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Whilst on a trip to the sunny Channel Islands to find the heir to a lucrative tax law case, young barrister Michael Cantrip finds himself in over his head. Peculiar things begin to occur on the mysterious and isolated islands with something - or somebody -- bumping off members of his legal team. With the help of his mentor, amateur investigator Hilary Tamar, Cantrip, must find a safe passage back to the Lincoln's Inn Chambers.Tags
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Professor Hilary Tamar and the young barristers are faced with two suspicious deaths within a group of tax professionals handling a complex trust case referred to as "the Daffodil settlement", which of course gives us the opportunity for a few exotic location scenes in the Cayman Islands, Monaco and the Channel Islands. Writing in 1989, Caudwell's preferred epistolary technique hasn't yet been able to benefit from the invention of email, but she cleverly gets a Telex machine installed at 62, New Court, which provides her characters the opportunity to communicate in writing without the need to allow for postal delays.
Another innovation is an irresponsible visiting uncle straight out of P.G. Wodehouse, who provides his share of laughs show more for us, as well as allowing Caudwell her silliest dénouement scene yet. The name "Daffodil" should also put us on our guard that this story is full of ironic references to old-style British academic detective stories (such as those of Professor Tamar's Oxford colleague, Michael Innes), including a Clue of a type no-one has got away with since about 1930 (a pen bearing the initials of its owner), a Shakespeare parallel, a complete set of Biggles books, and a motive of considerable antiquity.
Very entertaining, and probably full of hidden in-jokes for tax lawyers as well. show less
Another innovation is an irresponsible visiting uncle straight out of P.G. Wodehouse, who provides his share of laughs show more for us, as well as allowing Caudwell her silliest dénouement scene yet. The name "Daffodil" should also put us on our guard that this story is full of ironic references to old-style British academic detective stories (such as those of Professor Tamar's Oxford colleague, Michael Innes), including a Clue of a type no-one has got away with since about 1930 (a pen bearing the initials of its owner), a Shakespeare parallel, a complete set of Biggles books, and a motive of considerable antiquity.
Very entertaining, and probably full of hidden in-jokes for tax lawyers as well. show less
The third Hilary Tamar novel finds barrister Michael Cantrip requested to assist in a tax law case on the Channel Islands, despite the fact that he has no tax law experience to mention; but a short, all-expense-paid holiday suits him just fine. Once there, however, he learns that one person formerly attached to the particular case had died by accident some six months earlier, and when a second person dies under peculiar circumstances, he’s not quite sure how to proceed. Having been able to apprise his fellow barristers at 62 New Square and, of course, Professor Hilary Tamar of Oxford, by sending copious telexes about the strange events, it is only a matter of time before Hilary starts investigating, hopeful of solving the case before show more another member of the legal team dies…. I am really pleased to be able to re-read these hilarious novels, three written in the 1980s and the final one in 2000, the year of the author’s untimely death from cancer; they can easily be read as an update of John Mortimer (for the legal aspect) or even Wodehouse (for the comedy of manners), although they are set in a time now some 40 years ago. Perhaps one can read each novel separately, but I think reading them in order would give the reader more pleasure overall; recommended! show less
I’m generally not one for murder mysteries, however this series is distinctively hilarious in a rather Wodehousian manner. This installment is set in the world of offshore tax havens; it says something about the immense charm of the narration that I did not constantly grind my teeth about rich people evading tax. In part, I think, because of the slyly mocking tone. As with [b:Thus Was Adonis Murdered|234327|Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Hilary Tamar, #1)|Sarah Caudwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1325063408s/234327.jpg|1092711], I didn’t care at all whodunnit - like I said, murder mysteries are not at all my thing. I very much enjoyed the shenanigans and constant gossiping of the legal professionals involved, however. Large show more portions of the plot are told in an epistolary manner, in the adorably retro format of telex messages, which is delightful. There are secret assignations, car chases, attempts at writing a romance novel, and seminars on tax avoidance. A favourite passage, discussing an inconvenient uncle:
Selena is undoubtedly my favourite character - she carefully stays out of the murder-related drama, while ensuring that events always serve her interests. What a role model. Overall, a slight but entertaining diversion that balances pomposity and irony very adroitly. show less
”What about afterwards?” said Ragwort. “Where are you taking the appalling old menace for dinner?”
“Guido’s. I suppose it’s not quite what he means by a night spot, but I wanted to take him somewhere where he couldn’t get into any trouble. And I don’t think, Ragwort, that you ought to refer to him as an appalling old menace. He fought with great distinction in the Second World war.”
