I just finished reading The Manual of Detection by Jebediah Berry, and it was awesome. On the surface, a detective mystery with all the twists and turns to keep you guessing; below that, a carefully crafted blend of clever language and insights that keep me reading - and it takes a lot to keep me reading these days. It also read as if it were made to be a wonderfully dark film noir, and left me wishing it was already in production. You know - the kind of film that stands out because it's unique, somehow distinct from all the others out at the same time. Leave the book at this: highly recommended. It's riddled throughout with tips on the art of detection, a nice touch. I'll try to post them up at some point.
Anyway I'm not sure how likely it is to become a book-turned-film in the near future. So I decided to play director and put together a main cast of who I'd see starring in the film. It was pretty hard in some cases, because I only had vague characterisations in mind while I was reading it and so placing a face to these was difficult. The only one which really came easy was the casting of Penelope, not sure why. I'm leaving out last names because that would just ruin the plotline.
And because I can't figure out how to get the gallery to display captions (is there a way?), the characters cast are written below.
1. Charles - the hero clerk of the whole escapade.
2. Travis - the detective gone AWOL.
3. Penelope - the woman in the plaid coat at Central Station.
4. Sam - the detective who sets Charles on his adventure.
5. Cleo - a criminal/ally at the centre of the mystery.
6. Emily - Charles' new, knowledgeable assistant.
7. Edwin - a museum attendant with a secret.
8. Enoch - a long-lost nemesis of the Agency.
9. Arthur - a man with many dark secrets.
And how is this all relevant to treasure-hunting? Well, the book has nice tips on detection techniques. This casting garble? Less relevant. But cross your fingers that someone makes a movie out of it!