The third in David Ashton's series of McLevy thrillers, A Trick of the Light sees McLevy team up with Arthur Conan Doyle to pursue a ruthless killer. It is 1860 and a Confederate officer, Jonathen Sinclair, arrives in Edinburgh with a sheaf of money to purchase a blockade-runner from Clydeside shipbuilders. He is betrayed to the Union forces and is shot dead by their secret agents. Who are they and where is Sinclair's money? Meanwhile, a beautiful young American spiritualist, Sophia Adler, is the toast of upper-class Edinburgh with her dramatic seances. However, she could yet prove to be the deadliest woman McLevy and Conan Doyle will ever encounter.
Trick of the Light (An Inspector McLevy Mystery)
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'David Ashton, like Robert Louis Stevenson or Ian Rankin, is inspired by the beauty-and-beast nature of Edinburgh. His interpretation of James McLevy is worthy of the original man' SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY 'McLevy is a sort of Victorian Morse with a heart' FINANCIAL TIMES --Financial Times
About the Author
David Ashton was born in Greenock in 1941. He studied at Central Drama School, London, from 1964 to 1967, and most recently appeared in The Last King of Scotland. David started writing in 1984 and he has seen many of his plays and TV adaptations broadcast - he wrote early episodes of EastEnders and Casualty, and six McLevy series for BBC Radio 4.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is book three in the Inspector McLevy series and should really be read in sequence as David Ashton has built on the various characters as he develops each of the novels. By book three they transform in to well known and well loved character whose traits are easily rcogniable to the reader.
In this story Ashton weaves Arthur Conan Doyle through the book and one is left to ponder how much of Sherlock Holmes is reflected in Inspector Mclevy (or should that be the other way around!). There are enough twists in the tale to keep the reader interested right up to the very end.
Hopefully we will see further stories emerge and build further on the characters. Surprised that the books have not made their way on top either the big or the small screen, they have the potential for a lot of humour as well as being murder mysteries and I can already imagine some well known Scottish actors in the various roles
In this story Ashton weaves Arthur Conan Doyle through the book and one is left to ponder how much of Sherlock Holmes is reflected in Inspector Mclevy (or should that be the other way around!). There are enough twists in the tale to keep the reader interested right up to the very end.
Hopefully we will see further stories emerge and build further on the characters. Surprised that the books have not made their way on top either the big or the small screen, they have the potential for a lot of humour as well as being murder mysteries and I can already imagine some well known Scottish actors in the various roles
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Bluebell
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I got to know David Ashton's stories about James McLevy "inspector of police" through dramatizations by BBC Radio Scotland on Radio 4. As far as I know the author first wrote a series of McLevy stories that were broadcast as short radio plays and then has combined several of the investigations to create this book. I recognized the investigations and as I read could hear the wonderful voices of actor Brian Cox, who plays McLevy, and Siobham Redmond who plays the feisty madam of the Happy Land brothel in Leith. There's a suggestion of a previous relationship between McLevy and Jean but it's never elaborated other than their mutual love of good coffee.
Ashton's writings evoke the seedy underworld that was Leith: the latter an area of dockland that later became incorporated into Edinburgh, which, well into the 20th century was not a place you'd want to walk in alone late at night.
The book has not only a great sense of place and but is also full of humour with dialogue that captures the speech patterns and colloquial language of the area. Some of the latter words will be unfamiliar to many but their meaning is often discernible from the way they sound. e.g., dreich = a dull, overcast day; to boak = to vomit.
A robbery, that may be an inside job; a turf war between Jean Brash and a competing brothel madam; secret agents connected with the American Civil War and a Spiritualist medium all provide threads in this very enjoyable book. The creation of characters and their interactions are the key joys of these stories, not just Jean and McLevy but also the latter's boss, Lieutenant Roach, as a caricature of the upright pillar of Presbyterian rectitude; Constable Mulholland who solemnly quotes his auntie Katie and novice policeman Ballantyne who saves the lives of insects he finds in the station. Real life Arthur Conan Doyle (who trained in medicine in Edinburgh) dots in and out of the story as an enthusiastic participant in the detective work.
I've read that there was a real Leith policeman called McLevy in Victorian times who was friendly with a local madam called Jean Brash, but that the author has fashioned their characters from his imagination.
Ashton's writings evoke the seedy underworld that was Leith: the latter an area of dockland that later became incorporated into Edinburgh, which, well into the 20th century was not a place you'd want to walk in alone late at night.
The book has not only a great sense of place and but is also full of humour with dialogue that captures the speech patterns and colloquial language of the area. Some of the latter words will be unfamiliar to many but their meaning is often discernible from the way they sound. e.g., dreich = a dull, overcast day; to boak = to vomit.
A robbery, that may be an inside job; a turf war between Jean Brash and a competing brothel madam; secret agents connected with the American Civil War and a Spiritualist medium all provide threads in this very enjoyable book. The creation of characters and their interactions are the key joys of these stories, not just Jean and McLevy but also the latter's boss, Lieutenant Roach, as a caricature of the upright pillar of Presbyterian rectitude; Constable Mulholland who solemnly quotes his auntie Katie and novice policeman Ballantyne who saves the lives of insects he finds in the station. Real life Arthur Conan Doyle (who trained in medicine in Edinburgh) dots in and out of the story as an enthusiastic participant in the detective work.
I've read that there was a real Leith policeman called McLevy in Victorian times who was friendly with a local madam called Jean Brash, but that the author has fashioned their characters from his imagination.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another delicious, intriguing McLevy mystery. Ashton's evocation of Victorian Edinburgh is joyous. McLevy, as carnaptious and crusty as ever, educates a young and eager medical student named Arthur Conan Doyle in the interpretation and evaluation of clues, while sorting out murder mayhem and some shady paranormal goings on.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
the inspector
is grumpily great, hmake a difference to the normal detective and the banton between him and his sidekick is very entertaining
Published 1 month ago by opinionated
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit grizzly for some
Sets the scene well in The Old Edinburgh and it's port. Wonderful characters well drawn.
Although the crimes are tough,grizzly and nasty they are all believable in their... Read more
Although the crimes are tough,grizzly and nasty they are all believable in their... Read more
Published 2 months ago by The scotsman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mclevy rocks
I was introduced to the Mclevy books via the radio and always enjoyed the characters and the plots. I even laughed out loud whilst listening. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Patricia McKenna
2.0 out of 5 stars
A TRICK OF LIGHT BY DAVID ASHTON
could not get into this bvook after three chapters cave up an moved on to some thing else WILL TRY IT AGAIN LATER
Published 2 months ago by Cyril R. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
I enjoyed this book and have read all the Mclevy series so far. Please let's have another one soon. Would definitely read more books by this author.
Published 4 months ago by Sanz Read
5.0 out of 5 stars
atmospheric
unlike some detective stories this is neither too graphic nor anodyne. weaving believable fictional characters into a historical perspective seemingly brings to life an era that is... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Phil Barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb series
Gripping & evocative of the era, great characters and exciting plot...wish there were more in the series and hope it comes to tv
Published 6 months ago by hercules
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mclevy Mysteries
One bood of a great detective series. The descriptions of society and atmosphere of Leith in the late 19th Century, in which the book is set, is excellent. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. W. Wright
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit harder going than the previous two books
Although the title of my review suggests this may not be a good read, I have only criticised it in comparison with the previous two books as they are truly excellent reads. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Big Jim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Mclevy mystery from David Ashton. Easy to read and fun.
A great holiday read. David Ashton has done a brilliant job with Mclevy. The plots of the series of books are woven around the fictionalised adventures of two real life 19th... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Andrew W. Macfadyen
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