didnt like was the many stories going on..

plus i do enjoy jazz..but it was featured too much in this book

would like to read a earlier book to see if he just does 1 story at a time

to me it was disjointed..i was constantly turning back to see who this part of the book was about.

however i did really like the characters & he is a good writer

[Susanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of noirish short-stories. The last one about a soldier gone AWOL was the strongest and had the greatest impact on me personally. Those who like jazz music might get more out of the stories.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2010. I got this from the library thinking that it was an anthology of different authors which it wasn't. Good writing but short stories are not my favourite. Didn't inveigle me into ordering any of his longer books though.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of short stories by John Harvey all have a Policeman or private investigator working to solve a legal problem in a variety of ways. All take place in England. Harvey is a good writer who can tell a story using a minimum of words.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will drag you down. If you like John Harvey's characters some of them occur in a few of these short stories but the whole tenor of the book is bleak.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The crime fiction short story is a tricky form to get right, but John Harvey nails it in this excellent collection. Featuring key characters from his various novels (Charlie Resnick, Frank Elder, Will Grayson and Helen Walker) plus the ex-cop, ex professional footballer, private eye Jack Kiley, (who has ‘never set foot in a novel, nor do I think he ever will’ according to Harvey’s introduction) these stories are as fully engaging and satisfying as anything he has written in the longer format. The stories were all published separately in a variety of places, but there are subtle links between many of them and with the novels which has the effect of the collection adding up to more than the sum of its parts. The contrast between this and the Susan Hill Simon Serailler novel that I read recently is striking; whereas Hill’s book seemed dull, predictable and remote from real life, Harvey’s stories feel stylish, real, dangerous, and with an angry understanding of the impact of crime on individuals and communities, particularly the most vulnerable in society.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of the short stories involve the same characters but the time line is mixed.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Sentence: - None; this is a collection of short stores

John Harvey is a poet, dramatist, broadcaster, and very funny man in person although you certainly would not have known that by this collection. He is also the author of countless book. There two series in particular police procedurals I have enjoyed: The police procedurals with Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick; lover of jazz, owned by cats; and Frank Elder, who tried to retire from the force and failed. I was delighted to see both of them appear in this collection, along with ex-cop/PI Jack Kiley and a few stories with other characters as well.

I freely admit to not being a fan of short stores. By the time I become involved, the story is done. However, Harvey pulled me a bit past my usual bias, and that’s saying something.

These are dark, gritty stories; not noir, but certainly hard-boiled detective fiction. They are about people you hope not to know and lives you’d rather not have touch yours. If anything, the darkness felt grim and unrelenting; almost too much so. A little relief would have been greatly appreciated. The stories are compact, tightly written and complete. Each stands well on its own merit, and the quality of Harvey’s writing is very apparent.

I would not recommend “A Darker Shade of Blue” to new Harvey readers. However, I would definitely recommend it to those who are fans of his writing, particularly those who are fans of short stories, as well.

A DARKER SHADE OF BLUE (Short Story Collection-Various characters-England-Contemp) - VG
Harvey, John
Pegasus Crime, 2012

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of eighteen short stories. All were originally published in various collections between 2002 and 2009. Some of the stories involve new characters and some involve characters from his works from the 1990’s and 2000’s, such as Charlie Resnick, Frank Elder and other minor characters. Overall, for me, this one was a disappointment. I did like the way that the stories kind of linked together. Perhaps a few of the stories stood out, but for the most part they were not particularly memorable. Even the ones that had the characters that we were already familiar with, such as Charlie Resnick, their presence was generally so fleeting, and with virtually no additional insight into them, that it really could have been anybody. I would think that for a reader not familiar with Harvey’s previous works, this would have been even more pedestrian. As other reviewers have mentioned, 90% of the stories here are “downers” in one way or another. I have been a huge fan of John Harvey’s ever since Lonely Hearts came out, but this book for me is not a keeper.

[Bettie]

F

Description: John Harvey has been described as the master of British crime and in "A Darker Shade of Blue" he has collected together some of his very best writing.
From the killing fields of the East Midlands to the mean streets of London, from the jazz clubs and clip joints of Soho to the barren fenlands of East Anglia, this is a world of broken families and run-down estates, revenge killings and prostitution, drugs, guns and corruption; a world of overstretched police forces and underpaid detectives, men and women who strive nonetheless for a kind of justice; and, a world in which everything, even friendship, has a price.
Featuring characters like Frank Elder, who tried to turn his back on police work and failed; Jack Kiley, ex-copper and one-time professional footballer, now a London-based PI; and, the renowned jazz loving and much-loved Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick, John Harvey's finely-crafted vignettes perfectly encapsulate life in the badlands of modern Britain.

[Roxane · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite author's - his stories are a bit on the dark side - but they are very, very good (and I wouldn't mind a bit if he were to turn each and every one of these 'short stories' into a full length book).

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories featuring various characters.