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melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Hard one to get a hold of: one of the main characters is dead, and a lot hinges on who she was when she was alive. An old lady dies, apparently of natural causes, in a nursing home. It is left to the wife of a distant relative to oversee her burial and arrangements - the wife hadn't known the old lady existed until she was handed all the arrangements to make by the lawyers. Unexpectedly, the old lady's grandson shows up to the funeral - so now there is a nearer relative. When another guest at the funeral drowns in the river, and a vase is broken in the old lady's room in the nursing home (the victim of a break-in) - things are obviously not right: but how do they hang together? I guessed who-dun-it and why: the clues are there, but putting them all together is not easy.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
It's a good, solid plot, but there are a couple of places where the writing wanders a little.
bethanyread's review against another edition
4.0
Great mystery, loved the story line, great characters
jvilches's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
pianosharon's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the writing style so I wanted to give this four stars, but there were two major drawbacks for me.
First, I knew very early in the book "who, how, and why". Second, the husband's VERY bad behavior is never dealt with.
I may try some earlier books by this author, because I really did like the style.
First, I knew very early in the book "who, how, and why". Second, the husband's VERY bad behavior is never dealt with.
I may try some earlier books by this author, because I really did like the style.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a while since I've read a mystery by Catherine Aird. I first discovered her about twenty years ago. It's hard to believe that she's been writing her Inspector Sloan mysteries for over forty years. Of course now, in Past Tense--the most recent adventure written in 2010--he is a Detective Chief Inspector and the police have cell phones and computers at their beck and call. But the style is the same. Aird writes a very smooth, quick read. The mystery is complex enough to hold the attention and the characters are drawn with broad strokes, giving just enough information to flesh them out and keep them from being two-dimensional. Reading this one was like slipping into something familiar and comfortable. Not too taxing and thoroughly enjoyable. Not a spectacular read (like my previous one), but a nice cozy, comfortable mystery.
This installment revolves around Josephine Short--her life and, more importantly, her death. She has been living at the Berebury Nursing Home, just a short distance from her next-of-kin, a great-nephew and his wife. However, when the nursing home calls the couple to let them know the elderly lady has passed away, they are surprised. They had no idea she was living so close. More surprises follow. A young man who claims to be Josephine's grandson shows up for the funeral. Josephine had never been married and there had never been mention of a son--let alone a grandson. Sloan and his sidekick Detective Constable Crosby are called in when there is a break-in at the Nursing Home and Josephine's room is the only one disturbed. Nothing seems to have been taken, but Sloan is disturbed nonetheless. Finally, a young woman is found floating in the nearby river and it soon becomes clear to Sloan that all of these events must be related. What other secrets does the past (or present) hold for the Short family? And who would kill to keep them hidden?
As I mentioned, this was a nice comfortable read. Fast-paced and easily read in one evening's sitting. Just what you might want if you like cozy mysteries with a touch of police procedure and a puzzle that intrigues but doesn't demand a lot of brain-power. Three and a half stars.
This installment revolves around Josephine Short--her life and, more importantly, her death. She has been living at the Berebury Nursing Home, just a short distance from her next-of-kin, a great-nephew and his wife. However, when the nursing home calls the couple to let them know the elderly lady has passed away, they are surprised. They had no idea she was living so close. More surprises follow. A young man who claims to be Josephine's grandson shows up for the funeral. Josephine had never been married and there had never been mention of a son--let alone a grandson. Sloan and his sidekick Detective Constable Crosby are called in when there is a break-in at the Nursing Home and Josephine's room is the only one disturbed. Nothing seems to have been taken, but Sloan is disturbed nonetheless. Finally, a young woman is found floating in the nearby river and it soon becomes clear to Sloan that all of these events must be related. What other secrets does the past (or present) hold for the Short family? And who would kill to keep them hidden?
As I mentioned, this was a nice comfortable read. Fast-paced and easily read in one evening's sitting. Just what you might want if you like cozy mysteries with a touch of police procedure and a puzzle that intrigues but doesn't demand a lot of brain-power. Three and a half stars.
pianosharon's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the writing style so I wanted to give this four stars, but there were two major drawbacks for me.
First, I knew very early in the book "who, how, and why". Second, the husband's VERY bad behavior is never dealt with.
I may try some earlier books by this author, because I really did like the style.
First, I knew very early in the book "who, how, and why". Second, the husband's VERY bad behavior is never dealt with.
I may try some earlier books by this author, because I really did like the style.
tinamoo's review against another edition
4.0
I have to be honest. I picked this up from the library really not expecting much from it as I chose it through lack of choice rather than really wanting to read it. I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed it. I would put this in the genre of cozy crime. The story starts with Janet Wakefield receiving a telephone call from a nursing home telling her that her husband's great aunt Josephine had died. This is a surprise to Janet because she had no idea her husband had a great aunt. With her husband abroad on business it falls to Janet to arrange the funeral. At the funeral Josephine's grandson Joe turns up. A dead body of a young nurse turns up and there is also a break in at the nursing home. DCI Sloan has to work out what is going on and if everything is connected. My one criticism of this book is that the characters of Janet and Bill Wakefield are written as though they were in their 50's but they are actually in their late 20's early 30's. I did not guess the ending until very close to the reveal. I think that the twist was quite obvious and most people would have guessed it much earlier than I did.
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