The Semantics of Murder

by Aifric Campbell

Jay Hamilton lives a comfortable life in fashionable west London, listening to the minor and major dysfunctions of the over-privileged clients who frequent his psychoanalytic practice. But the darker recesses of his own psyche would not stand up to close examination: his brother Richard, a genius professor of mathematical linguistics, was apparently killed by rent boys in Los Angeles and Jay was the first on the scene.

Author Dana Flynn is determined to scratch beneath the surface while researching a biography she intends to write about Richard, and finds that Jay's professional life is as precarious as his personal relationships - he uses his clients' case studies as material for his fiction writing.

Such is Jay's hunger for recognition as a creative force that he exploits the vulnerable people he counsels, and a decision not to intervene when a troubled patient steals a baby, causes his past to unravel.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Novels, Thriller, Mystery, Roman, Linguistics

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Aifric Campbell is the author of On the Floor, longlisted for the Orange Prize. Campbell spent thirteen years at Morgan Stanley, where she became the first woman managing director on the London trading floor. She left to earn a Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and currently teaches at Imperial College, London. Campbell’s writing has been awarded a fellowship at UCLA and residencies at Yaddo. She is currently at work on a new novel.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/aifric...

Reviews

[Daniëlle van Mil · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Written with an air of pseudo-intellectualism that is as grating and unnecessary as it is lame.

[Sheldon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing read. I rather wished Neal Stephenson had written on the subject.

• Slow to start. Slow to develop.

• Fictionalization of real people failed to bring them alive especial the one who was murdered.

• Lacked depth.

• Secondary storyline went from filler to replacing the main plot.

• A weak approach to the startling reveal.

• A whole lot of unnecessary filler.


On a positive note, the subject material was great source material for a novel.

[Corry Clybouw]

Een wetenschappelijk roman met als thema's psycho-analyse en semantiek. En een onopgeloste moord. Goed geschreven, mooie wendingen. Een aanrader.

[Gav]

Some stories are linear with a beginning, middle and end. And then there are some stories that start near the end and look backwards. The Semantics of Murder looks backwards and as it does it pulls away the layers that make up psychoanalyst Jay Hamilton, whose life and mind may have darker recesses than some, if not most of, his patients.

Jay Hamilton lives in a fashionable area of London, listening to the problems of wealthy clients who visit his psychoanalyst practice. What they don’t know is that his brother Robert, a genius professor of mathematical linguistics at UCLA was apparently killed several years ago by rent boys and Jay was the first person on the scene. This might have stayed buried in his own psyche if it wasn’t for author Dana Flynn’s research into proposed biography of Robert.

Through the talks between Dana and Jay he finds out that he isn’t as in control as he thinks he is and he doesn’t know everything surrounding his brothers life and eventual death. Dana pokes, prods and peels back until Jay ends up revealing more and more of the story to the reader. Jay doesn’t like not being in control. A personality trait that he exerts subtly and repeatedly over his patients for his own means.

Aifric is a skilled story-weaver, laying multiple threads, that she pulls tighter and tighter. Not only does the picture of Jay Hamilton’s life and origins becomes clearer but also she keeps the tension taut as one of Jay’s patients unknowingly reveals more to Dana than he wanted.

There are plenty of shocking revelations. Both in terms of Aifric’s frankness about Robert’s sexual encounters and Jay’s responses to them to the character of Jay himself. As she exposes more and more it seems that she has reached the last layer only to pull one it away to reveal something darker.

All this might make it seem that The Semantics of Murder is a slow and thoughtful read. It is thoughtful but Aifric keeps events moving until eventual taking them out of Jay’s control.

In the end I’m left wondering if I actually like Jay Hamilton – he’s not a nice character if you examine him in a cold and clinical way and just deal in the facts. But he’s gains my sympathies from the seemingly inevitable direction his life takes.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A psychoanalyst with a full complement of psychotic issues is not entirely unique in the world of “Doctor, heal they self.” However, the protagonist of this tale has a thriving practice in London and a history of family dysfunctions. With painstaking details, the author describes the analyst’s brother’s research and this provides the sane and yet extraordinary background for the interior world of the central character. I cannot, in good conscience, spoil the ending of this stunner of a thriller. It stands alone in the genre, as well it should.

