Detective mystery lively but has loose ends

Armadillo
by William Boyd. Knopf. 337 pages. $24.

     Like a good mystery, William Boyd's "Armadillo" is a well-plotted page-turner. Lorimer Black, its central character, is an insurance adjuster: he investigates claims (and claimants) to determine how much and even whether the Fortress Sure insurance corporation should pay.
     Since the gain or loss of great amounts of money depend upon his personal judgment, Lorimer encounters a steady level of danger, primarily in the form of cryptic demands from his zestfully thuggish boss and death threats from angry clients. These elements infuse the narrative with a certain edginess that, often, keeps the reader on edge, too.
     But "Armadillo" has aspirations well beyond the detective genre and it mostly, though not entirely, fulfills them. As in the novels of Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy," the main character inquires into problems both external and internal; parallel to the evidence-gathering and informal cross-examinations his job requires, Lorimer delves into his own psyche, his dreams, and his past. And, like an Auster hero, he finds that his life is more precarious than he had imagined.
     The novel's successes lie in its considerable narrative drive and its insights into the relationship between national and personal identity in late-twentieth century Britain -- "Lorimer Black" is not his given name, but one adopted in an attempt to assimilate. His great skill in adjusting his persona and attire to fit different English social codes makes him a good detective but a flawed human being and, through his many "adjustments," "Armadillo" addresses what it means to be British in the 1990s.
     "Armadillo's" flaws lie in certain lingering loose ends (describing them would give too much away) and in an unnecessary callousness towards several of its female characters. On the whole, however, "Armadillo" is a lively and engaging read with a depth that keeps you not only reading but thinking about the implications of what you've read.
     PHIL NEL
     (Phil Nel is an adjunct professor of English at The College of Charleston.)