Reviews

The Religious Body by Catherine Aird

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shanaqui's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I think I picked up The Religious Body by Catherine Aird as a result of its inclusion in The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (by Martin Edwards), if I recall correctly -- it's been a while since I added it to my wishlist, even though I read it surprisingly quickly after snagging a copy (I'm such a mood reader). Anyway, it's a fairly standard-feeling mystery, partly from the point of view of the police, and partly from the point of view of the nuns who find one of their number dead in the cellar.

To me, the best parts are actually about the routine of the nunnery: the details of their lives, their interactions, their thoughts, all have something a bit different to offer, while the careful investigation by the police is all routine, and familiar from dozens of other books. I'm sure some of the details are inaccurate, but it's a good stab at imagining (from an outsider's point of view, as I presume Catherine Aird was not a nun) what it might be like to be part of such a community.

I didn't guess the murderer right away, but possibly I should have -- it didn't seem too surprising once we got there, and I definitely realised who he was after his reaction to the joke the police repeat.

In the end, it's a reasonably solid mystery that doesn't particularly stand out except by virtue of the setting. I liked it well enough, without feeling a burning urge to read more by Aird.

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

Wanted a break from WWII -- suddenly every book I am reading/listening to features WWII has a main plotline (in variations from London blitz to Holocaust survivors) and so I read this book featuring the murder of a nun in a convent.

It's light, but with a touch of humor that I find attractive. It's fun to watch small-town CID Detective Inspector CD Sloan make his way through a case, realizing that the nun in the cellar at the bottom of the staircase didn't fall there: she had been bashed on the head then thrown down the stairs.

Aird doesn't play quite "fair" -- you don't get all the clues in time to figure out who-dun-it before the big reveal, such as what was the backstory on the nun from West Laming that Sargent Gelden dug up and called in -- but it is entertaining and there are enough clues that the ending shouldn't come as a complete surprise.

hdng's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.25

soniapage's review

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3.0

Neat and short little mystery with an interesting setting, a convent. However, I soon had enough of the nun-bashing attitude of the men who just couldn't understand how a woman would want to live without men. Ha!