[Angie Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I should give this book 5* because it left such a visceral awful taste in my mouth and brain. I mean it must taking good writing to illicit that kind of reaction, eh?
The protagonist, Jay Hamilton, is such an unhappy man and the very definition of evil. I couldn't even leave this book in a Little Free Library for someone else.

[Catriona Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Peter Thew · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual read, peopled with a generally unpleasant cast. Jay, a self-centred psychoanalyst, his much older brother, Robert, a well-known professor of mathematical logic, their mother who doted on the elder son and Dana, a writer researching a biography of Robert probing into the circumstances of his death. Aifric Campbell writes engagingly in her story of this strange quartet, but the final story is strangely unsatisfying.

[Soho_Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

In crime thrillers, I've often found that the quality of the writing is sacrificed for the quality of the story. Unfortunately, sometimes the reverse can also be true and that seems to be the case with Aifric Campbell's ''The Semantics of Murder''.

Jay Hamilton is a psychoanalyst, living and working in Kensington and combining his practice by writing novels based on his clients' problems. His current project involves a lady named Cora, who is dealing with issues relating to her inability to have a child. Jay is more concerned with trying to find her story to finish his latest book than he is in improving her psychological well-being.

Jay's own psychological well-being is interrupted by the arrival of Dana Flynn, a writer currently working on a biography of Jay's late brother Robert. This brings back all kinds of memories for Jay, who was the one to find the body after his brother was murdered. As Jay's past interferes with his present, his memories return to haunt him. We follow Jay's life in both the past and the present, as he tried to deal with his clients' troubles, whilst also trying to live his own life, with flashbacks to his past interrupting his endeavours.

The first thing that really stood out for me about Campbell's writing was that it was very well layered. She builds up both the past and the present piece by piece, weaving both together to present a complete picture to the reader. Slowly, we get to see how Robert's actions shaped not only his life, but also Jay's and how the way people reacted to Robert had an effect on Jay. We also get to see how Jay's sudden rush of memory affects his mental state.

Campbell's writing is very emotionally descriptive and really allows the reader to feel exactly what her characters are going through. When Jay is engulfed by his memories and it starts to feel as if they're getting the better of him, I felt as if I was being dragged down with him. The vivid way Campbell describes how a character feels about an event or an experience, or even how something they're looking at makes them feel allows you to be there with them. It does make things hard going at times, especially as many of the emotions here aren't positive ones, but it certainly feels real from a psychological point of view, even though many of the events were beyond my own personal experience and I couldn't fully relate to them.

The negative emotions running through the book are understandable, as you wouldn't be visiting a psychoanalyst if everything was going well and revisiting the murder of a close relative doesn't tend to be a happy experience. But this does give the whole story a very dark and foreboding feel, as we are plumbing the depths of the human psyche here. The story in general and Jay's memories in particular are like a cave; the deeper it goes, the darker it becomes and whilst Campbell's writing is good enough that the darkness becomes, it's never terribly comfortable or welcoming.

This makes for quite a tough reading experience and the slow build of the novel doesn't help with that. There isn't anywhere the pace picks up enough to distract the reader from the dark places the novel is leading us into. Although the story alternates between past and present quite regularly, it doesn't do so with any real sense of urgency. The switching of perspective may help not get too bogged down in one part of the story, but both past and present are quite slow moving and the alternation between the two doesn't nothing to increase the pace.

Part of the problem here may be that there isn't quite enough story to go around. The psychological side of things is wonderfully written, but the basic story doesn't seem to go anywhere and seems to exist largely to provide a reason for the writing itself. Fortunately, the writing is good enough that you don't tend to look too hard at the story, as its flaws would become more apparent if this were the case. The whole book is like a road; built on many layers but not really going anywhere you'd like to go and not built on terribly strong foundations.

Campbell is clearly a talented writer and her knowledge of psychology and psychoanalysis seems far deeper than many in the genre. It seems that she may be a psychologist first and a writer second, particularly when it comes to delivering a story. The result is that, whilst this is certainly a more emotionally charged book than I've read in some time, the quality of the writing and emotions isn't matched by the quality of the story telling, which makes for an uneven experience. ''The Semantics of Murder'' is certainly a very good read, but it's not a particularly enjoyable one.

