The Vinyl Detective

I am not going to even talk about a metric ton of plot holes. I guess you can't make a vinyl without a hole.

This book gathers the perfect trifecta of sexism:

• Denying existence of gender identity
• Mansplaining
• Male gaze

At the end of Chapter 21 you get the absolute worst plot hole of the book. It's insane. It defeated its own gimmick.

I think that the author is simply an experienced author who knows how to write engaging characters, uses the language flawlessly, and decided to write a book with a stipulation "the most boring thriller".

I can also be absolutely sure that the author is incapable of writing stuff that isn't a series, or he wanted to make a book for the small screens on the account of being a Dr. Who writer and such.

By Chapter 22 the book gets absolutely disgusting.

Finally... Setting aside lack of emotional intelligence and misogyny...

The book feels like it's written by people with low analytic intelligence. But from my experience, people who enjoy jazz are normally quite conventionally smart, so I am quite befuddled.

I will still finish it because the writing is amazing, but I won't be reading this series.

For a book whose main plot is the finding of rare vinyls in small shops in London, the book itself it's one of these unearthed gems.

Without spoiling much of the book, it starts with the protagonist (the Vinyl Detective) looking for a rare jazz album for a mysterious client. Then the book continues with this plot, but adding classical elements from the mystery genre ("accidental" deaths with the worst timings possible, mysterious strangers following the protagonists, layers of plot threads to unravel) mixed with a commentary on the history of Jazz and the exploitation of its musicians.

I love Jazz, I also have a terrible musical ear and I am a cheapskate with my audio equipment, so a lot of the technicalities in the text I wasn't able to fully understand. But it is fine, as most of the characters also didn't get them.

Like any good mystery novel, the characters are well rounded, with many depths and very interesting to follow.

Also, the book, like vinyls, has a Side A and a Side B and that is great, as there is a big overarching plot but also individual plots to each side.

I think I will try to buy the next books on the series sooner rather than later.