Scan barcode
hwpw's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
melslostinabook's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t quite enjoy this book as much as I did the previous one in this series, but it was still a great example of why Christianna Brand is considered a master of the impossible crime.
The setting is post-War London, and Inspector Cockrill has come down from Kent for a police convention when he receives a call from an acquaintance, Perpetua (Peppie) Kirk, stating that she and two other members of an acting troupe have received death threats via anonymous letters. When the first victim dies, right before his eyes on center stage on opening night, “Cockie” must join forces with local police Inspector Charlesworth to catch the murderer before he or she claims the next victim.
Featuring a cast full of suspects who could’ve done the murder, and yet seemingly could not have, I was left completely unsure right up until the very end. And then I was indeed surprised when Cockie revealed the murderer, and found myself feeling sad about it!
Another great locked room mystery from Christianna Brand, and now on to book five!
The setting is post-War London, and Inspector Cockrill has come down from Kent for a police convention when he receives a call from an acquaintance, Perpetua (Peppie) Kirk, stating that she and two other members of an acting troupe have received death threats via anonymous letters. When the first victim dies, right before his eyes on center stage on opening night, “Cockie” must join forces with local police Inspector Charlesworth to catch the murderer before he or she claims the next victim.
Featuring a cast full of suspects who could’ve done the murder, and yet seemingly could not have, I was left completely unsure right up until the very end. And then I was indeed surprised when Cockie revealed the murderer, and found myself feeling sad about it!
Another great locked room mystery from Christianna Brand, and now on to book five!
jiddle's review against another edition
5.0
https://tangledyarnsblog.wordpress.com/2022/04/24/death-of-jezebel-by-christianna-brand/
fictionfan's review
3.0
Knights in shining armour...
A grand exhibition is taking place in post-war London and part of the show will be a pageant starring eleven mounted knights in armour and a damsel in a tower. Among the cast and crew are three people whose irresponsible actions a few years ago led a young man to commit suicide. Perpetua (Peppi) was engaged to Johnny Wise, but for fun her “friend” Isabel, known to her “friends” as Jezebel, decided to get Peppi drunk and throw her into the willing arms of womanising actor, Earl Anderson. On discovering this, Johnny drove his car into a wall. Now the three begin to receive threatening notes and it appears someone is out to avenge Johnny’s death. And then Jezebel is murdered...
This is only my second Christianna Brand and to be honest I didn’t think it came even close to the wonderful Green for Danger. The plot is relatively simple in the sense that we know the motive from the beginning. But it becomes a hideously complicated howdunit based on which of all these knights or other crew members might have been able to murder Isabel in full view of the audience, helped by the fact that they were effectively all unrecognisable in their armour. Solution after solution is presented, only to be knocked down again by some piece of evidence Cockrill or the local Inspector Charlesworth had forgotten or subsequently learn. Suspect after suspect confesses, only to have their confessions disproved by minute pieces of evidence.
Maybe it all hangs together in the end, but truthfully my eyes had glazed over long before it reached that point. My first problem was that, while the three had behaved a little badly, I felt that Johnny seriously over-reacted when, instead of punching Earl and dumping Peppi, he topped himself, and as such I didn’t feel any of them deserved to be murdered. Secondly, I didn’t like anyone so I didn’t care about the murders nor about whodunit. And lastly, I certainly didn’t care about how it was done, since each of the failed solutions seemed as likely, or that should probably be unlikely, to me as the final one.
On the upside, Brand writes well and amusingly. There’s lots of humour in the book, mostly around the unspoken rivalry between Cockrill and Charlesworth. Cockrill is attending a police conference in the area and becomes involved because he knew Peppi long ago, when she lived down in his patch in Kent. He’s used to being a big fish in the Kentish pool, but in the Great Metropolis he discovers most people have never heard of him or, if they have, it’s because of a case where he famously made a complete hash of it. Charlesworth is a younger man and Cockrill is determined to beat him to the solution. It was the entertainment value of this rather one-sided rivalry that kept me reading after the plot had ceased to interest me.