This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes a good book? It's something I've been contemplating for quite a while since I finished reading Aifric Campbell's first novel THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER. This was a book that came completely out of left field, but I guess that's not surprising with an author who was born in Ireland, as a Convent educated schoolgirl had a greyhound win the Irish Derby, co-wrote a hymn which went on to become a winning entry in a national TV song competition, went to Sweden as an au pair, completed a linguistics degree, lectured in semantics, worked as an investment banker, gave that up and studied psychotherapy and creative writing.

It's a background that would appear, on the surface, to directly inform the subject matter of THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER. Jay Hamilton is a psychoanalyst, living in a very fashionable area of London, listening to the problems of his clients, controlled, professional, contained. So he seems. When he was a much younger man his brother Robert, a professor of mathematical linguistics at UCLA was murdered - seemingly by rent boys, and Jay found his body. The case has been an unsolved mystery for many years. Robert was a much admired professor, an acknowledged expert in his own field. He was also homosexual with a preference for dangerous sexual liaisons. Maybe the investigation was less than rigorous as a result, maybe there are other reasons why his murder remains unsolved. Author Dana Flynn is researching a biography of Robert and she is determined to scratch the surface of the undiscussed. Robert and Jay had a very odd upbringing, and Jay isn't as professional as he would seem.

THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER is one of those slow burning, hypnotic sorts of stories. Starting off, frankly, in a rather boring manner with Jay narrating his controlled life and his perfect professionalism, the story builds as Jay slowly loses control of the persona he has developed. He is forced to confront his relationship with a mother who adored Robert and regarded Jay as a massive mistake, a relationship with Robert (a much older brother), which was, just not quite right. Jay resents Robert's position as the adored son, he finds the truth of his brother's sexuality confronting, he's not as in control of his own life as he initially presents. Jay's circumstances become increasingly shabby and the truth of his own behaviour is revealed.

It's undoubtedly a confronting book to read. As the narrator of the story, Jay is a fascinating character, but not somebody you're likely to start off, or end up for that matter, particularly liking. There is something that is triggering Jay's behaviour though, and it's probably not a spoiler to say that you're very likely to pick it coming - perhaps that's because of the way that the author is carefully guiding the reader. It's less of a shock and more of a moment when there's a glimmer of sympathy for Jay, then again, maybe not.

But is THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER a good book? It's definitely an unusual book. There are some indications of it being a first novel, a tendency to lose the story in the great portrayals of emotion and feeling. It's not an easy book to read and there's a real feeling of damage and sadness, with not a lot of redemption or positivity. But it is an unusual aspect of crime, and it provides a discomforting but realistic feeling of exploitation, skewed morality and the impact of damage. You couldn't by any stretch of the imagination call THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER an enjoyable book, but if a good book is one that really makes you think, and maybe makes you contemplate a different viewpoint, then undoubtedly it's a good book.

See http://www.thesemanticsofmurder.com for more about the author and the book.

[Manish Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story that ultimately felt a tad hollow.

The Semantics of Murder is ostensibly inspired by the late professor Richard Montague of UCLA, whose murder remains unsolved. However, those reading this believing it to be a homage or reenactment of Montague's life may be left disappointed. Represented in the novel as Robert Hamilton, his role is central but not pivotal to the story.

It is presented, instead, from the perspective of Jay Hamilton, his brother. Jay is a ruthless psychoanalyst who is more interested in delivering his clients to the truth of their situation, often harshly, than in correcting their behavior on false terms like most of his peers. Subliminally influenced by Freud, Jay fictitiously chronicles his interactions with his clients and sells the stories under a psuedonym, believing that the real distress and insecurities of his clients fuel his creativity. It is business as usual for him until biographer Dana Flynn contacts him to research her proposed biography of his brother.

I find Jay a highly intriguing character. He analyses and evaluates every move made or word said by those around him, his mind constantly on overdrive as a result of his proficiency in psychoanalysis. But just as often, his mind wanders into his past and its many buried memories, especially when primed by Flynn.

For a novel thus written in media res, the plot segues elegantly at the transition points. A heavy shroud hangs over the novel from the beginning, a quiet certainty that precludes any hope of an ebullient conclusion. Indeed, we see reason transpose into irrationality, Jay's controlled persona reveal its haunting ghosts, the tension between a cultured mind and a tortured upbringing. The Semantics of Murder was as captivating as it was disturbing.

