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deegee24's review against another edition
4.0
Readers looking for a whodunit will be disappointed. This is not a detective novel, nor is it a crime novel. It is rather a murder mystery told from the shifting perspectives of tabloid journalists and police investigators, and takes you through the criminal trial and its messy aftermath. That makes it sound rather dry, but it is still pretty entertaining. Symons is good with realistic characterization and dialogue, and makes some shrewd observations about class conflict and Labor politics in post-WWII Britain. In contrast with the mysteries of the Golden Age, "The Progress of A Crime" is very skeptical about how justice gets served: there are false leads, unreliable eyewitnesses, and biased media reports that ultimately shape how the crime is perceived and punished. I would probably give it 3 1/2 stars, as there's nothing particularly distinguished about Symons' writing, but I do give him credit for challenging the conventions of the mystery genre in interesting ways.
backpackfullofbooks's review
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“There was something almost pathetic about the defiance with which Gardener said that he did what he wanted. Pathetic because he was a boy so obviously destined to take ideas and wishes secondhand. So plainly one who’s dreams where synthetic distorted echos of something he had seen at a cinema or heard on a long playing record.”
~
A classic crime novel from the 1960s.
This story follows the murder of a man on bonfire night by a gang of teddy boys, the police investigation and the subsequent trial of two of the teenagers. This is interspersed with the personal perspective of a journalist who is there on the night of the murder, reports the story and gets involved in the trial.
This story is essentially about the ways that society of the 1960s fails it’s youth and the corruption and dysfunction within the police and legal systems at that time.
~
This was a interesting one, quite different from the kind of murder mystery I usually read. It was much less focused on who actually committed the murder and much more concerned with the ramifications of the act.
In this way it was much more cynical than a classic murder mystery. There is no real sense of justice being done. The police are violet and brutal, the courts persuadable and the press at best mercenary and at worst actively profiting off of human misery. The teenagers who where involved in the violence seem variably scared and lost and completely cold and unremorseful.
It paints a bleak but very effecting picture.
~
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys police and justice shows and anyone interested in the 1960s and social commentary of this period.
~
A classic crime novel from the 1960s.
This story follows the murder of a man on bonfire night by a gang of teddy boys, the police investigation and the subsequent trial of two of the teenagers. This is interspersed with the personal perspective of a journalist who is there on the night of the murder, reports the story and gets involved in the trial.
This story is essentially about the ways that society of the 1960s fails it’s youth and the corruption and dysfunction within the police and legal systems at that time.
~
This was a interesting one, quite different from the kind of murder mystery I usually read. It was much less focused on who actually committed the murder and much more concerned with the ramifications of the act.
In this way it was much more cynical than a classic murder mystery. There is no real sense of justice being done. The police are violet and brutal, the courts persuadable and the press at best mercenary and at worst actively profiting off of human misery. The teenagers who where involved in the violence seem variably scared and lost and completely cold and unremorseful.
It paints a bleak but very effecting picture.
~
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys police and justice shows and anyone interested in the 1960s and social commentary of this period.
angela_king's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
katiec626's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
amalia1985's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
‘’They went out into the streets of the city where it seemed always to be raining, the soft rain of autumn that made the few cars now moving around the city centre suck and lick out the shiny black roads.’’
A stubbing takes place on Guy Fawkes Night. The bonfire is enough to light the faces of the murderers.
Or is it?
Two young men are accused of the crime, members of one of the local gangs, formed by children - for that is what they are - who are desperate for someone to listen to them and their needs. The parents’ utter failure to be there for their children becomes the root of a crime that draws the attention of the Press aka. the vultures with pens and cameras instead of claws. But not all of them are the same. A young journalist becomes involved in the case - in more ways than one - and tries to discover the truth.
Julian Symons’s mystery is a powerful, solemn commentary on how family and society can ostracise a person and drive them to crime and madness. This is what isolation and lack of understanding do to the young members of our societies. This is why parents need to take a good, long look into the mirror before they drive their children to despair. This is why teachers need to educate and nurture and stop treating the classroom as a field to exercise our twisted notion of authority over young souls. In Symons’s story, the crime takes a secondary role. What really counts is the psychological impact of being the accused in a secretive community that points the finger without a second thought.
We witness the machinations of the trial process, the intrigues and calculations of seeking the sensational material for the first page, the battle of Labour VS Tories, two parties that don’t give a fig about the people, and the changes that defined England during the 60s. The beautiful relationship between Jill (I loved her!) and Hugh made this excellent courtroom drama even more striking. And don’t tell me there is no such thing as love at first sight because THERE IS and you are utterly clueless. Pun intended.
Poignant Introduction - as always - by Martin Edwards.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
zwilde's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
fern17's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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