View source for The Circus: An Inspector Carlyle Novel by James Craig

{{infobox1
|title=The Circus: An Inspector Carlyle Novel
|sort=Circus: An Inspector Carlyle Novel
|author=James Craig
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=A complex plot which plays on the current scandals of a corrupt media, devious politicians and a phone hacking enquiry.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=352
|publisher=C & R Crime
|date=February 2013
|isbn=978-1472100375
|website=http://www.james-craig.co.uk
|cover=1472100379
|aznuk=1472100379
|aznus=1472100379
}}

Journalist Duncan Brown was found dead in the back of a rubbish truck.  It was a prosaic introduction to a major scandal for Inspector John Carlyle and before long his slim resources were stretched even further when a teenager had a bomb attached to his neck and the neighbour who was about to complain about the loud music was shot dead on the doorstep.  It might have seemed that it couldn't get much worse, but before long Carlyle found himself up against Trevor Miller, a former police officer who had become security officer to the Prime Minister.  He and Carlyle went back a long way and none of the memories were good.

Right from the beginning you're going to have the sense that you've already lived through this - or something very similar.  It's set in a ''slightly'' future time - one when the iPhone 6 is around rather than rumoured - but you'll have a feeling that it's all too ''probable''.  The mayor of London, Christian Holroyd, doesn't have a haystack of hair, but when you read that's how you'll imagine him.  The Prime Minister, Edgar Carlton, has lost control and is the laughing stock because of his association with a borrowed horse.  He's also far too close to people at the top of the powerful Zenger media group.  Throw is a few venal policemen and a phone hacking scandal which gets out of control and I'm sure that you can fill in the rest of the picture.

This is the fourth outing for Inspector Carlyle.  I've read the first two - [[London Calling: An Inspector Carlyle Novel by James Craig|London Calling]] and [[Never Apologise, Never Explain - An Inspector Carlyle Novel by James Craig|Never Apologise, Never Explain]] and ''The Circus'' (a very ''apt'' title) is a more complex plot which could have  descended into chaos in less skillful hands.  Carlyle keeps afloat on a sea of caffeine and alcohol and sometimes there's so much going on you wonder how even that keeps him going.  It's gritty.  It's raunchy in places and there's a real sense that this - or something very like it - could well be true.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

It is a series which is best read in chronological order, not so much because there are spoilers but because there's a strong background story which does add to the plot of each book. Begin with [[London Calling: An Inspector Carlyle Novel by James Craig|London Calling]].

[[Inspector John Carlyle Novels by James Craig in Chronological Order]]

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