Readers of both classic mysteries and literary fiction will enjoy this intermingling of the two in Louise Hegarty's first novel, Fair Play, an utterly fresh approach to the standard whodunit that adds emotional heft to playful pastiche.
Abigail has prepared, with her usual flair, the annual New Year's Eve murder mystery-themed caper that doubles as her older brother Benjamin's birthday party. The assembled guests are mostly their close friends. The murder is solved in due course, and merrymaking goes into the wee hours. But this January 1, instead of celebrating with his hungover friends in the mansion they've rented for the occasion, Benjamin is found dead.
Here, the novel splits into two parallel storylines. One of them follows Abigail as she deals with the logistics of the funeral and the shattering grief of losing her brother. In this path, her return to her life is piecemeal and painful, and she struggles to make sense of what's happened.
In the other strand, their story is transformed to reflect the classic conventions of the mystery genre. Many of the trappings of a good drawing-room mystery are well in place: a locked-room murder, a plausible roster of suspects with more or less apparent motives, and an acclaimed detective, Auguste Bell. Hagerty infuses this play on the traditional narrative with other self-referential commentary and winks at genre specifics, including four pages of prescriptions and rules for mysteries taken from an array of writers.
Hagerty skillfully manipulates the genre, calling attention to the reader's expectations and subverting familiar tropes in the service of nuanced storytelling. Fair Play is a thoroughly satisfying and thought-provoking read. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.