I discovered Anthony Horowitz’s Diamond Brothers around 14 years ago. I read the seven books that were available at the time and even reviewed some of them on Amazon. I soon forgot all about them as I was concentrating on setting up this blog.
I recently remembered these entertaining little stories. I decided to go through them all again - this time around in publication sequence. I found enough commentary-inspiring material for an article; I also detected a possible connection with another series of books, a series that has been featured in several articles.
The first of Jonathan Stroud's books about the Lockwood & Co. psychical detection agency had yet to be published when I first encountered Anthony Horowitz’s books about the Diamond Brothers' private detective agency. I have since read the Lockwood books several times. I noticed a few small similarities in the two series recently while re-reading the Diamond books; I now suspect that Jonathan Stroud read and was slightly influenced by them.
The Diamond Brothers stories are light and amusing; they are a parody of classic detective fiction. They are cleverly constructed and contain subtle clues. They are full of wisecracks and witticisms; the plots are preposterous and the villains are caricatures.
The main characters are Tim Diamond and his brother Nick, who is 13 years old in the first book and is the main narrator. Tim is exceptionally dim; Nick is very bright. After being thrown out of the police, Tim sets up as a private detective. The brothers have some intriguing cases and mysteries to solve; they have many adventures and are often in great danger. They always win through in the end.
Although they are marketed as children's books, the Diamond Brothers stories have a much wider appeal. The main attractions for me are some elements that they have in common with the Saint books, the humour and the many descriptions of London features that I know well for example. I also like the background information and small details that add authenticity to the stories and balance their incredible, outrageous, unrealistic and over-the-top elements.
There are now eight Diamond Brothers books. The stories vary in length, but each one can be read in one sitting; it would even be possible to read the lot in one day. Such short stories are not very suitable for being described in detail or extensively quoted, so I will give just a few examples of the attractions and Lockwood similarities.
There is a scene in South by Southeast in which Nick Diamond in desperation bids one million pounds for a painting at Sotheby's auction house. The auctioneer exclaims: "You're just a boy!", and Nick replies: "I know, but I get a lot of pocket money."
There is a scene in The Blurred Man in which the Diamond Brothers' new client, a benefactor who has donated millions of dollars to a charity that makes children's wishes come true, calls Nick 'son' and says that he must make wishes sometimes. Nick replies, "Yes. But unfortunately Tim is still here."
The Diamond brothers take the Eurostar train to Paris from the former terminus at Waterloo. I have made this journey myself, and the train does indeed move off without any warning and glide away so smoothly that the passengers often don't notice anything.
Tim and Nick return to England via the ferry from Calais. They go down below to get fish & chips. I have done this myself a few times; it is a way of saying "I'm home."
By coincidence, I first read this story a few days after I had missed going to Paris for the day via Eurostar: I wasted the tickets because I didn't feel well. I had actually planned to explore the Marais district, which is featured in the book.
I couldn't decide whether I should thank Anthony Horowitz for giving me a second chance to take the journey or feel paranoid because of the timing and bear him a grudge because he wrote about a painful subject. On balance, I think that my misfortune made me pay closer attention to the story than I might otherwise have done and made me enjoy it all the more.
The Blurred Man is another story of particular interest.
The Diamond brothers' ride on the London Eye on a wet and windy day reminds me of a narrow escape that I once had. The book says that the clouds were so low that the pods at the top of the big wheel almost seemed to disappear into them, which explained why the usual crowds waiting to go on were absent: people had realised that the dense clouds would obscure the spectacular views.
When I first read this, I remembered the time when I walked past the Eye on a very cloudy day. I had never been on the wheel; I noticed that there were no queues and the capsules were mostly empty, and on impulse decided to take a ride. Luckily I realised just in time why there were so many unoccupied compartments and avoided wasting the price of a ticket!
The above-mentioned new client in The Blurred Man has become concerned about possible fraudulent activities in the charity that he has given huge amounts of money to. I have worked for many charities myself, so parts of the story come close to home.
While re-reading all the Diamond Brothers stories recently, I was unexpectedly reminded of a few things that I had seen in Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. books. For example, the main characters in both series excavate graves in major London cemeteries and go on missions in disused tunnels and Underground stations.
Early on in The Falcon's Malteser, the first book in the series, there is a scene where the brothers return home to find that their flat has been torn apart by enemies who were looking for something. Tim is distraught because an important package is missing. Luckily, Nick had taken it with him when they went out as he didn't think it wise to leave it behind.
In Stroud's Screaming Staircase, the first book in the series, Anthony Lockwood and his colleagues return home to find a burglary in progress. They drive the intruder away, then find that an important locket is missing. Luckily, Lucy had taken it with her when they went out as she felt it advisable to keep it close at hand.
There is a very funny scene in The Greek Who Stole Christmas in which Nick and Tim frantically rush to tidy up their messy office when there is an unexpected knock on their door:
“"One minute", Tim shouted. In that one minute, we raced around like two people in a speeded up commercial for Fairy Liquid. Papers went into drawers. Plates went into the kitchen. The sardines went into the bin and the bin went out the window. Sixty seconds later, the office looked more like an office and Tim was sitting behind his desk with a straightened tie and a crooked smile. I took one last look around and opened the door.”
In The Screaming Staircase, the unexpected arrival of a major new client causes Anthony Lockwood and the others to tidy the living room double-quick before inviting him in. Anthony frantically plumps cushions and George Cubbins brushes cake crumbs beneath the sofa!
I learned only recently of the 6-part TV series The Diamond Brothers, which was based on South by Southeast.
Some of the episodes are available on YouTube. I watched the first one for a short time then gave up. The actors just didn't seem right. Perhaps an animated series might have worked better!
The covers of the first seven books and an omnibus edition:
