This is the first Richard Jury mystery, a series with which I was previously unfamiliar; I have no idea why I bought it two years ago (according to the receipt tucked inside). I plucked it from my unread bookshelves in a determined effort to start reading things I've had for ages, instead of heading straight for the juicy new novels which are always more alluring.
This is a very British novel, with Lords (well, one), publicans of bizarrely named inns (one of which is the title), servants and devilled kidneys. At first I was unsure whether or not it was a period novel, but realised that it's a re-release from 1981.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury is sent from New Scotland Yard to the town of Long Piddleton to investigate two bizarre murders: the first victim was found garroted in a beer keg in the cellar of the Man with a Load of Mischief; the second had been strapped to an overhead beam above the sign for the Jack and Hammer. In the meantime young Ruby Judd has gone missing, along with her diary and trademark bracelet. Nobody but Jury finds this at all alarming, even though she was behaving oddly before she vanished.
I found that I was less intrigued by the mystery of the murderer, and the motivation for the murders, than I was by the development of the characters. Jury himself is interesting and innovative - I particularly liked the brief scenes between him and two of the village children, James and 'James', and how he interacted with his hypocondriacal sergeant, Wiggins; and the by-play between Melrose Plant (the former Lord Ardry), his socially aspirant aunt Agatha, and his butler Ruthven (pronounced Rivv'n, aunt Agatha!).
The tale is also peppered with interesting secondary characters - Denzil Smith, the vicar obsessed with tavern etymology; Oliver Darrington, the author whose detective novels alternate bettween superb and abysmal; Simon Matchington, the former actor, now publican, acquitted years ago of the murder of his wife; Marshall Trueblood, the flamboyant shopkeeper; and the strange relationship between step-sisters Vivian and Isabel Rivington.
This is not to say that the mystery wasn't interesting or involving. I don't ever spend time trying to work out who the killer is (and so am always disappointed when I can work it out), and I didn't foresee this one either, or at least not before Jury did. I did think that the scene where the murderer unmasks themselves was a trifle annoying (why would Jury have stayed where he found the diary, instead of moving to somewhere more populated) but that is a minor quibble.
There are at least seventeen more Inspector Jury novels, and I'll read The Old Fox Deciev'd before deciding whether to go on and get the set, if only to see what happens next. - Alex
This is a very British novel, with Lords (well, one), publicans of bizarrely named inns (one of which is the title), servants and devilled kidneys. At first I was unsure whether or not it was a period novel, but realised that it's a re-release from 1981.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury is sent from New Scotland Yard to the town of Long Piddleton to investigate two bizarre murders: the first victim was found garroted in a beer keg in the cellar of the Man with a Load of Mischief; the second had been strapped to an overhead beam above the sign for the Jack and Hammer. In the meantime young Ruby Judd has gone missing, along with her diary and trademark bracelet. Nobody but Jury finds this at all alarming, even though she was behaving oddly before she vanished.
I found that I was less intrigued by the mystery of the murderer, and the motivation for the murders, than I was by the development of the characters. Jury himself is interesting and innovative - I particularly liked the brief scenes between him and two of the village children, James and 'James', and how he interacted with his hypocondriacal sergeant, Wiggins; and the by-play between Melrose Plant (the former Lord Ardry), his socially aspirant aunt Agatha, and his butler Ruthven (pronounced Rivv'n, aunt Agatha!).
The tale is also peppered with interesting secondary characters - Denzil Smith, the vicar obsessed with tavern etymology; Oliver Darrington, the author whose detective novels alternate bettween superb and abysmal; Simon Matchington, the former actor, now publican, acquitted years ago of the murder of his wife; Marshall Trueblood, the flamboyant shopkeeper; and the strange relationship between step-sisters Vivian and Isabel Rivington.
This is not to say that the mystery wasn't interesting or involving. I don't ever spend time trying to work out who the killer is (and so am always disappointed when I can work it out), and I didn't foresee this one either, or at least not before Jury did. I did think that the scene where the murderer unmasks themselves was a trifle annoying (why would Jury have stayed where he found the diary, instead of moving to somewhere more populated) but that is a minor quibble.
There are at least seventeen more Inspector Jury novels, and I'll read The Old Fox Deciev'd before deciding whether to go on and get the set, if only to see what happens next. - Alex
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