Harry McFry Investigates
Blog: Harry McFry Investigates
The Case of the Missing Family
Type: Fiction
You don’t have to tell me – I know. Fiction published in blogs is almost invariably so awful that I rarely get past the first paragraph. But note that word “almost” there; just occasionally one stumbles upon a rare jewel that flashes through the surrounding dross. Today I found such a gem.
The blog in point is Harry McFry Investigates, a delight at first sight that continues to deliver as one delves deeper. Wryly humorous, it combines the detective genre and, amazingly, the study of genealogy into a thoroughly delicious read. Make no mistake, reading a book on a computer monitor is no mean feat and it takes true dedication or excellent writing to hold the viewer’s attention. McFry delivers and I should warn you that following the advice to begin at Chapter 1 is dangerous; the book is habit-forming (and up to Chapter 137 already).
In part, the author, one Thomas Hamburger Jnr. (hmmm), achieves this through knowing his medium. The chapters are short, just the right length to persuade one to read the next before clicking onward. And the blog design is apt, muted and unobtrusive, allowing the text to remain the central focus. This is a very clever bit of blogging.
It is also a pleasure to read anything written by someone who knows his grammar – I cannot count the number of blogs I have despaired of through their constant misuse of words and the humble apostrophe. Maybe I’m a snob but, if you’re going to publish something to be read by all and sundry, you should at least check to see that it contains no glaring errors. No flies on McFry or Hamburger on this score.
And that really is the power of this blog – it is a complete conception, a delicate balance between fact and fiction, a dweller between two apparently unrelated worlds. The whole thing is just too beautiful for words.
In fact, enough of my pontificating! Do yourself a favor and click on the title up there to enter the mysterious world of Harry McFry!
