"Death Can't Take a Joke" or "How to Avoid the Murder-She-Wrote Sydrome" by Anya Lipska


Crime fiction is riddled with clichéd characters, that, in and of itself, is not a bad thing (it's all in the hands of the artist...a few examples come to mind: P.D James, Michael Connelly, Len Deighton, John Le Carré, Robert Littell, Henning Mankell, R. J. Ellory).
Pick up a book at random. Any book. I can tell you with almost 100% accuracy that every character in the book will fall into one of three groups:

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The second book in the Kiszka and Kershaw series set within the Polish community in London, DEATH CAN'T TAKE A JOKE has been a much anticipated arrival, which does not disappoint.

In the first book, WHERE THE DEVIL CAN'T GO, Lipska builds a terrific partnership between the distant, slightly standoffish, Polish PI Janusz Kiszka and an ambitious, young, British detective Natalie Kershaw. This is not your traditional police procedural relationship, there's no love interest (not even a spark of sexual tension), and there's no enforced working relationship (they aren't colleagues). In DEATH CAN'T TAKE A JOKE this relationship is expanded further as once again, their investigations overlap deep within the complex world of the Polish expatriate community centred around the area of Kershaw's police beat. It's a clever way of pulling together an unlikely pairing like this, particularly as Kiszka's involvement here is initially that of a suspect.

Part of the reason this pairing of characters works well is the contrasts. The life of the immigrant forced from a country he loves by circumstances beyond his control, a broken marriage and fractured relationship with his only child, versus that of someone British born, whose major life change is moving in with partner, and fellow cop Ben. Although there are some similarities in that their love lives always seem to be teetering on the edge of not quite getting it right, they both fare slightly better with friendships. In particular, Kiszka's long-term friends have been a source of real enjoyment in both of these books, particularly the magnificently batty Oskar, who is the perfect foil for the taciturn Kiszka in every way. Their enforced abode sharing in this book is the source of a series of particularly funny one-liners. There's also a good working relationship between Kershaw and her boss - he's not the stereotypical thorn in our hero's side for once, and there's a great sense of understanding, camaraderie and co-operation.

Whilst the characters are a big part of why this series has worked so well, they are supported by good, believable and complex plots. There's no surprise in the death of Kiszka's friend being an official investigation, and the focus of his own attention. There's also something elegantly realistic about the way that the connections between a Ukrainian mystery woman, a ruthless Romanian gangster and the unknown Polish man who seemingly jumped to his death fall into place. There are even touches of history lesson woven in - we're learning more and more about the political tensions in Poland, and the reasons why so many people have fled or been forced out.

All of which leads us to the underlying reason for this series heading into firm favourite stakes. Lipska is a consummate storyteller. The characters, the place, and the plots are realistic. The dialogue is well structured, and even the inclusion of Polish terms and slang flow into place without ever bogging the reader down in translation thinking. The combination of plot, personal and pace are perfect. There's real impetus to keep reading here, and that's not because of any impending sense of doom or gloom, it's because of a genuine engagement with the investigators, their friends, family and colleagues, and the victims.

If you've not read the first book WHERE THE DEVIL CAN'T GO, then you could dive straight into DEATH CAN'T TAKE A JOKE. There's enough feel for the back-story of all the main characters that you're not going to be completely lost and bamboozled. Although you'd be missing a real opportunity to catch up with, and then wait impatiently for the third book in the series. Just like the rest of us welded-on fans.

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