A Wee Review - Mr Dixon Disappears by Ian Sansom

Mr Dixon Disappears continues where Ian Sansom’s The Case of the Missing Books leaves off. Israel Armstrong, the latest and not-so-greatest Northern Irish amateur detective, gets himself caught up in another case. The second of The Mobile Library series takes place once again in the small Antrim Coast town, Tumdrum, and all the ingredients that made the first instalment work so well are all present. And there’s an extra pinch of comedy in there, if I’m any judge.

When Mr Dixon, the man at the helm of the legendary Dixon and Pickering’s department store, disappears, Israel finds himself the chief suspect. Having arrived to the store early to set up his five-panel touring exhibition dedicated to the Dixon and Pickering legacy, he happens to be first on the scene when the store’s caretaker discovers that both Mr Dixon and £100,000 have gone missing. And because he’s rather clueless in the ways of thievery, he manages to get his fingerprints all over the safes that have been relieved of their cash. And so, despite the fact that Israel’s co-worker and almost-friend, Ted, insists that Israel couldn’t be trusted to go for a loaf of bread, Israel is lifted, bundled into a cell, interviewed by the police, suspended from his job and forced to investigate the case to prove his own innocence.

Again, Israel takes to amateur detection like a duck to rollerblades. No matter how many crime fiction novels he attempts to read he just can’t get into the right frame of mind. Perhaps it’s the lack of whiskey and dames? Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a mobile librarian? Or is it because he’s a young Jewish man from north London, lovelorn, misunderstood and hapless, who couldn’t be more out of his element? Whatever the reason, his hard-line questioning of suspects usually leads to a guilty admission of overdue books and little more. So, he has to swallow his pride and ask his co-worker, Ted, to help him out of bother again. Together, they are a crime solving dynamic duo... well, sort of.

I truly enjoyed this trek through fondly familiar territory. The first instalment of The Mobile Library series set the bar high, and Mr Dixon Disappears has pushed it up another notch. Sansom’s sometimes dithering and sometimes razor-sharp prose elegantly reflects Israel’s not-so-elegant personality. There’s a slightly harder edge to the “crime” the plot is based around. Part one seemed a little soft as the main drama revolved around a heap of missing books. In this one a person and a goodly amount of money vanishes into thin air. You can see how that might create a little more tension, can’t you?

My favourite part of the book? The thinly veiled Stephen Nolan character. I truly hope Sansom sent a copy of the book into the Nolan show. If not, I might be tempted to tip them off with an anonymous email. I’m sure the star of the biggest show in Ulster would take it in good humour. I did notice that he included the portly BBC Radio Ulster DJ in the book’s acknowledgements, so, you know, there’s an element of respect there. Ahem.

So, you’re looking for a fresh spin on Northern Irish comedy-crime fiction? You really need to check out The Mobile Library series. Mr Dixon Disappears is further proof; Ian Sansom is a comic genius!