Synopsis (from
the publisher):
Private detective Fernández Britten is an old hand at confirming
the dark suspicions of jealous lovers and exposing ugly truths of all
varieties. Battered by years of bearing ill tidings, he clings to the
hope of revealing, just once, a truth that will do some good in the
world. It is a redemption that has long eluded him.
Then Britten and his unconventional partner, Brülightly, take on
the mysterious death of Berni Kudos. The official verdict is suicide,
but Berni’s fiancée is convinced that the reality is
something more sinister. Blackmail, revenge, murder: each new
revelation stirs up the muddy waters of painful family secrets, and
each fresh twist takes the partners further from Britten’s
longed-for salvation. Doing good in the world, he discovers, may have
more to do with silence than truth.
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Britten and Brulightly
Non-series
Hannah
Berry
Metropolitan Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8927-6 (0805089276)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8927-1 (9780805089271)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $20.00
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Review: Hannah
Berry's debut mystery, Britten and
Brulightly, is an exquisitely drawn, well-crafted noir thriller
written as a graphic novel.
Fernandez Britten is a private investigator whose specialty is tracking
down cheating spouses and exposing their secret lives. "I had made
something of a name for myself in the field," he says. "That name was
'The Heartbreaker'." But he's tiring of the depressing work, so he and
his partner, Stewart Brulightly (a teabag), decide to accept more
challenging assignments, in particular murder cases. And he prefers the
term "private researcher" to describe his work; it has less
connotations.
His latest case is the fiancé of a man who killed himself. But
she thinks it was murder, or at least he was coerced to do the deed.
"He would never have used a pencil to write his final words. He was
better than that. I bought him a perfectly good fountain pen for
Christmas." Britten's investigation ... err, research ... suggests she
may be right. But it also suggests she may not want to know the truth
either.
Britten and Brulightly
is quirky, clever, and gorgeous to look at. The images have a subtle
wash of color to them and are filled with wonderful details. For such a
short novel, the story is satisfyingly rich in plotting and the
characters have surprising depth. Stewart (the teabag) is something of
an anomaly. It isn't clear whether he's Britten's alter ego, his
conscience, or just a figment of Britten's imagination. He provides,
though, an interesting contrast to the somewhat sedate character of
Britten, and often plays devil's advocate to his thought process.
About the only drawback to the book, and it's a significant one, is
that the first-person narrative text is exceptionally hard to read. The
block text used for the dialog is fine, but the odd cursive letters and
low contrast between the text and the background make reading Britten's
words a real challenge. It really detracts from the pleasure of reading
what is otherwise a singular graphic novel.
Special thanks to Henry Holt for providing a copy of Britten and Brulightly for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Britten and Brulightly? How would you rate it?
Graphic novels by this author …
Britten and Brulightly
Metropolitan Books (Trade Paperback), March 2009
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8927-6 (0805089276)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8927-1 (9780805089271)
Omnimystery keywords for Britten and Brulightly ...
Location(s) referenced: None.
