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cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
The first novel in which Dominic Felse features without his father, if I remember correctly! Also the one in which Dominic meets Tossa, and a fine spy-type mystery even aside from all that!
marilynsaul's review against another edition
2.0
Oh, I SO wanted to love this book, and even considered buying the series but thought I should give it more than 20 pages :-) What a numbing disaster. Two complaints: 1) a confusing long trip through Czechoslovakia - virtually meaningless without having a map at your side; and 2) a mini-dissertation on rock formations in said country, also very confusing - not so much because of the geology, but because I could never get a clear picture in my mind whether I was up-slope or down-slope. Mind you, I love geology, so it wasn't at all THAT - it was, once again, logistics, as with the trip through the country. Sadly, items 1 and 2 comprised the corpus of the book. The ending was satisfactory, but getting there was a tedious journey. I'm going to stick with Cadfael and pass on Felse.
kindleandilluminate's review against another edition
3.0
Ellis Peters always crafts delicate and enchanting prose, and the lyrically lovely Piper on the Mountain is no different. The murder mystery is almost an afterthought, the adoring descriptions of the Slovakian geography and culture taking precedence, and in fact by the time the true mystery is revealed and solved, I felt like brushing it off and reading more about the fujara and local lakes and mountain climbing. Part Cold War spy thriller, part murder mystery, it turns out to be, really, not quite either.
Disappointed not to have George and Bunty present in this one. I'm reading the series for the first time, going through in order, after years of knowing Peters only for the Cadfael mysteries, and I'm surprised by how often these "Inspector Felse" novels are really just Dominic.
A charming and old-fashioned little love letter to the region, but I'd pass if you're looking for a typical suspenseful whodunnit.
Disappointed not to have George and Bunty present in this one. I'm reading the series for the first time, going through in order, after years of knowing Peters only for the Cadfael mysteries, and I'm surprised by how often these "Inspector Felse" novels are really just Dominic.
A charming and old-fashioned little love letter to the region, but I'd pass if you're looking for a typical suspenseful whodunnit.
bookwyrm_lark's review
4.0
The Piper on the Mountain is as much novel as mystery. Written in Peters’ unique and unmistakable voice, the narrative contrasts lyrical, almost poetic description with a more matter-of-fact presentation of the characters’ actions, conversation, and occasionally thoughts.
Initally, Tossa seems the more likely protagonist, but as she and her companions draw closer to her goal, Dominic’s role slowly grows in importance, both structurally and within the story. Beyond the half-way point, it becomes clear that Dominic has become the true protagonist; it is primarily up to him to untangle the puzzle and, not incidentally, keep Tossa safe. The relationship between the two grows slowly, too, comprised of equal strands of attraction, and prickly wariness (on Tossa’s part) and suspicion and concern (on Dominic’s.)
Peters’s characterization is deft and sparely descriptive; she conveys just enough, but not too much. In the case of Christine and Todd, twins who, as Tossa’s friends, make up half of the holiday expedition, Peters tells us very little about them. They are intentionally if cheerfully ordinary, almost background characters, while Domninic & Tossa’s sharp intelligence and sense of purpose set them both apart. Tossa is almost singleminded in her determination to find out the truth about her (largely unlamented) stepfather’s death, but she keeps her goal and her worries hidden from the others. There’s something reminiscent of a Arabian foal about her; she has that same fine-boned, leggy awkwardness about to become grace, the the same air of nervous, barely-constrained energy. Dominic, who is keenly aware of Tossa and observant enough to see through her mask, is just as resolved to protect her if—when!—she needs protection. And he fears she will. They’re traveling in Communist Czechoslovakia, after all, where it’s dangerous to ask questions or pry into the death of an Englishman.
