Very old fashioned murder mystery, which I enjoy more for a glimpse into British life in the 1960s than for the writing style or the challenge of the mystery. While we might think that the Swinging 60s wrought an instant transformation on the British Isles, Aird makes it clear from the setting and context of her murders, and the attitudes of her characters, that change took time to percolate through to places like the little market towns of the fictional "Calleshire" (her version of Midsomer, for cozy mystery fans).
This is the first Inspector Sloan novel, and it has the same faults and attractions of any novel introducing characters who are clearly intended for a long run. (Is Sloan as clever as he thinks he is? Is his not-so-trusty sidekick really as stupid as he seems? Is Calleshire interesting enough to provided the necessary local color?) The murder takes place in a convent, and the unreconstructed misogyny this introduces, as various characters reflect on the "unnaturalness" of an all-female community, is pretty bracing.
An interesting beginning, which made me want to read more
This is the first Inspector Sloan novel, and it has the same faults and attractions of any novel introducing characters who are clearly intended for a long run. (Is Sloan as clever as he thinks he is? Is his not-so-trusty sidekick really as stupid as he seems? Is Calleshire interesting enough to provided the necessary local color?) The murder takes place in a convent, and the unreconstructed misogyny this introduces, as various characters reflect on the "unnaturalness" of an all-female community, is pretty bracing.
An interesting beginning, which made me want to read more