Overall, I enjoyed it well enough but it didn’t meet my perhaps too high expectations. It won’t stop me reading more of the Cockrill books, though – as well as these two novels, I’ve read several of Brand’s short stories in various anthologies and always enjoyed them, so I feel this one was a blip, probably because the intricate how of crime never interests me as much as the why.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
A grand exhibition is taking place in post-war London and part of the show will be a pageant starring eleven mounted knights in armour and a damsel in a tower. Among the cast and crew are three people whose irresponsible actions a few years ago led a young man to commit suicide. Perpetua (Peppi) was engaged to Johnny Wise, but for fun her “friend” Isabel, known to her “friends” as Jezebel, decided to get Peppi drunk and throw her into the willing arms of womanising actor, Earl Anderson. On discovering this, Johnny drove his car into a wall. Now the three begin to receive threatening notes and it appears someone is out to avenge Johnny’s death. And then Jezebel is murdered...
This is only my second Christianna Brand and to be honest I didn’t think it came even close to the wonderful Green for Danger. The plot is relatively simple in the sense that we know the motive from the beginning. But it becomes a hideously complicated howdunit based on which of all these knights or other crew members might have been able to murder Isabel in full view of the audience, helped by the fact that they were effectively all unrecognisable in their armour. Solution after solution is presented, only to be knocked down again by some piece of evidence Cockrill or the local Inspector Charlesworth had forgotten or subsequently learn. Suspect after suspect confesses, only to have their confessions disproved by minute pieces of evidence.
Maybe it all hangs together in the end, but truthfully my eyes had glazed over long before it reached that point. My first problem was that, while the three had behaved a little badly, I felt that Johnny seriously over-reacted when, instead of punching Earl and dumping Peppi, he topped himself, and as such I didn’t feel any of them deserved to be murdered. Secondly, I didn’t like anyone so I didn’t care about the murders nor about whodunit. And lastly, I certainly didn’t care about how it was done, since each of the failed solutions seemed as likely, or that should probably be unlikely, to me as the final one.
On the upside, Brand writes well and amusingly. There’s lots of humour in the book, mostly around the unspoken rivalry between Cockrill and Charlesworth. Cockrill is attending a police conference in the area and becomes involved because he knew Peppi long ago, when she lived down in his patch in Kent. He’s used to being a big fish in the Kentish pool, but in the Great Metropolis he discovers most people have never heard of him or, if they have, it’s because of a case where he famously made a complete hash of it. Charlesworth is a younger man and Cockrill is determined to beat him to the solution. It was the entertainment value of this rather one-sided rivalry that kept me reading after the plot had ceased to interest me.
Overall, I enjoyed it well enough but it didn’t meet my perhaps too high expectations. It won’t stop me reading more of the Cockrill books, though – as well as these two novels, I’ve read several of Brand’s short stories in various anthologies and always enjoyed them, so I feel this one was a blip, probably because the intricate how of crime never interests me as much as the why.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
elisekress's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful classic mystery with some humor. I'm so glad they've reissued this series! Hurrah for Christianna Brand!
zoer03's review
2.0
I started reading this hoping for a fun, cozy read and one that would take me to a different time. Instead I found myself bored and irritated by the characters and plot. I hated each character and thought the tragic incident that sets everything off laughable as it was so absurd and over the top I just couldn’t understand why it triggered the murders. I found the whole mystery boring and not really a mystery. I am a bit disappointed to be honest and was expecting something that at least would grab my attention. If you like reading about unlikeable characters that don’t make much sense and murders that happen to people you couldn’t care less about then this is perfect for you.
holley97's review against another edition
4.5
Ugh I ended this wanting a honest to goodness revenge story, Bx2 being arrested fell rather flat.
iceangel9's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
The fourth book in the Inspector Cockrill mystery series. A medieval pageant featuring knights in shining armor and a damsel in distress is created as part of a grand exhibition. When several of the cast members receive death threats, and one of them dies, Inspector Cockrill must find the killer before any one else dies. A fun series for fans of mysteries set in England and Golden Age mysteries.
nanettels's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
jaina's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts