eserafina42's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable English mystery that pastiches the "Golden Age" subgenre quite well, with a touch of Cold War espionage thrown in.
ingypingy2000's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the book a lot although I found it a tad dry (I guess that fits with "British" lol). It was fun though and I'd read the next!
sarahmorecoffee's review against another edition
4.0
Mindless and fun. It was perfect reading for the 20 minutes or so before I go to sleep.
dmwhipp's review against another edition
3.0
Decent murder-mystery set in 1950's England featuring wounded hero in charge of his young, orphaned sister. A hint of romance and likable-enough characters. While the murder is solved, the story ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger concerning the victim.
bannisterb's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyable. Not the most baffling or thrilling mystery, but it has likable characters and even the "bad guys" aren't one-dimensional. No slow moments; she even skips over things a bit quickly at times, but I find I didn't mind. I much prefer a story that keeps moving forward, rather than getting stuck on details or side plots. Hugo and Freya are nice leads, and the fact that Georgia, the 13-year-old sister, isn't annoying is fabulous. On to the second book now!
rachel_abby_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Set in England in the 1950's - Hugo Hawksworth used to do secret mission spy stuff for the British government until some injury to his leg (a bullet, I think) ended his ability to sneak slyly in and out of trouble. Now he's stuck with a limp and a desk job - he's to be an analyst, if he doesn't quit from contempt. He's assigned to a location in a little town called Selchester, where he goes with his orphaned 13 year old, precocious sister Georgia. They are housed - temporarily - in Selchester Castle, which is the scene of mystery. Six years ago, Lord Selchester hosted a party for family and assorted friends, retired to his office for a quiet evening, and disappeared in a raging snow storm, never to be seen again.
Within days of Hugo's arrival, a skeleton is found under the flagstones of Selchester Chapel. Who could it be but Lord Selchester? And why are government officials so eager to cast the blame for his murder on his deceased son and his living niece, Freya (currently living in the castle)? And does any of this have anything to do with Hugo's analytical task: to ferret out possible Communist sympathisers and moles in the British military and leadership?
I have mixed feelings about this book. It kept my attention and interest, but failed in some basic story telling elements: ie, if you produce a gun in scene one, you expect it to be relevant by the end of scene three. So - what about this stupid black book? It's mentioned, it's clear the unsavory cousin Sonia wants it (because she's in it? Or because she wants to use it?). The Russian paintings casually mentioned by Cousin Sonia do play a role, but what about the PG Wodehouse book that is completely out of character for Lord Selchester to have on his shelf? (I fully expected it to be hollowed out, containing the black book). Was it relevant at all, or simply intended to set the scene in history?
Second - the whole reason the government is in a hurry to pin the murder on a deceased son, with a cousin acting as abettor - is to make it all go away as quickly and cleanly as possible. Ironic that the author does the same thing by
Third - what about the last three pages? Are you so sure this will be well-received that you're setting us up for a new one? So obviously?
But there were things I appreciated - I liked that Freya and Hugo don't fall into one another's arms by the end of the novel (oops - spoiler). While on the one hand I do feel the internal narrative desire to have singles pair off, to see love bloom in unlikely places, I've realized that society's desire for such things has resulted in a culture that seems incapable of appreciating a solid friendship - to the extent that people insist on making gay lovers of Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Captain America and Bucky Barnes, and King Arthur and Merlin. Thus, I can appreciate that the author didn't create the obvious romantic pairing.
Also, the book was completely clean: she didn't revel in bloody death, and while it's pretty clear that Lord Selchester was a creep, who did creepy, wicked things - we aren't invited to a detailed description of his crime. When our investigators find unsavory photographs used in blackmail, their content is hinted at, not described in full. I appreciate that kind of narrative discretion.
So, I'm willing to read the next one in the series - if there is one - but I didn't love this book without reservation.
Within days of Hugo's arrival, a skeleton is found under the flagstones of Selchester Chapel. Who could it be but Lord Selchester? And why are government officials so eager to cast the blame for his murder on his deceased son and his living niece, Freya (currently living in the castle)? And does any of this have anything to do with Hugo's analytical task: to ferret out possible Communist sympathisers and moles in the British military and leadership?
