Showing posts with label Inspector Sloan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspector Sloan. Show all posts

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Stiff News by Catherine Aird, Derek Perkins

There's been a death at the Manor. That's not particularly a surprise as it is a nursing home. This one is unusual in the fact that all of the residents had either been stationed in Egypt a long time ago or were the widows of such. One son, Lionel Powell, is particularly worried about his mother's death. 
It seems that Gertie was something of a popular girl who liked the good life. Does it matter? Well, maybe since her will implies there may be other children that could inherit. So DC Sloane is brought in to discover why there seems to be unrest. Does it have anything to do with old grudges? 

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1999
Follows Injury Time
Followed by Little Knell
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Injury Time by Catherine Aird

A collection of short stories featuring Inspector Sloan. There is a confusing story about a woman killed in a sauna when the heat was turned up too high. A scientific group's alarm is dismantled with ease but how could someone have cracked the code that was only recently implemented. There are 14 other stories; some aren't quite mysteries but all are entertaining. 

Four stars
This book came out August 1, 1995
Follows After Effects
Followed by Stiff News
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible
Opinions are my own

Saturday, March 11, 2023

After Effects by Catherine Aird

Mrs. Gallagher's son is upset she's dead. But it's not the fact that her physician was young, female, not-English, or wearing jeans that spurs the police to investigate. It's the anonymous phone call saying she's dead as a result of a study that's happening. 
That alone is worrying. So is the fact that her primary physician, Paul Meggy (sp?), the man in charge of the drug trial, is missing. And another one of his patients is dead. 
This book is not fairly clued and might be a bit more meandering if you are trying to read it but was fun as a quick little audio book. 

Four stars
This book came out in March 22, 1996
Followed by Injury Time
Borrrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The Body Politic by Catherine Aird

When Peter Corbishley, member of Parliament is heckled during the opening speeches of a battle reenactment, "Why don't you drop dead?" He doesn't but one of his constituents, Allen Shaw, does. The man had asked him for help because he was scared that his mineral company employer is going to force him to go back to a country that wants to kill him after he accidentally killed a pedestrian.
This was another quick listen that was sometimes convoluted to follow but may have been easier if I had read it with my eyes.

Three stars
This book came out in 1990
Followed by A Going Concern
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Monday, July 25, 2022

A Dead Liberty by Catherine Aird

Kenneth Carline is dead. It seems obvious that Lucy Durmast killed him. She is the daughter of his boss; seems like he should have been romancing her but, instead, he was about to announce his engagement to someone else. So she poisons him using chili con carne to disguise the poison. But she's not speaking. At all. In court, in prison, when questioned by the police. She's quiet.
The original policeman on her case pretty much thought it was an open and shut case. But he is out o the picture so now Inspector Sloan is on the case. He also thinks it is perfectly obvious but the fact that Lucy isn't speaking gives him pause so he decides to work through the case again and sets the cat among the pigeons.
A lovely story that was easy to pick out but a neat case where the main suspect speaks only two words throughout the entire story.

Four stars
This book came out August 31, 1987
Follows Harm's Way
Followed by The Body Politic
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own


Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Harm's Way by Catherine Aird

When a man and woman go out to scout a footpath for their groups trek the next day they think the hardest part might be clearing a path or dealing with a farmer who doesn't want them using the easement. However, today a crow drops a finger in their path. Since the local police normally keep things pretty clean, Sloan is called in to figure out what is going on and maybe try to find the rest of the body. 
The farm the finger is found on belongs to a man named Mellot, the brother of the man who owns the famous furniture store. Tom, the brother who owns the furniture, has just beaten off a takeover bid from a man who disappeared soon afterward. Len, a local, had a fight with a stranger at the local pub. Another farmer appears to have run away with a woman named Beverly. Any of them could be the body. Especially since, when Sloan does find the body , it doesn't have a head. 

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1984
Followed by A Dead Liberty
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Monday, April 11, 2022

Last Respects by Catherine Aird


When an unknown man's body turns up on a slow river, Inspector Sloan is called in to investigate. Though it seems he was dropped from a great height, the man didn't drown. He and Constable Crosby will have to work to figure out what is going on.
As a concurrent timeline, we meet Elizabeth Busby. She is a young woman who lost her aunt to stomach cancer and her fiance to... well she's not sure. The man up and left one day. He left a note but it wasn't very helpful. She and her uncle are left to grieve.
With Aird, you know what to expect. Usually a lot going on in the story but it's generally gentle and so very British.

