Review: Don't Look Back by Josh Lanyon

As the British saying goes, Josh Lanyon's books have been a bit like buses recently: You wait ages for one to arrive and then three come along at once. The other two being Lovers and Other Strangers and Someone Killed his Editor, both of which I've reviewed here over the past couple of weeks.

Don't Look Back is the novella which will go into the next Partners in Crime Anthology, along with Jordan Castillo Price's novella. However, it's also released today by Loose Id as a stand-a-lone. It's a very different story to the other two books which have been recently released. Its tone is quieter, more reflective and the story mirrors that tone in that most of the conflict comes from the lead character's internal confusion, rather than external forces (although there is a bit of that as well). You may also be shocked to learn that there isn't one single murder in this novella. Not one.

The book begins in a dramatic fashion with our hero, Peter, stumbling towards a house with blood pouring out of his head. He passes out once he gets inside and awakens in hospital with no recollection of who he is or how he got in hospital. Sitting by his bed is Detective Griffin, who tells Peter that he has been accused of robbery. Peter is a museum curate and several costly pieces have been stolen from the museum, including a valuable mural which was taken the night that Peter was attacked. The book follows Peter's attempt to regain his memory and discover who is stealing from the museum.

Although this story is told in the third person, we only get Peter's point of view. This allows us to experience all his frustrations and confusion over what is happening to him, but also means that the reader experiences a little doubt as to whether Peter is telling us the whole truth. His amnesia also casts some doubt on whether he could be the one committing the crime because, although he believes within himself that he's not capable of stealing, he doesn't remember whether he has or not. The use of the amnesia in this context was an interesting way to keep the mystery going, even though I'd pretty much guessed who was responsible before the end.

Another interesting way that the amnesia was used is in the characterisation of Peter. He can't remember what sort of person he is and can only rely on what he knows instinctively about himself. This means that Peter is actually freed from many of the constraints he had previous to the amnesia and is able to act in a way that is more true to his personality than he had previously. One telling scene is when Peter arrives at his house after leaving the hospital and wanders from room to room looking at his things, his clothes and the life he obviously led before the attack.

He tossed the shirt into the laundry, opened the closet, and blinked. His clothes hung in two neatly laundered and pressed rows -- grouped by style and color. Could he really be this organized? It didn’t seem…natural.

He selected a brown polo shirt and a pair of stone-colored chinos. He didn’t appear to own a pair of simple Levi’s.

Peter is even surprised by his own appearance when he looks in the mirror. It suggests that Peter has long lived a life which warred with his inner personality. The amnesia allows him to break free of that - to begin again, as it were, and make a fresh start with his life and with his friends. This was an unusual twist on the amnesia theme, which tends to involve people trying to get their memories back so they can return to how they were, not to rediscover themselves and move away from their previous life as Peter tries to do.

This is Peter's story and we get to experience all his highs and lows. As a result some of the other characters were not quite as well drawn as they may have been. This could be a deliberate ploy because Peter doesn't remember these people and only vaguely recalls their importance in his life, so how can they be fully rounded? Even Mike Griffin, the outwardly gruff detective is somewhat of a mystery. His motivations and past dealings with Peter are revealed slowly through the novella and only at the end do we see some of his true personality. This makes him somewhat of an enigma for most of the book.

I'm a big fan of some of Josh Lanyon's quieter, less outwardly humourous mysteries, such as Cards on the Table and Ghost of a Chance and this book can be compared favourably to those. I liked Peter and my heart ached for his situation and the confusion and helplessness he feels. I was cheering him on all the way through his period of self-discovery and subsequent re-evaluation of some of the decisions he has made in his life. Whilst the mystery elements were all present and correct, this book is really about one man's battle with himself; a battle I was all too happy to witness.

So if you're looking for flashy dialogue and Josh Lanyon's trademark wit, you may need to go elsewhere than this book as any humour within Don't Look Back is of the wry, self effacing sort. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery which gains a grade of 'Excellent', and am happy to add this novella to the growing list of Josh Lanyon's books that I will re-read when I'm in the mood for something emotionally satisfying.