Gelignite

Yellowthread Street #3

by William Marshall

In the seamy Hong Bay district of Hong Kong, crimes of every shape and size are commonplace. But not letter bombs. Not until Leung and Ramaswamy are successfully and bloodily spread across their office walls. When Det. Inspector Bill Spencer narrowly escapes becoming victim number three, the cops are grimly determined to track down the culprit.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

William Marshall (or William Leonard Marshall) (born 1944, Australia) is an Australian author, best known for his Hong Kong-based "Yellowthread Street" mystery novels, some of which were used as the basis for a British TV series.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title refers to the explosive. In this third humorous procedural in the series there is a serial bomber and it's up to the intrepid detectives to prevent his evil plans from coming to fruition, while also dealing with pregnant wives, random demands and general aggravation. Marshall's books are cute and always good for a quick entertaining read. I found the plot of this one too convoluted and contrived, but it was still decent enough. So far the second book in the series remains my favorite and the most fun.

[🐴 🍖]

read this too long ago to review coherently but gotta give belated props. the bombings are a masterful illo of how understated can be scarier: distant handclaps or puffs of smoke that nevertheless whip/chop/puree. fresh & gripping too how the hostage crisis in the cemetery gets defused via a spin on the prisoner's dilemma. BPL has since weeded their copy, the eejits

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

DCI Feiffer and the rest of the Yellowthread crew match wits with a madman sending bombs to seemingly random figures in Hong Bay. Chinese cemetaries, a Hong Kong millionaire, and a tangled train of causes bring Feiffer, DSI O'Yee, and DIs Auden and Spencer into an ending out of a Tarentino movie. All this plays out as Nicola Feiffer proceeds into the end of a sludgy pregnancy. Yellowthread Street at its best.

[Race Bannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read from long ago.
The Yellowthread Street stories never cease to amuse
me. This has a casual style while still offering cliff
hanger type passages. I love the Harry Feiffer crew.

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un'altra storia di Yellowthread Street, nell'immaginario quartiere Hong Bay a Hong Kong. Questa volta i poliziotti e i detective della locale stazione di polizia sono alle prese con delle lettere bomba inviati ad alcuni commercianti del quartiere. Nonostante il bombarolo avvisi ogni volta la polizia delle sue intenzioni, il detective capo Feiffer ha le mani legate, perché i suoi superiori ritengono che si tratti di attentati terroristici, dei quali la popolazione non deve essere messa al corrente.
Ma Feiffer è convinto del contrario e proseguirà testardamente le sue indagini, fino a individuare il colpevole e il sordido movente.
In tutto questo il vice di Feiffer, l'anglocinese O'Yee, si fa venire una crisi d'identità alla ricerca delle sue vere radici, e antepone alle indagini la ricerca di un tucano impagliato, che finisce per saltare fuori nel posto meno probabile
Forse il meno umoristico della serie, è forse il più interessante dal punto di vista della parte "gialla" della trama. I personaggi, che nei primi due volumi erano piuttosto tratteggiati, sono in quest'ultimo libro molto più dettagliati e godibili.
Ringrazio Farrago e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

Another Yellowthread Street story, imaginary Hong Bay district in Hong Kong. This time the policemen and the detective of the local police station struggles with letter bombs sent to some of the neighborhood merchants. Despite the bomber alerts every time the police of his intentions, the chief detective Feiffer's hands are tied, because his superiors believe that this is a terrorist attack, of which the population must mot be made aware.
But Feiffer is convinced of the contrary, and stubbornly continue his investigation, until he finds the culprit and the sordid motivation.
In all this Feiffer's deputy, the anglocinese O'Yee, busts an identity crisis in search of his true roots, and place the searching for a stuffed toucan before the investigation, toucan which ends up jumping out in the perhaps less the least likely place.
Perhaps the less humorous of the series, it is maybe the most interesting from the point of view of the crimi part of the plot. The characters, which in the first two volumes were rather dashed, are in this book much more detailed and enjoyable.
Thank Farrago and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Shoshana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third installment of the wonderful “Yellowthread Street” police series. Because this series is unlike any other it is not easy to describe why these books are so much fun. They are serious police procedurals, but written with a wry sense of humor and with some zaniness mixed in. Fast paced, with never a dull moment, the reader enters a world where the police officers of the Yellowthread Street police station in Hong Bay (a fictional district of Hong Kong) are beset with all manner of crimes.

