Gently and the Tiger
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1964).

'This is quite serious. We have a murder case with a tiger in it.'
'Who's the chummy?' Gently said. 'The tiger?'
'Please! I told you this was serious. But the tiger may have been used as a murder weapon, which is unique in my experience.'

Superintendent Inspector George Gently is called in on the eve of his fishing vacation when a buried body is uncovered. The victim was apparently mauled and killed by a tiger when it escaped a local exotic animal importer a year previously. In the meantime, the man had been thought to have disappeared. He had been a shady character with a penchant for blackmail.

There are no shortage of suspects as the blackmailer's victim ledger is discovered with coded letters and payment schedules. But can Gently solve the case within 48 hours and still make it to Wales for his fishing? Never bet against the Super! I enjoyed this one quite a bit as everyone seemed to have an unshakeable alibi until Gently starts untangling the web of deception.

See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1964. Image sourced from Goodreads.

Trivia and Link
Gently Sahib was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. ( )