“Fought in it? He probably started it - it would be his idea of a joke.”
“He’s got the DSO,” said Julia.
“He’s a dangerous lunatic,” said Ragwort.
“I am not sure,” said Selena, “that being a dangerous lunatic is inconsistent with having a DSO. One almost suspects that it may be a prerequisite.”
Selena is undoubtedly my favourite character - she carefully stays out of the murder-related drama, while ensuring that events always serve her interests. What a role model. Overall, a slight but entertaining diversion that balances pomposity and irony very adroitly. show less
Six-word review: Stylish blend of mystery and humor.
Extended review:
The third novel in an all-too-brief series finds one of the junior barristers of Lincoln's Inn on the small island of Sark in the Channel Islands. Unlikely as it might seem, Cantrip has been called in to consult on a case involving tax law and inheritance.
The strange mix of obscure law, misplaced records, and lost heirs is soon complicated by two murders. With Cantrip himself at risk, Professor Hilary Tamar engages his deductive powers to discover the true motive behind the crimes and rescue his young colleague.
Once again, much of the forward motion of the story occurs through correspondence. But Hilary doesn't miss the chance for a nice getaway at someone else's show more expense, and his arrival on the scene foils the perpetrator's plans.
Caudwell is as good as anyone at blending light-hearted entertainment with the solving of violent crimes. Like all good cozy mysteries, the Tamar series doesn't get too messy; the investigation is just the pretext for her main character's exhibition of problem-solving prowess while enjoying the collegiality of a charming crew. For us as well as for Hilary, they make delightful company. show less
Extended review:
The third novel in an all-too-brief series finds one of the junior barristers of Lincoln's Inn on the small island of Sark in the Channel Islands. Unlikely as it might seem, Cantrip has been called in to consult on a case involving tax law and inheritance.
The strange mix of obscure law, misplaced records, and lost heirs is soon complicated by two murders. With Cantrip himself at risk, Professor Hilary Tamar engages his deductive powers to discover the true motive behind the crimes and rescue his young colleague.
Once again, much of the forward motion of the story occurs through correspondence. But Hilary doesn't miss the chance for a nice getaway at someone else's show more expense, and his arrival on the scene foils the perpetrator's plans.
Caudwell is as good as anyone at blending light-hearted entertainment with the solving of violent crimes. Like all good cozy mysteries, the Tamar series doesn't get too messy; the investigation is just the pretext for her main character's exhibition of problem-solving prowess while enjoying the collegiality of a charming crew. For us as well as for Hilary, they make delightful company. show less
Caudwell's books are witty and sophisticated mysteries set in the elite legal world of Lincoln's Inn. This one was excellent, a complex mystery about a tax law case involving a large fortune. It was set up in a way to protect beneficiaries from officialdom, except that the beneficiary's name has been lost. Filled with fabulous characters and the interesting setting of the Channel Islands, Monaco and the Caymans this was a lot of fun. My favourite character is Cantrip, a barrister who is a dedicated supporter of technology and communicates hilariously by the (then) current state-of-the-art telex machine. Aided as usual by Oxford scholar Professor Hilary Tamar, whose gender is Caudwell's secondary mystery.
The plot in Hilary Tamar books is almost beside the point. The point is the voice that Caudwell captures — the hyperliterate, formal, stylized, awesome voice. I don't know if anyone has ever actually talked like this, but oh, I hope they did, I hope someone still does, and I hope I meet that person and spend as much time as possible with them.
Also: dear jacket copy, some of us do not give a fig about Hilary Tamar's gender, preferred pronoun, or status as a hero or heroine. (No, seriously, the jacket copy says that is the central mystery.)
Also: dear jacket copy, some of us do not give a fig about Hilary Tamar's gender, preferred pronoun, or status as a hero or heroine. (No, seriously, the jacket copy says that is the central mystery.)
In the third of Caudwell's Hilary Tamar mysteries, the young barristers of the Chancery Bar at London's Lincoln Inn call on Professor Tamar to help them unravel a problem they are having with a tax-law case that is worth a fortune. They are trying to find a missing heir, and in the process discover that two of the members of the legal team involved in the case are dead. They are worried that there may be more. Once again, most of the story is told through the reading of letters to and from London and (in this story) the Channel Islands.
I need to add that I love these intelligently crafted stories. The writing is wonderful, crisp and witty. Each time I have written about one of the stories, I have said that Caudwell's style is a little show more bit like P. G. Wodehouse with Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie thrown in for good measure. Interestingly, reading the blurbs at the beginning of this book, two quotes caught my eye.
