BOOK REVIEWS OF 'LATER THAN YOU THINK' (1958)
Here are some newspaper reviews of Later Than You Think (re-issued as Death in the Kenya) when the book was originally published in 1958. Here is a sample:
On the inside of the dustjacket: "M. M. Kaye's new detective story is set in Kenya.
It seemed very possible that the savage murder which was committed on the outlying farm called Flamingo, the property of Em Debrett, was among the final atrocities of the Mau-Mau; and the weapon used was a native sword, a panga.
But investigation revealed that the motive could have been more domestic, and that the author of the crime might be found among the small community of the white people, themselves divided by feuds and passions. The police bagan to seek the murderer among the group of white people who were intimate with Flamingo.
The author of Death Walked in Kashmir has written another detective novel of impressive quality and with an original and striking background. She has brought to it the gifts of narrative and characterisation tha were demonstrated in her novel, Shadow of the Moon and has achieved, in Later Than You Think, a crime novel full of conviction, tension and surprise."
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'This is a well thought out, cleverly executed and most satisfying suspense story in an unusual yet convincingly drawn Kenya setting. Miss Kaye reveals great artistic skill to build up a gripping tale of strained relationships in a farming settlement out of Nairobi, Victoria lands from England into a situation charged with suspense and suspicion by murders that cannot be explained away as last fling atrocities by the crippled Mau-Mau.' The Dominion, New Zealand, October 1958
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'Miss Kaye has chosen Kenya for the scene of her latest thriller, and the period is that of the aftermath of the Mau Mau emergency.
The central character is Lady Emily DeBrett (sic), an eccentric old woman settled for many year sin the Colony, and it is on and around her fram Flamingo that the main action of the novel takes place. The story is exciting, although inclined to be rather slow-moving until the climax is reached. There is a noticeable improvement in the author's prose, and her dialogue has lost a smart brittleness that drove at leasta one reader of her former thrillers, to distraction. Probably her big success Shadow of the Moon about the India of a century ago, has given Miss Kaye the stability she needed.' The Outlooker, November 1958
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'M M Kaye has written another good detective story. The title is 'Later Than You Think' and the background for this murder whodunit is Africa.
A Savage murder with a native knife is committed in Mau Mau country. In this area there live a number of colonial families welded together into a group mainly dominated by Lady Emily DeBrett, who plays a large part in the story.
The plot becomes increasingly complicated with the death of a drunken manager.
In all three murders taken place, to the accompaniment of police questioning, hysterics and a display of nerves in the circle concerned. The denouement is surprising and there is some love interest by the way.
The previous book of M M Kaye was rather a heavy one concerned with the Indian Mutiny. In this present volume she includes excellent descriptions of the African background and very good characterisation. The plot is quite a complicated one, but for all that, it is a murder yarn which is well wroth reading.' Wales Aragus, 10 November 1958, by W J C
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'This story is a ‘whodunit’ set in Kenya - and a good one, too. The writer has had the subtle idea of keeping readers guessing as to whether murder has been done by a European or a Mau Mau. Although there is the usual little knot of people forced close together by events, individually they differ refreshingly from the types we often meet in murder stories. Their reactions are convincingly drawn and the essential suspense is well maintained. At one stage, I feared M M Kaye was about to use her novel as a platform for views on Kenya politics, but fortunately, she quickly shied away from something so out of place in a book of this sort. She does, however, manage very deftly to give an over-all impression of the size, colour and beauty of Kenya’s Settlerland.' Corone, December 1958 by J T
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This Will Keep You Guessing
'Later Than You Think, by M M Kaye (Longmans, Green & Co)
Here is a first-class keep-you-guessing detective mystery set in Kenya shortly after the Mau Mau emergency.
Miss Kaye, great niece of Sir John Kaye, the eminent Victorian biographer, has woven excellent characterisation into an intricate plot and obviously has put in much research to create an authentic background.
Suspense and intrigue start from the word go and are cleverly maintained by the changing role of each individual. The story concerns the hunt for a panga killer in a closely-knit community of the Rift Valley.' The Sunday Tribune (Durban), 28 December 1958 by A P D
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'Later than you think' by M M Kaye deals with another British enclave in a foreign land, but this time we are in Kenya and the blood is up. The very large cast of characters spend their days and nights staring speculatively at each other's wives and husbands, drinking a deplorable mixture of intoxicating liquors and hating or loving their adopted or appropriated country. Though this book is slowly and clumsily written the cumulative effect is not unimpressive. The plot is credible, though one of its key points is dependent on a long-playing disc being broken, which is, as we used to say in Euclid, absurd. It is as much a love-story as a detective novel and if you can overcome your revulsion to the character you may find it readable - just about.' Unknown reviewr and source, 15 September 1958
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'A most exciting mystery story... extremely readable.' Yorkshire Post