If you’re an avid reader of detective fiction, you may already be familiar with the famous Pinkerton’s detective agency, founded in the USA in the nineteenth century by Scottish immigrant Allan Pinkerton. What started as a one-man operation eventually grew into the largest private detective and law enforcement agency in the world. To my amazement, it lives on as a subsidiary of Sweden’s Securitas group – who knew?!
I first came across it in a Sherlock Holmes novel, The Valley of Fear. (See first edition cover at the top of this post.) In case you haven’t read it, I won’t spoil the plot by telling you how a Pinkerton’s agent is involved, but he’s pretty central to the plot. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have impressed and inspired by the organisation.
Many years later, I encountered Pinkerton again in Bad Company, the third book in my friend Shaun Ivory’s rollicking “America Made Me” series.
Both novels were sufficiently memorable that when I spotted a BBC radio programme about the Pinkerton Detective Agency in the broadcaster’s Short History series, I leapt at the chance to find out more.
An avid user of BBC Sounds, I often listen to programmes at night in bed. I’ve heard the first ten minutes of countless programmes before falling asleep. However, when I find a programme I want to listen to in full, I use the app’s Bookmark function, so I can bring it up to listen to it in full while driving.
This programme was the perfect length for a recent journey, and I really enjoyed it. If you have access to BBC Sounds, you can listen to it yourself here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0mgs0qw.)
With a few miles more to drive after the programme had ended, I switched over to BBC Radio 3, just as the announcer was talking about quite a different Pinkerton: the American naval officer who betrays his young Japanese wife in Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly. There followed the duet between Pinkerton and Butterfly from the end of Act I.
Echoing Harry Hill‘s famous catchphrase, as I arrived at my destination, I exclaimed to myself, “What are the chances of that?”
Later that day, on my return journey, I decided to listen to Spotify instead, which required me to Bluetooth my phone to my car’s audio system. First, I had to add my new phone to my car’s computer, which involved bringing up the list of previously connected phones under whatever names their owners have input eg “Debbie’s lovely Galaxy”. What should be first on the list but “Pinkerton by Weezer“?
Now I was seriously spooked. How did Pinkerton find his way into my car’s computer, and who was this Weezer fellow anyway?
A quick Google partly answered my question. Pinkerton, it turns out, is a 1996 album by an American rock rock band, Weezer. Apparently they’d named the album after the character in Madame Butterfly rather than the detective agency. (You can read more about it on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_(album))
I’ve written here before about my fascination for the frequency illusion (see It’s a Wilde, Wilde Life) – when you seem to come across the same thing a ridiculous number of times in quick succession – but my encounter with Pinkerton that day surpassed all my previous experiences of this phenomenon.
It seems I haven’t quite shaken the Pinkertons off yet either – when I opened The Times magazine last weekend, an interview with a certain Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton leapt out at me. He’s a former royal courtier about to launch his first novel, Beyond the Edge of Light.
Wherever will they turn up next? Look out, Pinkertons, I’m on my guard.
A Quick Apology & A New Novel
In other news, I just want to apologise for the scarcity of posts on my blog over the last few months, due to a series of minor crises that took me away from my desk. I’m hoping that today’s post marks my return to form – and to my ideal schedule of a new blog post every Wednesday. Not least because I have an imminent new novel to shout about myself.
Death at the Village Garden Party, the fourth Cotswold Curiosity Shop cosy mystery, will be launched in all formats on all the usual platforms, on Friday 31st July. I’ll be sharing more about that over the coming month. You can preorder it in various places already, including on Amazon here.
Come and See Me in Keynsham
Meanwhile I’m looking forward to my next public event on Friday 17th July, when I’ll be sharing an exclusive preview of my new book at Keynsham Library, as part of an informal conversation with fellow cosy mystery writers Jean Burnett and Jayne Chard. We’re going to have fun!
What I’m Reading
Finally, I’d just like to share a review of a really enjoyable novel that I have just finished reading, written by Michael Albergo, an alumnus of the course I teach for Jericho Writers – and also a university professor! I have the smartest students…
What a treat! Intrigued by the broad premise of this book to blend sci-fi/horror with real historic events, I looked forward to diving into this book, and was captivatecd by what I found there.
It’s a skilful blend of vividly imagined fantasy about the threat to the human race by an underground colony of an advanced reptilian race with carefully researched and convincing historical fact, set during an eventful and fascinating period of American history, and bound together with well-timed storytelling (so many surprises!) and compassionate characterisation.
It put me in mind of Jules Verne and HG Wells, presenting exceptional human beings overcoming extraordinary challenges, wrapped up neatly at the end with a very satisfying ending.
I very much hope there will be more from this author soon – it was quite a ride!
Find out more about Michael Albergo on his website: https://albergomichael-viyfc.wordpress.com/
That’s such a weird coincidence, Debbie! I would have been just as spooked by that… is there a meaning behind it, I wonder? Are you going to have your life changed soon by somebody called Pinkerton? If so, I hope it’s a welcome change!
I’m not easily spooked, Rory, but I certainly was that day! And I’m now on the lookout for further Pinkertons lurking around any corner…