Following the Detectives is a compilation of 21 short articles, dealing with fictional sleuths, and more specifically the cities and countries they operate in.  The articles are penned by a selection of journalists, critics and crime fiction writers, as something of an homage to the use of place which is often so critical in great crime fiction.  For each venue/detective, we are provided with maps, illustrations and accompanying photos, together with useful websites for further study, details of screen adaptations, and occasionally a smattering of suggestions for alternative reading matter.

Unfortunately for the contributors to Following the Detectives, its publication comes around twenty years too late.  While presented as a stocking filler for the crime fiction aficionado, there is virtually nothing on offer in the book that cannot be sourced through some basic use of Google, IMDB, Wikipedia and Amazon.  Furthermore, in the case of the maps provided, Google Earth or Maps will provide something interactive and far more visually striking.
The lack of aesthetic appeal is not unique to the maps however.  The illustrative photos are, by and large, relatively poor.  They are often unspectacular, and fail to provide a real flavour of the places in question.  Many give the impression of tourist photos not good enough to make it into the final cut of the holiday album.  Sadly the same applies to the drawings which smatter the pages.  These are little more than clipart in silhouette, and several are repeated throughout, betraying a distinct lack of imagination on the part of the designer.

These problems alone are not lethal to the appeal of the book; this could have been salvaged by the quality of the articles.  Regrettably, by attempting to cover 21 authors across 250 pages, the task has been rendered all the more difficult.  By devoting so few pages to each, Following the Detectives virtually guarantees its inability to offer any serious insight for the avid fan.  This reviewer, for example, having enjoyed a two decade love affair with Sherlock Holmes, was in no real danger of learning something new about the great detective from just ten illustrated pages.   Many articles compound the issue by lifting material wholesale from the original texts; often at lengths of three paragraphs at a time.

This is, admittedly, less of a problem for those new to the genre.  For these people, the book at least provides a rudimentary Who’s Who of crime fiction.  As a companion for the uninitiated, Following the Detectives is sufficient, albeit the specificity of the theme results in some glaring omissions.  Having said that, given the comparable retail prices, The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction would prove a far superior alternative.

Therein lies the problem with Following the Detectives.  It suffers from an identity crisis; offering too little information to function as a reference, too little glamour to pass as a travel guide, and too little visual appeal to serve as a glossy coffee table conversation piece.  The overall feeling is one of redundancy, of a volume guilty of being the classic jack of all trades and master of none.

Perhaps the likeliest audience then, is the bloodthirsty youth looking to make the step up from adolescent fiction.  For the long-standing crime fiction fan though, this is one to miss.

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