Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absorbing, exciting novel with a brilliant twist..., 7 Jul 2005
This novel is exceptional, one of the summer's "must-reads".I came to it wondering if it was going to be too "generic" for my tastes but was more than pleasantly surprised. "The Smiling Affair" does contain a strong plot and the scenes that show its hero, Jay Richards, pursue both the truth behind the ghost he's investigating and the nature of his ex-lover's disappearance are gripping, as good as those in any detective novel you're likely to read. But what sets this novel apart from your standard "pot-boiler" is the slick quality of the writing and the character of Jay Richards himself. Jay is a wonderfully ironic personality, standing at a distance from everything going on in his life, exisiting in splendid and ironic isolation as he explores the mysteries which he finds himself involved in. Meanwhile, the writing is funny, lyrical, stylish and sexy. If I had one reservation, it's that I'd like to have read even more about Jay's experiences in Ibiza. But this feels like nit-picking. There's no doubt that this is an entertaining read, but also a thought-provoking one too.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping and seductive., 14 Jul 2005
From the name, you'll guess that I'm a Hitchcock fan. Well, now I'm a Sheldon fan too. Like Hitch's movies, this novel works its way into your head and then your heart. To begin with, it feels like most other mystery stories - an ironic loner hero, lots of zappy dialogue and monologue, a case, a sexy-but-vulnerable femme fatale - but before too long you realize that all these familiar components have been put together in a completely surprising way.And then you relaize you're hooked, desperate to find out how it's all going to end up and unprepared to put the novel down... One of the discussion forums I visit - palimpest.org - posted this review from "Time Out" magazine which probably puts it all into words better than I can: THE SMILING AFFAIR - by JEREMY SHELDON
(Time Out review by Henry Archer, July 2005) "Part detective story, part supernatural thriller, Jeremy Sheldon's first novel boasts some extremely skilful story-telling. You almost feel guilty for sitting back and letting the pages flutter past of an afternoon. However, "The Smiling Affair" is so absorbing that the guilt, and indeed the afternoon, are quickly forgotten. Jay Richards is a paranormal investigator - a sort of cross bewteen Jonathan Creek and Mike Hammer. Ghost-hunting, pot-smoking and bill-dodging, he scrapes his living from San Francisco's terminally stupid and lamentably lonely. But among the faulty plumbing and heavy-footed stalkers, he encounters the odd genuinely inexplicable case. "Take Zelda Smiling, the twin sister of an ex-lover. She approaches Jay becasue the sister, Helena, has apparently run away with the neighbour, leaving her husband and a group of guests under duress at her family mansion. When ghosts start scaring the housekeeper and ancient portraits move in the night, Jay arrives with his EMF scanner and Geiger counter to investigate. And it's extremely good fun. As the story twists, the concentrated drive of the narrative is astounding - not many words are wasted, each efficient chapter thrusting hard to the point. This does mean, however, that the novels lacks resonance. Jay's relationship with Helena Smiling is recalled in scattered first-person chapters which do little to elucidate the nature of their love. The set-up, too, is naggingly formulaic in places. But such criticisms are neutralized by the force of the storytelling. "The Smiling Affair" might be light, but it's thoroughly entertaining."
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Raymond Chandler meets Harry Price in this odd but engaging novel., 7 Aug 2006
Jay Richards, half English and half Chinese-American, is a San Francisco P. I. with a difference - he investigates paranormal phenomena. This isn't a conventional ghost story, as Jay brings as healthy a dose of scepticism to his work as any reader might; yet neither is it a conventional detective novel.
When one particular case in a career of minor investigations hits the headlines (and General Lockwood's plea for the investigation of the death & supernatural appearance of his granddaughter is surely an homage to The Big Sleep's General Sternwood), Jay achieves some fame and a series of other cases swiftly follows. And then comes the Smiling Affair. Jay receives first of all a necklace belonging to an ex-lover, Helena Smiling, and then a message from her twin sister Zelda. Helena has, it seems, abandoned her husband and baby son to run away from her failing marriage, but some strange phenomena have occurred at the family home and Jay is asked to investigate.
In a story filled with suitably Chandler-esque characters (and it's tempting to cast the film of the book as one reads) it doesn't take long for Jay's researches to take him down some very dark paths indeed. Jay is an extremely interesting and likeable character; along with tantalising and highly entertaining glimpses of previous cases, we learn about his upbringing and the start of his unusual career - and his strange eating disorder (he can only eat food when it has been made into sandwiches). And his dog called Marlowe - whose nomenclature is, of course, in keeping with the general theme.
One of the most striking things about this most unusual detective story is the clever and beautiful things that Sheldon does with letters of the alphabet - but you'll need to read the book to find out more about both that and the startling ending.
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