Weekly Reader: The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook by Robert New; Mystery Anthology Is Bright With Color Theme

 

Weekly Reader: The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook by Robert New; Mystery Anthology Is Bright With Color Theme

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The color of death might be black as the symbolic color of mourning like seen on the robes of the Grim Reaper. It might be red, the color of blood when it comes outside of a body. In some cultures, the traditional color of mourning is white. However, according to Robert New's The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook, death comes in a variety of colors.

Colours of Death is a suspenseful mystery anthology with an interesting premise: each short story takes the theme of a specific color. The colors in the title are revealed as a symptom of the murder (blue skin revealing that the victim has been poisoned as seen in "Blue: Blue Bloods" ) or a specific trait about the murderer or victim in question. (One of the characters has flaming red, almost orange hair, in the short story, "Orange: The 11th Killer.") 

The stories fall into a mostly predictable pattern. A murder occurs somewhere in Perth, usually seen through the perspective of the potential victim or one of the eyewitnesses. Something odd happens or some unidentified character with a unique trait appears to make what the character sees even more bizarre. Then Sgt. Brad Thomas and his colleagues are called in to investigate the crime. The color element is introduced during the investigation describing either the cause of death or the victim or killer's appearance. Thomas interviews suspects and searches the scene of the crime to gather evidence and find probable solutions. He also discusses the case with others including his mentor, Prof. Engels, forensic pathologist, Sally Summers, and his fiancee, Amy Stevenson. Thomas uses his deductive skills or intuitive reasoning to come up with a Eureka moment, connected to the color. He discovers the killers' identity and gets them to confess in a final interview. Thomas is then left contemplating his dangerous career and upcoming marriage to Amy.

While the stories are formulaic by nature, the colors are made to explore all of the interesting ways and possibilities in which a murder can occur. New does a brilliant job of making each story unique in execution, connecting the story with the rest of the anthology, and also allowing the story to stand on its own as an interesting case in its own right.

The stories run an interesting gambit of murderous possibilities. In "Black: Black Death," Thomas investigates the murder of Johnny Smyth, a man who had his bones broken, organs damaged, and had been beaten so much that the bruises on his skin appeared black. ("It's like he was sandwiched between two trucks or fell from the sky from a parachute," Sally observes.) Thomas uses information that he gathered investigating images and memories from his own rural background to reason that Smyth had been killed and dropped into a mine that was owned by Athol "The Fugue" Fugate, a local crime boss posing as a legitimate businessman and reoccurring antagonist in Thomas' series. This is among the more gruesome cases, but it stands out because of the one on one struggle between the opposite sides of the law. Those sides are found in Thomas' Sherlock Holmes-like deductive reasoning and empathy towards the crime victims vs. Fugate's smooth ability to do away with his enemies and making his name known and feared by the general public while literally getting away with murder.

Thomas has a fascination with psychology and criminal profiling. That profiling comes into play in "Orange: The 11th Killer." Thomas engages in a conversation with Paul over an investigation in which 47 different hair samples are found around a series of dead bodies. Thomas reasons that the person is obsessed with hair. Perhaps he could be bald or has a unique hair color in which he was noticed or mocked for. (The orange in the title refers to hair color.) Thomas also notes that the killings occurred on the 11th of each month as an important date in the killer's life. Of course he is found to be right. There is almost something psychic about this approach to crime solving and the short length makes Thomas' observations a bit too quick and obvious. However, this story reveals how crime solvers get into the killers' minds to learn what they are obsessed with and what compels them to take such a dangerous path.

Another brilliant case is "Yellow: The Storyteller." Aaron Stevenson, Thomas' future brother in law, is contacted by a local serial killer known only as The Storyteller. In Jigsaw like fashion, the Storyteller kidnaps a family member of the chosen target and then calls them to tell them that they have exactly 45 minutes to solve three riddles or said family member would perish in a fire that the Storyteller would start. (Yellow as in flames. Thomas and co.'s only possibility is that the Storyteller is a firefighter because they know the exact time of fire progression.) During a tense three way conversation, Aaron,Thomas, and Engels reason their way through the riddles to save the life of Aaron's son, Jethro. The three men use their vast knowledge to determine the solutions. One example involves the clue "Franklin's 51st theft stole the credit for this." Instead of the more obvious choice of Benjamin Franklin, Engels comes up with the theory that the clue refers to Rosalind Franklin, whose photo fifty one revealed the helical structure of DNA and who was not given credit for the discovery until after her death. The story is almost a process of figuring out who is smarter: the criminal who gets people to play their games or the officers who are trying to end the game.

One of the more heartbreaking cases in the anthology is that in "Blue: Blue Bloods." A toxin is released during an awards ceremony at Sangre Azul School causing hundreds of deaths, most of them children. The blue in the title is a double meaning revealing the blue skin which is a symptom of the toxin and that the school's name is French for "blue blood." This is another case that is largely dependent on Thomas' rural background and knowledge of poisons, but what stands out is the emotional tone of this story. It is matter of fact but carries a sense of sadness about the realization that a whole school full of children, almost a generation, will never graduate and ascend to college, never be with their families, or never hang out with their friends, because of one person's hatred and vile actions. Hundreds of families are greatly affected by this tragedy including parents and siblings. The short story calls to mind real life mass murders such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which the majority of the victims were children.

New captures the senses well with his writing. The colors themselves capture sight and the many of the murders affect the victim's senses of smell and taste. 'White: Sting'' is one that activates the sense of touch not only in the victim but subconsciously in the Reader. Sally investigates the body of Grant Dillon. The cause of death was a self inflicted gunshot to the head but what confuses Sally is the body's appearance. Why was Dillon hairless all over and why was his skin red raw as though it had been waxed several times? Why was their one folder in his medical cabinet marked "Pain" which contained several receipts for prescribed and over the counter pain medication and alternative treatments? Dillon was clearly under a lot of pain that may have resulted in his suicide but what?

After talking to his doctor, Sally learns that Dillon had been infected for a year because of the stings from the white hair of the Gympie Gympie Tree, native only to Queensland. The hairs of the tree can embed in the skin and cause unbearable pain that can last for up to two years. ("It's like being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time," Dillon's doctor states.) Someone clearly wanted Dillon to suffer. 

Readers with a low tolerance for pain or are extremely touch sensitive to rashes and bruises are advised to read only with plenty of aloe gel nearby to soothe the psychosomatic pain that will inflict in becoming too involved into this story.

Besides an interactive sensate experience thanks to New's description, the characterization in this story stand out. Both Dillon and the person who contributed to his death are written very sympathetically. Unlike many of the previous stories, there is a clear motive and understanding towards why someone would want to cause such suffering. 

Also Sally emerges as a real hero in this story. In most of the previous stories in this anthology, Sally's role is to be Thomas' sidekick just to provide forensic analysis and be amazed at Thomas' observations and solutions. This time Thomas is in the back seat, preparing for his wedding and giving only a few suggestions to propel her investigation in certain directions. Refreshingly, "White: Sting" gives Sally a chance to do some real legwork, interview suspects, and come up with a solution based on her own medical expertise.

The Colours of Death is an anthology that reveals that death cannot only wear many faces, but it can be many colors as well.