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Series: Sloan and Crosby (9)

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The annual Horticultural Society Flower Show would have gone off without a hitch were it not for one very pesky murder. When nurse Joyce Cooper goes missing from the parish's fortune-telling booth at the flower fair, her friends at the local church are immediately concerned. It's not like this old lady, who plays the organ during service every Sunday without fail, and who, it's told, lives for the purpose of helping others, to disappear without notice. So when she's found strangled to death under a tarp, the community is thrown into an uproar. Who better to calm the crowd than Calleshire's greatest detective? Alongside his bumbling sidekick, Constable Crosby, C. D. Sloan runs through the bizarre list of suspects - the daughter of a deceased anthropologist, a greedy developer, a jealous tomato gardener and a set of wealthy farmers - to find out who would have benefited most from the beloved nurse's death. What he finds will astonish the entire village.… (more)

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Passing Strange by Catherine Aird (Author)

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The Calleshire Chronicles (Sloan and Crosby Canon) by Catherine Aird (9)

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Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)

At the local horticultural show, a long line forms in front of the fortuneteller's tent. As the fair organizers scramble to find the missing fortuneteller (who is also the local nurse), she is eventually found dead under a tarp. Why would anyone kill a nurse who didn't have a single enemy in the world? And does a long lost heiress, prize-winning tomatoes that didn't win a single prize, and missing flower twine have anything to do with the murder? (

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soraki | Aug 16, 2020 |

district nurse killed to conceal her knowledge of estate heir

ritaer | Mar 14, 2020 |

The central idea of Passing Strange is sound but the narrative went off the rails quite a few times. This is a common problem with Aird's Inspector Sloan books. They all have an intriguing premise but the narrative does not stay on point. I figured out who the culprit was by the middle of the book. It is easy if you read detective fiction and are mindful of the clues gathered. What annoyed me more than anything is that the ending relies on deus ex machina. That is not really 'playing the game' so to speak. (

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Porua | Jul 2, 2018 |

Another cozy British mystery from Catherine Aird. "Passing Strange" is a story from her Inspector C.D. Sloane series about the bucolic English countryside and the murders that occur for a host of unusual reasons. This time, Inspector Sloane tackles the murder of the county nurse at a Horticultural Society Flower Show in the village of Almstone. Clues include a possible inheritance, a question of identification, a drunk cup of tea, and flower-arranging wire.

Aird's stories always conjure up images from my sojourn in England--small villages, insular societies, fabulous accents, and all. Those who don't understand British humor or slang may find her stories a bit heavy going, and be sure to bone up on your Bible, French, and Latin since she always includes quotes from at least one, if not all, the previous. (

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jjmachshev | Jul 13, 2009 |

Well, each year in the small village of Almstone there is the local Horticultural Society Flower Show, where locals enter their flowers, fruit, veggies etc to be judged all in a friendly competition. This year, however, is different. The fortuneteller, aka Nurse Cooper, is found dead under a tarp at the end of the day when the tents all have to come down. She was a gentle soul, and according to all, would never hurt a fly. So why on earth was she killed? This is the puzzle that Sloan and Crosby will have to solve before they even get to the whodunit.

The ending was a bit more thought out this time and it is a fine mystery with a number of good red herrings. I'd say that people who like British mysteries or police procedurals would enjoy this one. Not a cozy, so don't expect one. (

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bcquinnsmom | Aug 19, 2007 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Aird, Catherine	Author	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Keizer, Hans	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Lehr, Paul	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Montague, Bruce	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Belongs to Series

Sloan and Crosby (9)

Is contained in

The Third Catherine Aird Collection by Catherine Aird

Death in a Cold Climate | The Grub-and-Stakers Move a Mountain | Passing Strange by Detective Book Club

The Calleshire Chronicles Volume Three by Catherine Aird

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Canonical title

Original title

Passing Strange

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1981-02

People/Characters

Important places

Calleshire, England, UK

Almstone, Calleshire, England, UK

Berebury, Calleshire, England, UK

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Epigraph

My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange;
'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful:
She wish'd she had not heard it...
Othello, The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare,
Act I, Scene 3.

Dedication

For a lifetime of friends
in the
Guide Movement

First words

"Judges don't make mistakes," said Fred Pearson.

Quotations

All the malefactors that Sloan had ever known had shared a delusion that a postponed Day of Judgement was a Day of Judgement that might somehow be persuaded to go away.

Though,' observed Sloan profoundly, 'where there's a will there's usually a relative.'

Although the last enemy might be death, in long and sad police experience, the first enemy could usually be found, Cain and Abel fashion, within the family circle.

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▾Book descriptions

The annual Horticultural Society Flower Show would have gone off without a hitch were it not for one very pesky murder. When nurse Joyce Cooper goes missing from the parish's fortune-telling booth at the flower fair, her friends at the local church are immediately concerned. It's not like this old lady, who plays the organ during service every Sunday without fail, and who, it's told, lives for the purpose of helping others, to disappear without notice. So when she's found strangled to death under a tarp, the community is thrown into an uproar. Who better to calm the crowd than Calleshire's greatest detective? Alongside his bumbling sidekick, Constable Crosby, C. D. Sloan runs through the bizarre list of suspects - the daughter of a deceased anthropologist, a greedy developer, a jealous tomato gardener and a set of wealthy farmers - to find out who would have benefited most from the beloved nurse's death. What he finds will astonish the entire village.

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