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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Death on the Riviera is another in the British Library Crime Classics series, which republishes classic crime for a new, modern audience. Death on the Riviera was originally published in 1952.
This book is labeled as a “murder mystery,” but the murder does not actually occur until about 3/4 of the way through the book. It begins with Detective Inspector Meredith and Sergeant Strang, who have been sent from Scotland Yard to the French Riviera. They are on the trail of ‘Chalky’ Cobbett, known forger, and is suspected of running a counterfeit ring in the Riviera.
For me, it is great fun to read a mystery written 60+ years ago (originally published in 1952). The motives behind the crime are typically the same as a modern mystery – jealousy, greed, anger, etc. But socially, the characters behave so differently than they would in 2016. And without cell phones, DNA swabs, and the like, the detectives must rely on their investigative skills and small clues instead of our modern day technology.
Mr. Bude approaches Inspector Meredith’s detective work in an unusual way. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, who gathers all evidence before constructing a theory, Inspector Meredith loves to think of what might have happened, and then set off to prove if that theory is correct or not.
Death on the Riviera may not be a traditional murder mystery in the sense that the murder occurs so late in the book, but it was a fun read. The mystery of the counterfeit ring and search for Chalky made this an entertaining page turner. An excellent outing in classic crime.
See my full review at Hidden Staircase.
Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is labeled as a “murder mystery,” but the murder does not actually occur until about 3/4 of the way through the book. It begins with Detective Inspector Meredith and Sergeant Strang, who have been sent from Scotland Yard to the French Riviera. They are on the trail of ‘Chalky’ Cobbett, known forger, and is suspected of running a counterfeit ring in the Riviera.
For me, it is great fun to read a mystery written 60+ years ago (originally published in 1952). The motives behind the crime are typically the same as a modern mystery – jealousy, greed, anger, etc. But socially, the characters behave so differently than they would in 2016. And without cell phones, DNA swabs, and the like, the detectives must rely on their investigative skills and small clues instead of our modern day technology.
Mr. Bude approaches Inspector Meredith’s detective work in an unusual way. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, who gathers all evidence before constructing a theory, Inspector Meredith loves to think of what might have happened, and then set off to prove if that theory is correct or not.
Death on the Riviera may not be a traditional murder mystery in the sense that the murder occurs so late in the book, but it was a fun read. The mystery of the counterfeit ring and search for Chalky made this an entertaining page turner. An excellent outing in classic crime.
See my full review at Hidden Staircase.
Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sun, sea and murder...
Inspector Meredith and his young sidekick Acting-Sergeant Freddy Strang have been sent to the Riviera to help the French police hunt down a counterfeiter – a Brit who seems to be involved in laundering fake money in the little towns along the coast. While they’re there, a murder is committed amongst some of the English people living on the Riviera, so they become involved in that investigation too, especially since it seems that the two crimes may both link to the various people staying in the home of Nesta Hedderwick. This is quite handy for young Freddy, since he’s fallen in love with Nesta’s niece, Dilys…
The title of the book made me think this would be mainly a murder mystery, but in fact the bulk of the book is about the counterfeiting investigation, with the murder and subsequent investigation only happening quite late on. It’s a personal preference thing, and I’m not quite sure what it says about me(!), but I really prefer my crime fiction to be about murders. I’ve never managed to get up much interest in theft or fraud as a plotline. So, true to form, I enjoyed the murder investigation of this one, but found the counterfeiting plot rather dull.
In both sections, it’s really more of a howdunit – the villains are relatively obvious from fairly early on. In the counterfeiting plot, the question is more about how the money is being disseminated. This involves Meredith and Strang in quite a lot of driving along the coast, visiting the various small towns. Bude creates an authentic feel to the setting, with all the cafés and rich tourists, the gorgeous scenery and glorious weather, and Meredith and Strang have plenty of time to enjoy their stay while working on the case, complete with a fair amount of fine dining and wine-tippling.
The murder plot is something of an ‘impossible’ crime, though not of the locked room variety. I’m not going to reveal much about it since it would be hard without spoilers. But it’s fiendishly contrived, with a neat (if rather incredible) solution. The who is easy, the how less so, though I did guess how it was done a few microseconds before it was revealed. I felt the motive was a little shaky, to be honest, but it’s really more about the puzzle than the motivation.
