A Killing in November
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- Create Date：2021-12-26 00:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Mason
- ISBN：1529415675
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Summary
Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park， a member of what many people would call the criminal classes。 As a young Detective Inspector， he's lost none of his disgust with privileged elites - or his objectionable manners。 But he notices things; they stick to his eyes。 His professional partner， DI Ray Wilkins， of affluent Nigerian-London heritage， is an impeccably groomed， smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College， Oxford。 You wouldn't think they would get on。 They don't。
But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall， they're forced to。
Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat。 St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning。 But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study？ Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina， a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others？
As tensions rise， things aren't going well。 Ray is in despair。 Ryan is in disciplinary measures。 But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens， a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman。
A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns， troubled pasts and unconventional detective work。
But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall， they're forced to。
Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat。 St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning。 But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study？ Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina， a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others？
As tensions rise， things aren't going well。 Ray is in despair。 Ryan is in disciplinary measures。 But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens， a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman。
A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns， troubled pasts and unconventional detective work。
Reviews
Alex Jones
，
After about 20/30 pages of this book I was ready to give up。 Simply because of what felt like a too far fetched protagonist in DI Ryan Wilkins。 I was done as I really couldn’t take to him but something made me just carry On a little longer and In doing so I’m very glad I did as I’ve read one of my favourite books this year and Ryan became a character I loved。With a bit of belief suspended ， as this is fiction after all， Ryan and his counterpart DI Ray Wilkins - nope not an error they have the sa After about 20/30 pages of this book I was ready to give up。 Simply because of what felt like a too far fetched protagonist in DI Ryan Wilkins。 I was done as I really couldn’t take to him but something made me just carry On a little longer and In doing so I’m very glad I did as I’ve read one of my favourite books this year and Ryan became a character I loved。With a bit of belief suspended ， as this is fiction after all， Ryan and his counterpart DI Ray Wilkins - nope not an error they have the same name - quickly grew on me on this humour filled and whip smart thriller full of wise cracks。2 protagonists so different， make for a cracking tale， a story big on the fact that appearances can be deceiving and that you should never go on your first judgements。This is fine first crime effort from Simon Mason， with an ending to perhaps suggest it’s a standalone but maybe with the door just slightly ajar for more if this does well which I wholeheartedly believe it will as it’s very entertaining and enjoyable crime fiction 。。。more
Elaine Tomasso
，
I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of A Killing in November， a stand-alone police procedural set in Oxford featuring DI Ryan Wilkins and DI Raymond Wilkins。On his first day at Oxford Ryan is called out to a murder at Barnabas College。 A young woman has been found strangled in the Provost’s office。 He denies knowing her and things get heated。 Ray is sent in to smooth things over and the two end up working the case together。I enjoyed A Killing in November， which I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of A Killing in November， a stand-alone police procedural set in Oxford featuring DI Ryan Wilkins and DI Raymond Wilkins。On his first day at Oxford Ryan is called out to a murder at Barnabas College。 A young woman has been found strangled in the Provost’s office。 He denies knowing her and things get heated。 Ray is sent in to smooth things over and the two end up working the case together。I enjoyed A Killing in November， which takes a more unusual approach to the standard procedural format。 Ryan， not to put too fine a point on it， comes from trailer park trash and has a chip on his shoulder and serious anger management issues。 Ray is an Oxford graduate and a bit of a snob who has had an easy life。 Chalk and cheese doesn’t come into it， but gradually they come to respect each other and work closely together until Ryan gets put on disciplinary review。 There is too much stereotyping in the characters to make them authentic， but Ryan is fun if you don’t mind bad language。The plot is better than the characterisation。 It has a genuine mystery and encompasses such topics as refugees and Islam。 The first issue is identifying the victim and establishing a motive。 This proves to be more difficult than expected and involves some creative thinking。 I was hooked on the who and why so I rattled through the novel。 The ending doesn’t leave much scope for a sequel， but the author has proved himself to be inventive in this novel， so who knows？ I would read more of his work as I found the writing style easy and inviting。A Killing in November is a good read that I can recommend。 。。。more