I liked the book. Jay's emotions, contemplations and analyses comprise a large portion of the book, and as one who revels in the intricacies of the mind I found this highly palatable. The writing is sophisticated without seeming extravagant. I suspect that some people may not like the ending; but I consider it canny because there was nothing to be gained by expounding further. My gripe is the unfulfilled aftertase that I am left with; "did I need to read that?" My experiencing self found it a satisfying read; my remembering self sees no value in it. Well, perhaps that is a sign of accomplishment in a depressing novel. I say, take the plunge and go for it.

[Cornelis Broekhof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe my expectations were too high because of the raving reviews, but I was disappointed by this book. Jay Hamilton, the main character, is an American who has moved to London. He has a psychoanalysis practice and uses the case histories of his patients as inspiration for the fiction he writes under a different name. This applies to some extent also to Aifric Campbel, the author of this book, who, according to the biographical information inside, studies psychotherapy and creative writing in England. Perhaps as a consequence of this background, the characters in her book appear as case histories rather than as real life people. Jay’s father abandoned his family when Jay was still young, his mother openly favors his older brother Robert and Robert (the substitute father) uses every opportunity to humiliate his kid brother. These relationships are hammered home so consistently that you guess who dunnit before you have read half the book.
Two inconsistencies struck me. First, in chapter 2 Jay “was reminded how surprising it was that even after so many years in London, there were still mundane sensual pleasures he missed: the dry crumble of Hershey’s chocolate, the warm feel of a dime, the mournful bellow of a fog horn over the mist-thick Bay, the clinking lap of water underneath the weathered pier boards. Most of all, he missed the sea …” That seems quite a lot to choose from if anyone should ever ask if there is anything about America you miss. But when this happens in chapter eight, where Dana asks Jay if he ever misses America, his reply is “no”. Second, halfway chapter twelve, Jay ‘was waiting to be told something, some explanation of what the cops believed had happened, although they of course knew no more about the incident than he.’ Here the narrator is really cheating the reader, because Jay does know more about the incident than the cops (a lot more actually), as the reader has already been suspecting for a while.

[Jane Hammons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was highly recommended, but I found it disappointing. Though it is really intriguing in the beginning, the last chapter (which I won't discuss because it would spoil the book) is a huge letdown. I don't need everything to be wrapped up in a tidy box, even in a mystery/suspense novel, but this is one of the endings that just floats away from the novel, and so the reader is left with a big hole in the end. All that said, the book is beautifully written, and the psychological insights have depth, all of which makes it engaging--up to a point.

[Ine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the plot is given away in the first chapters and it is clear who the killer is from page one, this book fails as a mystery novel. However, Aifric Campbell is an articulate story-teller and the protagonist's reflections on meaning are captivating. Over-analysis does become tedious in the end, though.

[Els]

well written but it's not the book of the year (as suggested in DS). I knew quite early in the story who murdered who and why. maybe I've read too much of this stuff for the last 25 years :-) it's not a page turner but nice to sit out a rainy weekend.

[Kate Bucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure there are lots of solid intellectual reasons to like this book, but I found the main character so unpleasant I really couldn't warm to it at all.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some day, someone will write a great mystery/thriller with a psychotherapist protagonist, but this isn't it.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik twijfelde tussen 3 en 4 sterren. Het boek wordt gepresenteerd als een detective, wat het in mijn ogen niet is, dus daarom uiteindelijk 3 sterren.

[Reginald Rosema · Rating 4 out of 5]

great story

[Floietoss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jay Hamilton lives a comfortable life in fashionable west London, listening to the minor and major dysfunctions of the over-privileged clients who frequent his psychoanalytic practice. But the darker recesses of his own psyche would not stand up to close examination: his brother Richard, a genius professor of mathematical linguistics, was apparently killed by rent boys in Los Angeles and Jay was the first on the scene.Author Dana Flynn is determined to scratch beneath the surface while researching a biography she intends to write about Richard, and finds that Jay's professional life is as precarious as his personal relationships - he uses his clients' case studies as material for his fiction writing.Such is Jay's hunger for recognition as a creative force that he exploits the vulnerable people he counsels, and a decision not to intervene when a troubled patient steals a baby, causes his past to unravel.