2008-10-04 Formulaic let-down

As a mystery writer Goodwin needs to realise that complexity is neither necessary nor sufficient and that there is a difference between a twist and a completely unexpained (and perhaps inexplicable) piece of action towards the end of a book.

As a historical genre writer he needs to undertand that a lot of - indeed most - locations are no longer exotic and if you are going to use them then you have to do more than offer a description and expect the reader to be astonished. The extensive chambers that exist underneath Istanbul will presumably only come as a surprise to anyone who hasn't seen 'From Russia With Love' and the setting of a murder mystery around the supply of water to an ancient city would be new to those who haven't read 'Three Hands in the Fountain' by Lindsey Davis.

He also needs to invest in a thesaurus; I am sure it is possible for a pain to be other than 'searing'.