Both Meredith and Freddy are likeable characters. Meredith is methodical and efficient, while Freddy works more on intuition. Freddy has shades of a Wodehouse character – I felt he would fit in well at the Drones Club (though as one of the more sensible ones – think Kipper Herring rather than Gussie Fink-Nottle), which I have to say made me wonder why he was slumming it working for the police. I’d have liked to know a little more about him, but even without much background to his character he adds a touch of lightness and occasional humour, and his romance with Dilys is nicely handled.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, despite not being enthralled by the counterfeiting strand – the writing is very good, the plotting is clever, especially of the murder, and the characters well enough drawn to be interesting. Another intriguing author resurrected by the British Library – one I’d be happy to read more from.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Inspector Meredith and his young sidekick Acting-Sergeant Freddy Strang have been sent to the Riviera to help the French police hunt down a counterfeiter – a Brit who seems to be involved in laundering fake money in the little towns along the coast. While they’re there, a murder is committed amongst some of the English people living on the Riviera, so they become involved in that investigation too, especially since it seems that the two crimes may both link to the various people staying in the home of Nesta Hedderwick. This is quite handy for young Freddy, since he’s fallen in love with Nesta’s niece, Dilys…
The title of the book made me think this would be mainly a murder mystery, but in fact the bulk of the book is about the counterfeiting investigation, with the murder and subsequent investigation only happening quite late on. It’s a personal preference thing, and I’m not quite sure what it says about me(!), but I really prefer my crime fiction to be about murders. I’ve never managed to get up much interest in theft or fraud as a plotline. So, true to form, I enjoyed the murder investigation of this one, but found the counterfeiting plot rather dull.
In both sections, it’s really more of a howdunit – the villains are relatively obvious from fairly early on. In the counterfeiting plot, the question is more about how the money is being disseminated. This involves Meredith and Strang in quite a lot of driving along the coast, visiting the various small towns. Bude creates an authentic feel to the setting, with all the cafés and rich tourists, the gorgeous scenery and glorious weather, and Meredith and Strang have plenty of time to enjoy their stay while working on the case, complete with a fair amount of fine dining and wine-tippling.
The murder plot is something of an ‘impossible’ crime, though not of the locked room variety. I’m not going to reveal much about it since it would be hard without spoilers. But it’s fiendishly contrived, with a neat (if rather incredible) solution. The who is easy, the how less so, though I did guess how it was done a few microseconds before it was revealed. I felt the motive was a little shaky, to be honest, but it’s really more about the puzzle than the motivation.
Both Meredith and Freddy are likeable characters. Meredith is methodical and efficient, while Freddy works more on intuition. Freddy has shades of a Wodehouse character – I felt he would fit in well at the Drones Club (though as one of the more sensible ones – think Kipper Herring rather than Gussie Fink-Nottle), which I have to say made me wonder why he was slumming it working for the police. I’d have liked to know a little more about him, but even without much background to his character he adds a touch of lightness and occasional humour, and his romance with Dilys is nicely handled.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, despite not being enthralled by the counterfeiting strand – the writing is very good, the plotting is clever, especially of the murder, and the characters well enough drawn to be interesting. Another intriguing author resurrected by the British Library – one I’d be happy to read more from.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As I read more of Bude's mysteries, I'm finding him to be a good but not great read. Lots of fun, very light and brisk, good settings, but maybe a tiny bit workmanlike. Enjoyable but not substantial. That goes for this one as well - a fun setting in France, decent characters, and a mystery to keep things going.
I'm like three chapters in and sorry to be shallow but I don't care about what happens to any of these people and I would rather read something else!
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
enjoyed the crime style of this as i don’t normally opt for this genre, but the plot around the counterfeit currency was much more interesting than the murder which kind of seemed tacked on at the end. also some quite annoying characters
Maybe 3.5 stars, charming classic style murder mystery set in the post-war Riviera. Very British, very much a puzzle mystery. For some reason it felt much longer (and took much longer for me to read) than it's actual page count.