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Loading... Death in the Morning (1978)by Sheila Radley
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It's a glorious spring morning in the village of Ashthorpe. Birds are singing, and sunlight is dancing on the river, where Mary Gedge's dress drifts lazily in the shallows and flowers mingle in her hair. The scene is so altogether lovely that some locals think dreamily of Ophelia, drowned for love of noble Hamlet. Chief Inspector Quantrill, though, has little patience for that kind of self-indulgence; he's got a murder to solve. And with a loveless marriage, a job that centers mostly on recovering stolen pigs, and the certain knowledge that he's missed his best chance for romance, he's something of a prisoner of pragmatism. Mary Gedge may indeed have died for love of the wrong man, but in this muddy English market town, that man is unlikely to be a prince of Denmark. One of those delightful finds . . . it has atmosphere, a literate style, and characters that come alive - Washington Post Haunting - Chicago Sun-Times No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823Literature English & Old English literatures English fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The core mystery here is good but even though there are plenty of suspects and a few red herrings, it's a bit predictable and easy to figure out. Normally this sounds the death knell for me as far as continuing the series, but what saves this is Radley's writing. Quantrill is an interesting person as well. Police work is in his blood, and comes before family (much to his wife's dismay), yet Radley makes him into a human being. Hopefully he becomes a bit more fleshed out as the series progresses. And then there's Tait -- one of those eager and ambitious souls who wants to prove himself and continue his quick rise up the ladder -- he's a character to watch in the next few books.
Overall, this was an okay read. It's not quite a cozy, and not so much a dyed-in-the-wool police procedural, so it's a bit hard to define genre-wise. Readers who enjoy their murders set in the shadow of the quiet English village will like this one. It moves slow and there's not a lot of action, but it's well written. ( )