Paromjit
，
Simon Mason sets his crime novel amidst the dreaming spires of Oxford， depicting the contrasting picture of the city， the sharp divides in social class with those that inhabit the entitled， privileged， wealthy academic circles at the fictional Barnabas College， and the more socially deprived parts with riots taking place amidst the notorious council estates of Blackbird Leys。 This town and gown divide is echoed in the two lead detectives， the 30 year old DI Ray Wilkins， a well dressed Balliol Co Simon Mason sets his crime novel amidst the dreaming spires of Oxford， depicting the contrasting picture of the city， the sharp divides in social class with those that inhabit the entitled， privileged， wealthy academic circles at the fictional Barnabas College， and the more socially deprived parts with riots taking place amidst the notorious council estates of Blackbird Leys。 This town and gown divide is echoed in the two lead detectives， the 30 year old DI Ray Wilkins， a well dressed Balliol College man， from a wealthy Nigerian background， a high flyer， and the more troubled 27 year old DI Ryan Wilkins， who despises the world of privilege， growing up in a Oxford trailer park， a single dad with an adorable young son， Ryan。 I must admit at the beginning I found Ryan a character that stretched credulity as he dressed in trackies and a baseball cap worn backwards， arriving from Wiltshire under a dark cloud， rude and aggressive in his questioning of suspects and witnesses， with strong anger management issues， but he grew on me， and I found I was more than willing to suspend my sense of disbelief。As you might have noted， both detectives have the same surname。 which is how a mistake is made at the beginning when it is Ryan who is called to the scene of a murder at Barnabas College， the victim a woman who has been strangled in the Provost's study。 There had been a dinner in the honour of the controversial billionaire Sheik al-Medina， with his history of human rights abuses at home and atrocities in other countries。 The anxious Provost had been hoping to elicit funding for the new Institute for Peace Studies， only to be disappointed in what turned out to be a disastrous evening。 As you might imagine， Ray and Ryan have little in common， chalk and cheese， and initially struggle to get on， but slowly they begin to form a bond， Ryan might well be a wild card， but he notices details and is able to make breaks in a complex and intriguing case， where it takes some time to identify the murdered woman， and which involves a valuable stolen Koran， and another death。Mason creates a pair of detectives that managed to catch my interest， particularly Ryan， and he gives a great sense of location in Oxford， the starkly different sides， with the University and the poverty and unrest to be found at the other end of the social strata。 The highlight for me was the developing relationship between Ray and Ryan as they worked the case that seemed impossible initially。 Ray is reprimanded for not managing to control Ryan， which to be honest is not a realistic possibility， and Ryan finds himself in trouble as he locks horns with the powerful， but his troubles just seem to grow and grow。 This is an entertaining and engaging crime read， with many threads， like asylum seekers， human trafficking， sexual harrassment， and abuse， a novel that I have no doubt will appeal to many crime and mystery readers。 Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC。 。。。more
Clarisa Butler
，
I have enjoyed this detective story a lot。 It is fast paced， the detectives are fun， the plot is believable and sufficiently convoluted， with a judicious amount of clues， plus the writing is intelligent and stylish。 The classic setting of a （fictitious） Oxford college is well used， and the city， well conjured。 There are riots in the Leys （a child has been killed by the police） whilst in Barnabas College， the Provost is trying to lure an Arab sheik to finance a project。 Dinner is about to start， I have enjoyed this detective story a lot。 It is fast paced， the detectives are fun， the plot is believable and sufficiently convoluted， with a judicious amount of clues， plus the writing is intelligent and stylish。 The classic setting of a （fictitious） Oxford college is well used， and the city， well conjured。 There are riots in the Leys （a child has been killed by the police） whilst in Barnabas College， the Provost is trying to lure an Arab sheik to finance a project。 Dinner is about to start， the evening is fraught with tensions of diverse nature， when the inevitable happens: a murder is discovered。 DI Wilkins comes to the scene。。。 and this is precisely what becomes the unusual， fun bit of the novel。 Suffice it to say that I found the idea of the double detective excellent and entertaining， Stereotypical characters， certain lack of verisimilitude at times， but fleshed out with some individuality and a bit of complexity。 It is early days， but I am definitely looking forward to the next foray。。。 I wonder what will happen。。。 The plot kept me interested （it involves not only murder， but also the theft of a rare， valuable book） and I laughed out loud a number of times。 This is light reading which entertains and also touches， like most good detective stories， on real issues of some import （from class to race， to illegal immigration and sexual abuse）。With many thanks to Quercus Books via NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this very entertaining novel。 。。。more
