On This Page
Description
First published in 1979, Unruly Son received an Edgar Award nomination for "Best Novel" of the year. Sir Oliver Fairleigh-Stubbs, overweight and overbearing, collapses and dies at his birthday party while indulging his taste for rare liquors. He had promised his daughter he would be polite and charitable for the entire day, but the strain of such exemplary behaviour was obviously too great. He leaves a family relieved to be rid of him, and he also leaves a fortune, earned as a bestselling show more mystery author. To everyone's surprise, Sir Oliver's elder son, who openly hated his father, inherits most of the estate. His wife, his daughter, and his younger son are each to receive the royalties from one carefully chosen book. But the manuscript of the unpublished volume left to Sir Oliver's wife--a posthumous "last case" that might be worth millions--has disappeared. And Sir Oliver's death is beginning to look less than natural. Into this bitter household comes Inspector Meredith, a spirited Welshman who in some ways resembles Sir Oliver's fictional hero. In Robert Barnard's skilful hands, Inspector Meredith's investigation becomes not only a classic example of detection but an elegant and humorous slice of crime. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Here's enormous fun. Sir Oliver Fairleigh-Stubbs is Britain's most successful thriller writer, even though it's generally agreed his books are bloody awful. And so is he: he's vile to his family (except his gold-digging, ghastly daughter) and everyone else around him. So it's not much of a surprise when someone spikes his favorite after-dinner liqueur with nicotinic acid, bumping the old bastard off. Enter sleuth Inspector Meredith, not an especially literary man, who must trawl among the bitchy inhabitants of an English village out of Miss Marple's nightmares as well as the London offices of Sir Oliver's publishers, deep though they are in mourning for the loss of revenue the author's death implies. Could the answer to the mystery show more lie in the book Sir Oliver wrote years ago but never published, the manuscript that supposedly none but the writer and an ancient ex-secretary have ever seen? It could indeed . . .
The sideswipes at the pretensions of the publishing world are obviously a part of what I found so entertaining about this romp, but the real glory is in its wry evisceration, through understated parody, of the conventions of the "cozy" murder mystery — and yet Barnard's triumph is that the novel functions extremely well as a "cozy" murder mystery itself. show less
The sideswipes at the pretensions of the publishing world are obviously a part of what I found so entertaining about this romp, but the real glory is in its wry evisceration, through understated parody, of the conventions of the "cozy" murder mystery — and yet Barnard's triumph is that the novel functions extremely well as a "cozy" murder mystery itself. show less
Sir Oliver Farleigh-Stubbs is a best-selling mystery writer. He is also an obnoxious, bullying, egocentric, obese, snob who is loved by his readers and despised by his family and friends. His publishers and editor tolerate him because his books bring in money.
During his intimate sixty-fifth birthday party he drops dead while sipping on an expensive and special liqueur in his fine library in his elegant country home in front of his family and guests. The family is shocked at this unexpected event, but not surprised. The man never did follow doctors’ orders, even if he said he did.
There is no love lost between Sir Oliver and his oldest son, who seems to be wasting his life in go-nowhere jobs and heavy drinking. When Sir Oliver’s will show more is read, all are shocked. The oldest gets not just the title, but also the bulk of the estate! Needless to say his brother and sister are furious.
Chief Inspector Meredith is given the case. Originally thought to be a death from a heart attack, it turns out to be a case of poisoning. The question is who. It looks as if there is a fair number of suspects; from family to friends to work related people to all be checked out.
The pace is good and the plot is very enjoyable. show less
During his intimate sixty-fifth birthday party he drops dead while sipping on an expensive and special liqueur in his fine library in his elegant country home in front of his family and guests. The family is shocked at this unexpected event, but not surprised. The man never did follow doctors’ orders, even if he said he did.
There is no love lost between Sir Oliver and his oldest son, who seems to be wasting his life in go-nowhere jobs and heavy drinking. When Sir Oliver’s will show more is read, all are shocked. The oldest gets not just the title, but also the bulk of the estate! Needless to say his brother and sister are furious.
Chief Inspector Meredith is given the case. Originally thought to be a death from a heart attack, it turns out to be a case of poisoning. The question is who. It looks as if there is a fair number of suspects; from family to friends to work related people to all be checked out.
The pace is good and the plot is very enjoyable. show less
Oliver Farleigh-Stubbs, slavný autor detektivek, je schopen urazit kde koho. Uprostřed rodiného večírku padá mrtev k zemi a pitva prokáže násilnou smrt. Je na detektivovi Meredithovi, aby dopadl vraha. A podezřelých je tak mnoho.
Dec 21, 2023Czech
Oliver Farleigh-Stubbs, slavný autor detektivek, je schopen urazit kde koho. Uprostřed rodiného večírku padá mrtev k zemi a pitva prokáže násilnou smrt. Je na detektivovi Meredithovi, aby dopadl vraha. A podezřelých je tak mnoho.
Feb 22, 2022Czech
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books Read in 2021
5,361 works; 113 members
Author Information
77+ Works 6,287 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
SaPo (259)
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Poikani poloinen
- Original title
- Unruly Son
- Alternate titles
- Death of a Mystery Writer
- Original publication date
- 1978
- People/Characters
- Sir Oliver Fairleigh-Stubbs; Miss Cozzens; Bella; Mark; Terrence; Gerald Simmington
- Important places
- England, UK
- First words
- It was Saturday night, and the saloon bar of the Prince Albert was nicely full: there plump, jolly Mrs. Corbett from the new estate, whose laugh - gurgling with gin and tonic - periodically rang throughout the whole pub; th... (show all)ere was her husband, her teenage daughter looking bored and her old mother looking daggers - all on a family night out; at other tables there were would-be-smooth young men and their silly girl-friends, fat men with fishing stories and thin men with fishy handshakes, and in the corner there was the inevitable sandy-haired man on his own, with his single whiskey and his evening paper.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"One way or another," he added, as he lay dying.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 253
- Popularity
- 127,647
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.30)
- Languages
- English, Finnish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 7
