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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Definitely not as good as the others in the series. There is so much misogyny and homophobia in this book, it turned my stomach. Yes this was written in the 60s, but the misogyny was heavy handed even for those days. Bleah.
Gently and the L Word
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1965).
Superintendent George Gently is pulled into a case when a distant relative by marriage appears in his office declaring his innocence of his ex-wife's murder. The husband had apparently been on the run when the body was discovered, but he insists he didn't know about the murder until he came back from a cruise. Gently is uncertain of the man's innocence but decides to investigate for the good of his relations.
He discovers the murdered woman was in a relationship with her neighbour, a rather formidable female, and various complications appear to confuse the case further. An emerald necklace has gone missing but is then discovered simply thrown away in the outside trash. Witnesses provide contradictory evidence of the sightings of suspects, including the husband who apparently had an argument with the victim before her demise. Gently uncovers all in the end.
I am continuing to enjoy the crime novels of Alan Hunter, who has been called "England's Simenon," due to his prolific series (46 novels) featuring the George Gently character, similar to Simenon's regular character Inspector Maigret (75 novels).
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1965. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Footnote
* In this 1965 book, Gently is anticipating the move from the 1890 'New Scotland Yard' to the 1967 'New Scotland Yard' building. In 2016, the headquarters was again moved to its current 'New Scotland Yard' location. The original Scotland Yard name derives from the Metropolitan Police Service having its original headquarters at a location where the Kings of Scotland traditionally stayed in London. Source: Wikipedia.
Trivia and Link
Gently with the Ladies was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only, whereas the books cover the period 1955-1999. I haven't read the later books yet, but I suspect Gently does not age according to the real time.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1965).
Gently shook his head.
'I’m from the Central Office. I’m merely advising on the case.’
‘The Central Office! Isn’t that the Yard?’
‘Until they build us new premises*.’
‘But I thought—’
‘We sometimes confer with our colleagues on a case.’
Her brown eyes regarded him challengingly.
Superintendent George Gently is pulled into a case when a distant relative by marriage appears in his office declaring his innocence of his ex-wife's murder. The husband had apparently been on the run when the body was discovered, but he insists he didn't know about the murder until he came back from a cruise. Gently is uncertain of the man's innocence but decides to investigate for the good of his relations.
He discovers the murdered woman was in a relationship with her neighbour, a rather formidable female, and various complications appear to confuse the case further. An emerald necklace has gone missing but is then discovered simply thrown away in the outside trash. Witnesses provide contradictory evidence of the sightings of suspects, including the husband who apparently had an argument with the victim before her demise. Gently uncovers all in the end.
I am continuing to enjoy the crime novels of Alan Hunter, who has been called "England's Simenon," due to his prolific series (46 novels) featuring the George Gently character, similar to Simenon's regular character Inspector Maigret (75 novels).
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1965. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Footnote
* In this 1965 book, Gently is anticipating the move from the 1890 'New Scotland Yard' to the 1967 'New Scotland Yard' building. In 2016, the headquarters was again moved to its current 'New Scotland Yard' location. The original Scotland Yard name derives from the Metropolitan Police Service having its original headquarters at a location where the Kings of Scotland traditionally stayed in London. Source: Wikipedia.
Trivia and Link
Gently with the Ladies was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only, whereas the books cover the period 1955-1999. I haven't read the later books yet, but I suspect Gently does not age according to the real time.