Littlenanny
，
Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park and is now a detective inspector his partner is D。I Ray Wilkins who is a well groomed smooth talker，you wouldn't think they would get on，and you'd be right。When a young woman is found strangled they have to join forces to solve the crime。 An unlikely duo from different walks of life make for a different take on a police story which I really enjoyed。Look forward to more from this author。 Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for the ARC Ryan Wilkins grew up on a trailer park and is now a detective inspector his partner is D。I Ray Wilkins who is a well groomed smooth talker，you wouldn't think they would get on，and you'd be right。When a young woman is found strangled they have to join forces to solve the crime。 An unlikely duo from different walks of life make for a different take on a police story which I really enjoyed。Look forward to more from this author。 Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for the ARC 。。。more
Susan
，
A murder in a prestigious Oxford college calls for tact and sensitivity， both of which are in short supply in the young Detective Inspector who is the unusual main character of this book。 Indeed， both of the investigating detectives are called D I Wilkins， but while Raymond is Oxford educated and from a privileged background， single father， Ryan， is from a decidedly less affluent environment。 This novel uses the friction of ‘town and gown，’ well and throws fast tracked Ray into uncomfortable sit A murder in a prestigious Oxford college calls for tact and sensitivity， both of which are in short supply in the young Detective Inspector who is the unusual main character of this book。 Indeed， both of the investigating detectives are called D I Wilkins， but while Raymond is Oxford educated and from a privileged background， single father， Ryan， is from a decidedly less affluent environment。 This novel uses the friction of ‘town and gown，’ well and throws fast tracked Ray into uncomfortable situations as he is first stunned by Ryan’s unconventional behaviour and yet finds his initial dislike changes into grudging respect。The actual murder which the storyline is built around is an interesting one and involves the reader in various side issues， including the misuse of academic power， sexual harassment， possible terrorism links and always the discomfort of Ryan with the privilege around him。 The author does an excellent job of creating two well defined detectives， who each have their own issues to deal with and who complement each other well。 Ryan has a genuinely warm and moving relationship with his young son and a tendency to think creatively， which is let down by his inability to control his mouth or his anger。 I admire the fact the author did not finish this book with an obvious sequel， but I really hope he has one in mind。 I would certainly look forward to reading more about Ryan and the Great Raymundo… I received a copy of this book from the publisher， via NetGalley， for review。 。。。more
Sid Nuncius
，
I enjoyed A Killing In November far more than I expected to。 It’s well written and well structured so that I found any implausibilities and familiar tropes perfectly forgivable。On the face of it， it sounds like a collection of clichés of the genre strung together: the chalk-and-cheese partners， the rebellious working-class detective in a posh environment and so on。 Add to this the idea that Ryan， a CID Inspector， would turn up to investigate a death in an Oxford college wearing tracksuit bottoms I enjoyed A Killing In November far more than I expected to。 It’s well written and well structured so that I found any implausibilities and familiar tropes perfectly forgivable。On the face of it， it sounds like a collection of clichés of the genre strung together: the chalk-and-cheese partners， the rebellious working-class detective in a posh environment and so on。 Add to this the idea that Ryan， a CID Inspector， would turn up to investigate a death in an Oxford college wearing tracksuit bottoms and a baseball cap on backward， tell the Provost to “calm the [copulatory obscenity] down” and so on and it sounds utterly preposterous。 And it is， really – but somehow it’s well enough done for that not to matter much。 The two sides of Oxford are well portrayed， there is some pretty good characterisation and Ryan’s relationship with his 2-year-old son is especially well painted， I think。The story is a good one， too。 There are several possible avenues to consider， including possible jihadi action， straightforward theft， sexual harassment and so on。 Each is， in its own way， well considered and I found it an involving and in places an exciting read。 The two central characters are perhaps a little overdone， but they are interesting studies nonetheless， both flawed in their own way and with plenty of messy stuff left unresolved， rather than the trite little Life Lessons which so often pollute this kind of portrayal。So， slightly to my surprise， I can recommend this as an entertaining read and a promising start to a new series。 I’ll certainly be looking out for the next one。（My thanks to Quercus for an ARC via NetGalley。） 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Killing in November
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Killing in November&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Killing in November&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0