SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2023
'As great a contribution to the noble British genre of detective fiction as any writer for decades' Stephen Fry
'This moody, atmospheric novel is full of surprises' Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month)
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Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park, a member of what many people would call the criminal classes. As a young Detective Inspector, he's lost none of his disgust with privileged elites - or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College, Oxford. You wouldn't think they would get on. They don't.
But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall, they're forced to.
Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat. St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others?
As tensions rise, things aren't going well. Ray is in despair. Ryan is in disciplinary measures. But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens, a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman.
A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns, troubled pasts and unconventional detective work.
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
ISBN: 9781529438413
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 289 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 32 mm
This is a terrific crime novel, with a startlingly original protagonist we're going to see a lot more of. Oxford's mean streets just got meaner. - Mick Herron
This moody, atmospheric novel is full of surprises, with subplots about sexual harassment and the impact of the Syrian civil war. - Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month)
It's a brave writer who sets a new crime series in Inspector Morse's Oxford but Mason has come up trumps with chalk-and-cheese cops DI Ryan Wilkins and DI Ray Wilkins...It's well plotted and very funny. - The Sun
The first novel in a promising new police series set in Oxford that explores the working relationship between a chalk-and-cheese detective duo. - Sunday Times Crime Club (Star Pick)
This has a TV series written all over it. - Daily Mail
Simon Mason has reformulated Inspector Morse for the 2020s. This angelic two-year-old son, Ryan Jr ("Is it hard being a daddy?"), are superb and his relationship with Ray, a snob with a heart of gold beneath the sharp suit, shows huge potential. The good news is they'll be back. - Mark Sanderson, Times (Best New Crime Fiction for Jan 2022)
The story has modern relevance, ingenious plotting, vivid characterisation, a touching father-son relationship and impressively accurate city geography. - The Times (Audiobook of the Week)
[T]his is a very individual piece of work, with a satisfying plot involving Syrian refugees, snobbish dons and nimble interaction between the ill-assorted protagonists. There is real craftsmanship at work here. - Financial Times
Ryan Wilkins is about as far removed from George Smiley as a protagonist can be, he may in time become as memorable. He's an extraordinary creation, and demonstrates that even in the most suspenseful thrillers, character is king - The Spectator
Mason avoids the obvious tropes, and rather movingly focuses on Ryan's relationship with his young son. Well plotted, too. It's the first in a series: start now and avoid the rush. - Guardian (Best Holiday Reads)
Mason has reformulated Inspector Morse for the 2020s - The Times (Best Books For Summer)
Mason has reformulated Inspector Morse for the 2020s. The murder mystery is worthy of Colin Dexter but the result is less bookish and more bolshie - The Times (Best Crime Book of 2022)
This moody, atmospheric novel is full of surprises. - Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Year)
My favourite crime novel of the year was Simon Mason's A Killing in November . . . it was enhanced by deft prose and the detective duo of social misfit Ryan Wilkins and the Balliol-educated Ray Wilkins. - BookBrunch
Mismatched cops probe a college murder in this funny and well-plotted debut - Sun Scotland (Book of the Year)
A real page-turner . . . the relationship between the two detectives is beautifully developed, and it's brilliantly plotted and very funny - Wiltshire Life
Simon Mason's Ray Wilkins crime novels are my latest addiction. I wait impatiently for each one. What are the triple pillars of any great story? Character, Plot and Language. In the twin heroes of his novels (both called Wilkins and so unalike: they somehow create together one immortal police detective) he has created characters for the ages. His plots race thrillingly around an Oxford you never knew existed. His language though ... without exhibiting a trace of "writerly" self-consciousness, he is capable of phrase-making and description of the very highest quality. Those three perfect pillars support truly memorable crime novels, as great a contribution to the noble British genre of detective fiction as any writer for decades. - Stephen Fry
My favourite UK series. - M W Craven
I have enjoyed this detective story a lot. It is fast paced, the detectives are fun, the plot is believable and sufficiently convoluted, with a judicious amount of clues, plus the writing is intelligent and stylish.... More
This is such a brilliant, compelling, gripping and thrilling book that as soon as I had it in my hands, I had to read it. And yes, I did get hooked and finished it within a few hours. Honestly, if you loved Inspector... More
What instantly struck me about the book is the sense of place. I love reading stories set in Oxford and Inspector Morse is a firm favourite. Yet this one is markedly different in terms of its approach and the way the... More
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