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verityw's review against another edition
3.0
*****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****
Well I liked this more than the first one, but for me it is still not living up to the promise of the concept. It seemed to me to take a long time before anything happened and then a lot of things were crammed into the last third of the book. Sefton is more likeable in this book than the last, which perhaps explains why its easier to enjoy this one that the last one. Morley still has the ability to steal a scene by being so know it all and Miriam still feels a little less three dimensional than you'd hope.
I'll keep an eye out for the third book, but I won't be rushing to get my hands on a copy.
Well I liked this more than the first one, but for me it is still not living up to the promise of the concept. It seemed to me to take a long time before anything happened and then a lot of things were crammed into the last third of the book. Sefton is more likeable in this book than the last, which perhaps explains why its easier to enjoy this one that the last one. Morley still has the ability to steal a scene by being so know it all and Miriam still feels a little less three dimensional than you'd hope.
I'll keep an eye out for the third book, but I won't be rushing to get my hands on a copy.
nikkivrc's review against another edition
2.0
I finished it because I wanted to know how it ended, but this was really dull and amateurish.
voraciousreader's review
2.0
I expected to enjoy this book much more than I did. I will read others in the series in the hope that I will enjoy them. I will keep my fingers crossed in that respect.
kater's review
4.0
I am loving this series - I read this book in two days because I found it so delightful. I love the characters of Sefton and Morley. I find the sprinkling of book titles by Morley to be very funny. It just works for me.
This books does have a bit more crime than the first book - at a school in Devon, where Morley is to give the speech at Founders Day, a student is found dead. There is also the disappearance of livestock from a nearby farm and the mystery of the darkroom to contend with.
This books does have a bit more crime than the first book - at a school in Devon, where Morley is to give the speech at Founders Day, a student is found dead. There is also the disappearance of livestock from a nearby farm and the mystery of the darkroom to contend with.
katevane's review
2.0
I’ve read and enjoyed a few Ian Sansom novels. Ring Road succeeded in both gently mocking and celebrating small-town life and had real poignancy. The mobile librarian cosies are light and amusing. So Death in Devon – my home county – should have been ideal for me. But the book is a real disappointment.
The set up is that Sefton, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, is working as secretary and assistant to an eccentric polymath and prolific author named Swanton Morley. Along with Morley’s daughter, Miriam, they set off to Devon to research the latest in Morley’s county guides series, and visit the public school where his friend is headmaster. And just happen upon a crime.
Morley is supposed to be the larger-than-life character who dominates the story but the problem for me is he is intensely irritating. We hear his opinions on everything from Dickens to apple pressing to surfing, sometimes through wearisome dialogue, at other times as Sefton quotes (at length) from Morley’s supposed works. There is endless scene setting with little happening. There is constant cerebral name-dropping of Thirties cultural figures.
I can sort of see that the author is referencing Sayers and her contemporaries – the plot that is marginal to the story, the way that working-class characters are either invisible or shifty, the drone of pseudo-intellectual conversation – but for a parody to work it has to be funny and sharp and this is neither. It’s baggy and boring.
It’s a shame because there is potential here. There are hints at times that Sansom might be trying to take on the Golden Age and show what lay behind it. Sefton recalls the brutality of school bullying and racism – from teachers as well as pupils. He also refers to his traumatic experiences in Spain. He shows sensitivity and insight into Morley (which of course is never reciprocated) and is a sympathetic character.
The book has some interesting themes but they don't feel fully developed. Could do better.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
The set up is that Sefton, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, is working as secretary and assistant to an eccentric polymath and prolific author named Swanton Morley. Along with Morley’s daughter, Miriam, they set off to Devon to research the latest in Morley’s county guides series, and visit the public school where his friend is headmaster. And just happen upon a crime.
Morley is supposed to be the larger-than-life character who dominates the story but the problem for me is he is intensely irritating. We hear his opinions on everything from Dickens to apple pressing to surfing, sometimes through wearisome dialogue, at other times as Sefton quotes (at length) from Morley’s supposed works. There is endless scene setting with little happening. There is constant cerebral name-dropping of Thirties cultural figures.
I can sort of see that the author is referencing Sayers and her contemporaries – the plot that is marginal to the story, the way that working-class characters are either invisible or shifty, the drone of pseudo-intellectual conversation – but for a parody to work it has to be funny and sharp and this is neither. It’s baggy and boring.
It’s a shame because there is potential here. There are hints at times that Sansom might be trying to take on the Golden Age and show what lay behind it. Sefton recalls the brutality of school bullying and racism – from teachers as well as pupils. He also refers to his traumatic experiences in Spain. He shows sensitivity and insight into Morley (which of course is never reciprocated) and is a sympathetic character.
The book has some interesting themes but they don't feel fully developed. Could do better.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
angharadop's review
2.0
This was just meh. I enjoyed the setting and the characters somewhat, but the mystery didn't really develop until the last third of the book and was easily predictable.
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