"As warm, witty, and elegant as it's predecessors..... We'd swear she was the illegitimate offspring of P. G. Wodehouse." - The Denver Post
"Caudwell's books are both whimsical and comic... P. G. Wodehouse, I am certain, sits now at the right hand of God, and the place on His left is reserved for Sarah Caudwell." - The Drood Review of Mystery
The second quote is particularly poignant as Caudwell died at a young age about ten years after that was written. If you haven't tried this series and enjoy Wodehouse, Sayers or Christie, a good laugh, and very British humor, I would highly recommend it. show less
I need to add that I love these intelligently crafted stories. The writing is wonderful, crisp and witty. Each time I have written about one of the stories, I have said that Caudwell's style is a little show more bit like P. G. Wodehouse with Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie thrown in for good measure. Interestingly, reading the blurbs at the beginning of this book, two quotes caught my eye.
"As warm, witty, and elegant as it's predecessors..... We'd swear she was the illegitimate offspring of P. G. Wodehouse." - The Denver Post
"Caudwell's books are both whimsical and comic... P. G. Wodehouse, I am certain, sits now at the right hand of God, and the place on His left is reserved for Sarah Caudwell." - The Drood Review of Mystery
The second quote is particularly poignant as Caudwell died at a young age about ten years after that was written. If you haven't tried this series and enjoy Wodehouse, Sayers or Christie, a good laugh, and very British humor, I would highly recommend it. show less
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Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Sirens Sang of Murder
- Original publication date
- 1989
- People/Characters
- Hilary Tamar; Michael Cantrip; Selena Jardine; Julia Larwood; Desmond Ragwort; Basil Ptarmigan (Queen's Counsel) (show all 16); Philippe Alexandre; Patrick Ardmore; Hereward Cantrip (Colonel, Michael's uncle); Gideon Darkside; Clementine Derwent (Clemmie); Gabrielle di Silvabianca (Contessa); Giovanni di Silvabianca (Count); Oliver Grynne; Edward Malvoisin; Arthur Welladay (Mr. Justice, old Wellieboots)
- Important places
- London, England, UK; Jersey, Channel Islands; Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Sark, Channel Islands; Monaco
- Dedication
- To Billee, for putting up with the writing of it
- First words
- There will be much disappointment, I fear, among my fellow scholars. (prologue)
"No, no, let me go or I'll scream," cried the lovely Eliane, her beautiful eyes filling with tears and her bosom heaving under the delicate silk of her blouse as she struggled to free herself from the vile embrace of the brut... (show all)al Barristers' Clerk. - Quotations
- "My client," said Julia, "a simple, innocent property developer, had entered into a perfectly straightforward transaction which happened to involve a bank in Amsterdam and one or two companies in the Netherlands Antilles and ... (show all)which therefore happened to result in his having no tax to pay. Or rather, that's how it would have resulted if the case hadn't come before Welladay, who considers it the duty of every citizen to arrange his affairs in such a way as to maximize his liabilities to the Inland Revenue, and of his professional advisers to assist him in achieving that result."
The chagrin of a woman displaced in her lover's affections is as nothing compared with that of a barrister superseded in the favour of a leading firm of solicitors.
Despite every effort to attribute the desire of Miss Clementine Derwent for Cantrip's presence in Jersey to some proper and decorous motive, Ragwort had been unable to think of any.
"A girl in Clementine's position," continued Julia, "would no doubt reflect that there are two kinds of young men. On the one hand, there are those, such as yourself, my dear Ragwort, to whom the least one could offer would b... (show all)e the devotion of a lifetime and a profoundly spiritual regard almost untainted by the grossness of carnality. From the pursuit of young men of that kind Clementine is plainly debarred by her existing obligations. On the other hand, there are young men who might be persuaded to settle for something less. Young men - how shall I put it? - young men of obliging disposition. It is pretty generally known, I believe, that Cantrip is one of the latter sort."
"She accordingly made a bet with Cantrip that she could successfully defend her virtue against the most vigorous and determined attack on it."
"That," said Ragwort, "was the ostensible contract. In substance, I fear, i... (show all)t was neither more nor less than a sordid and degrading bargain for the provision of services of a most personal nature for the sum of five pounds - a sum, I should have thought, which even Cantrip would consider humiliatingly modest." - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)No doubt she was right; but we had been dealing, as I pointed out, with a deplorably old-fashioned murder.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 791
- Popularity
- 35,138
- Reviews
- 18
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 7