In this book, someone is sending letter bombs through the mail to what looks like random people in Hong Bay. The police, both British and Chinese, led by Chief Inspector Harry Feiffer, are also receiving mail from the bomber announcing his crimes; why they don’t know. The author plays fair; if I had been more open-minded I might have figured out what was going on, but I didn’t. The plot is very clever, and all of the loose ends are explained.

“Gelignite” was published in 1976, but it doesn’t feel dated. There are no personal computers or cellphones, and everyone smokes, but it only makes the book and the world of British-ruled Hong Kong seem real.

This book was a pleasure to read and I recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries. I am greatly looking forward to the next installment of this marvelous series.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest opinion.

[Elissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1976, "Gelignite" is replete with references to the pop culture of its day, from the Beatles to Marcus Welby. (If you don't know them you can take advantage of Wikipedia for on-the-spot enlightenment. Did you know, for instance, that Merthyr is Welsh for "martyr"?)

I was also struck by the characters' casual racism, which equally reflects the era; it runs not just between Asians and Europeans in equal measure but the Chinese chestnut seller's belief that the Indian letter writer is a fool and the Indian's equally fervent sense of superiority, all based on fear of the unknown culture. (Political correctness today might mask Mr. Marshall's clarity of observation then.)

But take away the era-specific details and you have a story that is as topical and fascinating and well-written, as fresh and entertaining as ever it was. I continue to be happily swept up in these stories which blend the daily lives of the characters with the crimes they are tasked to solve and leave you pondering some of the subtle philosophical questions raised.

[Elissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1976, "Gelignite" is replete with references to the pop culture of its day, from the Beatles to Marcus Welby. (If you don't know them you can take advantage of Wikipedia for on-the-spot enlightenment. Did you know, for instance, that Merthyr is Welsh for "martyr"?)

I was also struck by the characters' casual racism, which equally reflects the era; it runs not just between Asians and Europeans in equal measure but the Chinese chestnut seller's belief that the Indian letter writer is a fool and the Indian's equally fervent sense of superiority, all based on fear of the unknown culture. (Political correctness today might mask Mr. Marshall's clarity of observation then.)

But take away the era-specific details and you have a story that is as topical and fascinating and well-written, as fresh and entertaining as ever it was. I continue to be happily swept up in these stories which blend the daily lives of the characters with the crimes they are tasked to solve and leave you pondering some of the subtle philosophical questions raised.

[Bookish_predator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 in the Yellowthread Street series and it continues to be funny, violent and crime ridden!

This one is about bombings (hence the title) and the confusion of how people are being picked, gruesome in parts but very funny throughout.

I really am enjoying this series and very much look forward to getting the rest of the books to see what other trouble they all get up to!

*Huge thanks to William Marshall, Farago and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this author, he really knows how to tell a story. There is drama, black humour and a happy ending.
Again this book is set in Hong Kong, still under English lease, and again we find the detectives battling crime a' la Chinese style. A book I couldn't put down and I really recommend it to anyone likes a modern style of pulp fiction. I just cant get enough from this author.
This book was provided to me in return for an honest and unbiased review

[Kathryn McCary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third of Marshall's Yellowthread Street mysteries, and the last one in which the suspension of disbelief necessary to accept the final explanation was entirely effortless.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite William Marshall mystery stories. Funny, dark and hard to put down.

[Linda Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book in the series, and Marshall is very much developing the theme of racism and identity. Along, of course, with a complicated and very messy mystery.