Peters ratchets up the suspense in small but perfectly calibrated increments. And yet, there’s no real danger apparent for much of the book. The only hints of something wrong are Tossa’s unease, and the fact that Terrell is dead when he ought not to be. When a physical threat does arise, it is anonymous, the motivation still unknown. This only serves to deepen the overall mystery, which comes, eventually, to a most unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
The author clearly knew her setting well from her own trips to Czechoslovakia; she describes it in vivid images that perfectly evoke the clarity of the mountain air, the sharpness of the rocky peaks and the alpine beauty of the valleys. She left me almost eager to travel to Slovakia, to the Low Tatras, to see if the area is still as she depicts it.
Although The Piper on the Mountain is part of the Felse Investigations series, like all of the books in the series it can stand alone. Dominic is Inspector George Felse’s son, now grown and in college; George himself comes into the story not at all.* It is one of my favorite Ellis Peters books, and well worth reading.
* A peculiarity of the series is that George is often not the protagonist; sometimes it’s Dominic, sometimes another character involved in the mystery. It makes the books more a related collection of mysteries than a series in the usual sense of the term.
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Initally, Tossa seems the more likely protagonist, but as she and her companions draw closer to her goal, Dominic’s role slowly grows in importance, both structurally and within the story. Beyond the half-way point, it becomes clear that Dominic has become the true protagonist; it is primarily up to him to untangle the puzzle and, not incidentally, keep Tossa safe. The relationship between the two grows slowly, too, comprised of equal strands of attraction, and prickly wariness (on Tossa’s part) and suspicion and concern (on Dominic’s.)
Peters’s characterization is deft and sparely descriptive; she conveys just enough, but not too much. In the case of Christine and Todd, twins who, as Tossa’s friends, make up half of the holiday expedition, Peters tells us very little about them. They are intentionally if cheerfully ordinary, almost background characters, while Domninic & Tossa’s sharp intelligence and sense of purpose set them both apart. Tossa is almost singleminded in her determination to find out the truth about her (largely unlamented) stepfather’s death, but she keeps her goal and her worries hidden from the others. There’s something reminiscent of a Arabian foal about her; she has that same fine-boned, leggy awkwardness about to become grace, the the same air of nervous, barely-constrained energy. Dominic, who is keenly aware of Tossa and observant enough to see through her mask, is just as resolved to protect her if—when!—she needs protection. And he fears she will. They’re traveling in Communist Czechoslovakia, after all, where it’s dangerous to ask questions or pry into the death of an Englishman.
Peters ratchets up the suspense in small but perfectly calibrated increments. And yet, there’s no real danger apparent for much of the book. The only hints of something wrong are Tossa’s unease, and the fact that Terrell is dead when he ought not to be. When a physical threat does arise, it is anonymous, the motivation still unknown. This only serves to deepen the overall mystery, which comes, eventually, to a most unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
The author clearly knew her setting well from her own trips to Czechoslovakia; she describes it in vivid images that perfectly evoke the clarity of the mountain air, the sharpness of the rocky peaks and the alpine beauty of the valleys. She left me almost eager to travel to Slovakia, to the Low Tatras, to see if the area is still as she depicts it.
Although The Piper on the Mountain is part of the Felse Investigations series, like all of the books in the series it can stand alone. Dominic is Inspector George Felse’s son, now grown and in college; George himself comes into the story not at all.* It is one of my favorite Ellis Peters books, and well worth reading.
* A peculiarity of the series is that George is often not the protagonist; sometimes it’s Dominic, sometimes another character involved in the mystery. It makes the books more a related collection of mysteries than a series in the usual sense of the term.
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
quincywheeler's review
3.0
Peters' Cadfael mysteries can't be beat, but the Felse whodunnits are also solid
marrije's review
4.0
A 1 euro buy from a tiny alley open-air bookshop in the city of Sloten - turned out to be excellent nostalgic England fare, great holiday reading. My first Ellis Peters, but probably not my last.
singinglight's review
3.0
My room here in Indianapolis has all of the mysteries in it. So there are a LOT in the last half of the month. Just to warn you. Anyway, reading this one just after Fallen Into the Pit was a bit jarring because it takes place five or six years later. George and Bunty are not present, alas, but we get Tossa and Czechoslovakia instead. [June 2010]
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