jjares reviewed on 7/15/2016 + 3414 more book reviews

Sit back and prepare to be amused -- Catherine Aird's books are full of wry British humor. The plot is simple: Twelve people meet for a dinner with lord of the manor -- Bill Fent. After dinner, Bill takes the professor home and is killed in a road mishap on his way back to his manor.

The pathologist Mr. Dabbe (a wit in his own right) tells Sloan that there were enough barbiturates 'to kill two lords of the manor.' So Sloan's boss, Leeyes sends clueless Crosby to help Sloan find the killer. Crosby spends so much time chatting up the maid about the dinner the twelve had, he's nervous that her mother is getting ready to ask
Crosby 'his intentions.'

Leeyes deductions from all the night classes he takes are so funny. And how he applies all this new knowledge to homicide keeps me in stitches. Whether I guess the culprit is immaterial, the journey is the thing. Catherine Aird is one of my favorite authors. Enjoy.

Sloan and Crosby Mysteries
1. The Religious Body (1966)
2. Henrietta Who? (1968)
3. The Complete Steel (1969) aka The Stately Home Murder
4. A Late Phoenix (1970)
5. His Burial Too (1973)
* 6. Slight Mourning (1975)

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