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1982
Followed by Harm's Way
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Passing Strange by Catherine Aird


It's a flower show that gets Inspector Sloan pulled down to Almstone. It seems that someone has been strangled. It is, in fact, the local and much beloved nurse, Joyce Cooper. She was running the fortune teller's tent but was discovered behind it.
This year has been very unusual for the show anyway because the tomato plants weren't judged at all correctly. And it is that point that, while Sloan does end up solving the murders, brings home the proof.
A nice addition to the series. I don't think you have to have read any of the books before it to really appreciate the story. Short and readable.

Three and a half stars
This book came November 1, 1980
Followed by Last Respects
Borrowed as hard copy from library

Friday, November 19, 2021

Some Die Eloquent by Catherine Aird

When a rich old lady dies in a mystery, there is often a rush to figure out how she was murdered and by whom. In the case of Miss Beatrice Wansdyke, it comes as surprise that the woman was actually rich. I mean, she was a chemistry teacher in a girls' school, where did the money come from? She had managed her diabetes for years but her autopsy shows that she is distinctly lacking insulin. Plus there's the weird thing that her dog has disappeared as well. 
Inspector Sloan is sort of distracted as his wife is about to give birth and we get a lot of details related to that miraculous happening. But that also takes up a lot of the book leaving less room for Aird to show on page how the mystery actually gets solved. 
An interesting story but maybe a little too short.

Three stars
This book came out in 1979
Follows Parting Breath
Followed by Passing Strange
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Slight Mourning by Catherine Aird

Usually the admonition is not to have thirteen people sit down to dinner because one will die. In this case, it was only twelve but one is still dead. In fact, the host was killed by a large overdose of drugs. Then another guest, the amiable but fat (like seriously, her weight is mentioned a LOT) Mrs. Marchmont is killed as well. It is up to Inspector Sloan to come in and figure out what is going on.  
There were a lot of characters and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who. And, to be honest, the solution seemed to come a little bit out of nowhere, even with the explanation at the end. But I still enjoyed the character development as well as the ride to get to the end.

Three stars
Follows His Burial Too
Followed by Parting Breath
This book came out in 1975
Ebook borrowed from Audible
Opinions are my own


Monday, March 15, 2021

His Burial Too by Catherine Aird

Well. This was an odd one. We meet a young lady, just back from being a nanny in Italy, whose father was out all night. And he is discovered, somewhat incongruously, under a statute that was being moved in a nearby church. In comes Inspector Sloan.
As it seems is usual for Aird, the suspect ends up being someone who seems to be a secondary character but she starts to drop BIG clues as the story ends. If you can remember who everyone is. That can be hard to track in an audio book but I still enjoyed listening.

Three stars
Follows A Late Phoenix
Followed by Slight Mourning
This book came out 1969
Borrowed from Audible
Opinions are my own


The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird

This was an interesting beginning, following a group of tourists as they tour a "stately home". We learn about the history of the house and the family that owns it. The tour ends when a precocious child discovers a body stuffed into a body of armor. 
It turns out to be the family archivist who was on the verge of proving that the current lord of the manner shouldn't be in there at ll. But was that the reason he was killed?
The solution on this one was a little unfairly clued until the very end but I love Aird's word choice. Short stories tightly told.

Three stars
Follows Henrietta Who
Followed A Late Phoenix
This book came out 1969
Borrowed from Audible
Opinions are my own




Thursday, May 7, 2020

A Going Concern by Catherine Aird

Elderly people often have odd ideas - or so the stereotype goes. So when Octavia Garamond adds not only a precatory memorandum (wishes that the deceased would like to have happen but aren't outlined in the will itself), a very young executrix (Amelia Kennerly) who Octavia had only met once, and a request that the police be at her funeral, it adds up to something beyond just a little odd.
A Going Concern (Inspector Sloan #14)And the oddness continues as Octavia's house, ordered to be locked after her death and not opened by anyone but Amelia, is completely searched. Inspector Sloane works slowly to find out the answer to this mystery which has its roots in a biochemical research lab during World War II.
I heard about this book on the Classic Mysteries podcast and enjoyed it quite a bit. I am not sure I will go back to the beginning and read them all but I will probably look through and see if there are any other plots that look interesting.

Four stars
This book came out March 31st, 2020
Followed by After Effects
Borrowed as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own