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A review by crazygoangirl
Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
2.0
This is my first book by Christianna Brand and unfortunately might be my last! Listened to this on Audible. The narrator was alright.
This is the first in her Inspector Cockrill series, in which a gathering of six close friends at Pigeonsford House become involved in a horrific murder. The Squire of the house, Stephen Pendock is host to Lady Hart and her two grandchildren, Venetia married to Henry and her twin Francesca, single and loved desperately by a Captain James Nichol and the Squire himself in the desperate way that I so abhor! I’m not fond of love that a man has for a woman whom he’s been around as a child! I find that downright creepy! Grace Morland, a spinster neighbour desperately in love with Pendock and jealous of Francesca is found horrifically murdered in the gardens of the estate and the cast of characters is dragged into a seemingly endless investigation led by Inspector Cockrill.
I’ve yet to find an Inspector as inept as this one is. Although Moresby by Anthony Berkeley isn’t far behind! From allowing suspects to roam free, handle evidence and generally conduct a parallel investigation according to their own whims and fancies, he has no control and apparently no skills! Brand’s plotting is haphazard and she concentrates more on emotions and feelings rather than the basics of a murder investigation. This is published in 1941, and I expected a proper police procedure. Instead characters make random guesses as to guilt and innocence and investigate accordingly. Even murder is apparently excusable if the motive is ‘noble’ as judged by them. Unbelievable🤦🏻♀️
The whole thing was fantastical and unbelievable from start to finish. The writing isn’t bad but all those ‘darlings’ and ‘dears’ made me cringe 🤪 The murders themselves were gorier than I expected in a cosy mystery and the climax was unnecessarily emotional and sappy. I’d guessed the culprit before the Inspector did and frankly didn’t give a damn about any of the characters by the end.
Won’t be reading Brand mysteries for a while. But might read her Nurse Matilda stories on which Nanny McPhee is based! Didn’t know she’d written children’s literature!
This is the first in her Inspector Cockrill series, in which a gathering of six close friends at Pigeonsford House become involved in a horrific murder. The Squire of the house, Stephen Pendock is host to Lady Hart and her two grandchildren, Venetia married to Henry and her twin Francesca, single and loved desperately by a Captain James Nichol and the Squire himself in the desperate way that I so abhor! I’m not fond of love that a man has for a woman whom he’s been around as a child! I find that downright creepy! Grace Morland, a spinster neighbour desperately in love with Pendock and jealous of Francesca is found horrifically murdered in the gardens of the estate and the cast of characters is dragged into a seemingly endless investigation led by Inspector Cockrill.
I’ve yet to find an Inspector as inept as this one is. Although Moresby by Anthony Berkeley isn’t far behind! From allowing suspects to roam free, handle evidence and generally conduct a parallel investigation according to their own whims and fancies, he has no control and apparently no skills! Brand’s plotting is haphazard and she concentrates more on emotions and feelings rather than the basics of a murder investigation. This is published in 1941, and I expected a proper police procedure. Instead characters make random guesses as to guilt and innocence and investigate accordingly. Even murder is apparently excusable if the motive is ‘noble’ as judged by them. Unbelievable🤦🏻♀️
The whole thing was fantastical and unbelievable from start to finish. The writing isn’t bad but all those ‘darlings’ and ‘dears’ made me cringe 🤪 The murders themselves were gorier than I expected in a cosy mystery and the climax was unnecessarily emotional and sappy. I’d guessed the culprit before the Inspector did and frankly didn’t give a damn about any of the characters by the end.
Won’t be reading Brand mysteries for a while. But might read her Nurse Matilda stories on which Nanny McPhee is based! Didn’t know she’d written children’s literature!