I have mixed feelings about this book. It kept my attention and interest, but failed in some basic story telling elements: ie, if you produce a gun in scene one, you expect it to be relevant by the end of scene three. So - what about this stupid black book? It's mentioned, it's clear the unsavory cousin Sonia wants it (because she's in it? Or because she wants to use it?). The Russian paintings casually mentioned by Cousin Sonia do play a role, but what about the PG Wodehouse book that is completely out of character for Lord Selchester to have on his shelf? (I fully expected it to be hollowed out, containing the black book). Was it relevant at all, or simply intended to set the scene in history?
Second - the whole reason the government is in a hurry to pin the murder on a deceased son, with a cousin acting as abettor - is to make it all go away as quickly and cleanly as possible. Ironic that the author does the same thing by
Spoiler
killing off one killer and letting his accomplices just shuffle off into the shadows as inconsequential.Third - what about the last three pages? Are you so sure this will be well-received that you're setting us up for a new one? So obviously?
But there were things I appreciated - I liked that Freya and Hugo don't fall into one another's arms by the end of the novel (oops - spoiler). While on the one hand I do feel the internal narrative desire to have singles pair off, to see love bloom in unlikely places, I've realized that society's desire for such things has resulted in a culture that seems incapable of appreciating a solid friendship - to the extent that people insist on making gay lovers of Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Captain America and Bucky Barnes, and King Arthur and Merlin. Thus, I can appreciate that the author didn't create the obvious romantic pairing.
Also, the book was completely clean: she didn't revel in bloody death, and while it's pretty clear that Lord Selchester was a creep, who did creepy, wicked things - we aren't invited to a detailed description of his crime. When our investigators find unsavory photographs used in blackmail, their content is hinted at, not described in full. I appreciate that kind of narrative discretion.
So, I'm willing to read the next one in the series - if there is one - but I didn't love this book without reservation.
lucy_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read, but the ending was very weak ...
I grew to like the characters as the book progressed, and the plot was good (different, interesting) until about 3/4 of the way through when it felt like the author had run out of steam/met her word count and sort of gave up on the depth she'd worked so hard to get to that point ...
I grew to like the characters as the book progressed, and the plot was good (different, interesting) until about 3/4 of the way through when it felt like the author had run out of steam/met her word count and sort of gave up on the depth she'd worked so hard to get to that point ...
scarletine6's review against another edition
3.0
I stuck with this book ONLY because the narrator was Michael Page, who did such an amazing job on Scott Lynch's novel "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and his Gentleman Bastard series.
"A Man of Some Repute" was clunky and i could not connect with any of the characters. The author had a nasty habit of putting gesture into dialogue. (This is my own example to illustrate)
" I need my spade. Where's my spade. I'll just go over here and pick up my spade. I'm holding my spade"
People don't speak their movements and gestures. It was so annoying and sounded like the dialogue was from a British early learning 'Peter and Jane' children's book.
Anyway, what evolved was a bog standard murder mystery with a post war theme. I didn't feel it was well plotted at all, and the characters were either cartoonishly beastly or quite pedestrian. There were the stereotypes of :Hugo- a man with an injury and secrets who worked at 'The Hall' as a 'statistician', Freya- a spinster writer who threatens the status quo by not conforming with her parents wishes. Then there were the additions of an overtly camp gay couple who ran the village tea rooms. They were of course gossipy and the center of the village grapevine.
2 stars for the story and an extra star for Michael Page's narration.
"A Man of Some Repute" was clunky and i could not connect with any of the characters. The author had a nasty habit of putting gesture into dialogue. (This is my own example to illustrate)
" I need my spade. Where's my spade. I'll just go over here and pick up my spade. I'm holding my spade"
People don't speak their movements and gestures. It was so annoying and sounded like the dialogue was from a British early learning 'Peter and Jane' children's book.
Anyway, what evolved was a bog standard murder mystery with a post war theme. I didn't feel it was well plotted at all, and the characters were either cartoonishly beastly or quite pedestrian. There were the stereotypes of :Hugo- a man with an injury and secrets who worked at 'The Hall' as a 'statistician', Freya- a spinster writer who threatens the status quo by not conforming with her parents wishes. Then there were the additions of an overtly camp gay couple who ran the village tea rooms. They were of course gossipy and the center of the village grapevine.
2 stars for the story and an extra star for Michael Page's narration.
maryrobinson's review against another edition
3.0
An English mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie that succeeds pretty well. Most satisfying because the characters are well-written and interesting (not just stock types). Includes a brother injured in WWII doing spy-type work who is now responsible for his sister, who is reminiscent of Flavia DeLuce.