Colin Wilson the author of such books as 'The Outsider', 'The Encyclopedia Of Murder' and 'The Occult' is not, usually, noted for his handfull of novels. But if you have seen the movie 'Lifeforce' then it has a basis in his sole sci-fi novel 'The Mind Parasites'.
1974 saw Colin Wilson step into detective fiction with the creation of Chief Superintendant Gregory Saltwood.
Saltwood is called to a scene of crime where the body of a schoolgirl aged about 14 is found assaulted and strangled in the grounds of an emposing Victorian house in Hampstead (North London).
It is noted that the uniform that the girl is wearing is not that of one of the known local schools. So a search of missing persons is started alongside the murder investigation.
Readers of Colin Wilson's earlier fiction will know that this case is not going to follow the set and staid route of normal crime fiction. For is not long before Saltwood is plunged into a world where the abnormal and bizarre seems normal.
Nor is the schoolgirl as innocent as she seems.
This story goes at a cracking pace even when it goes off at a tangent - but the tangents are relevant.
As with a lot of Colin Wilson's books there are references to other obscure and forgotten books.
Though much of Colin Wilson's fictional works deal with the criminal mind this book and 'The Janus Murder Case' are his only ventures in the crime detection genre.
7 comments:
Sounds like a good one Ray.
Sounds like a good one to me, Ray. Thanks for the review.
Nice review, Ray. Looks like another author I need to sample.
Wilson -The Outsider particularly -was a BIG influence on me when I was younger and I loved both this and the Janus Murder Case. Adrift in Soho was my fave novel , though. Good call, Ray.
Good review, perhaps I will grab this one out in the bookstore. Hope I can find one!
Sounds interesting. Hmmmm, another forgotten book worth digging!
"Lifeforce" is based on "The Space Vampires" NOT "The Mind Parasites"
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