THE MYSTERY NOVEL AS ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL HISTORY

Joseph Radkin Investigations Series - Books 1 – 5
By Bob Biderman, Black Apollo Mysteries

Book 1 – Strange Inheritance ISBN 1900355361
Book 2 – Genesis Files ISBN 190035537X
Book 3 – Judgement of Death ISBN 1900355388
Book 4 - Paper Cuts ISBN 1900355396]
Book 5 – Mayan Strawberries ISBN 190035540X

It’s great to see this delicious series back in print. Originally begun by Pluto Press as part of their New Crime imprint, it was taken over (books 2, 3 and 4) by Gollancz in an attempt to revitalise their well-loved but antiquated Yellow Jackets. What the ‘New Crime’ genre attempted through books like the Joseph Radkin Investigation Series - recently brought back into print by Black Apollo Mysteries – was to exchange the cheap thrills of macho car chases and hot lead with a world where ‘criminals’ can be good guys and villains can be ordinary people who betrayed a human trust. In the process we were given insight into dusty corners of history that few of us knew existed.