The Convivial Codfish

Sarah Kelling’s Uncle Jem is pleased to be the new Exalted Chowderhead of the Comrades of the Convivial Codfish, a private club that celebrates the art of the curmudgeon, especially during the festive season. He is put out when his Great Chain, emblem of his status, disappears while he is wearing it, and he urges Sarah’s husband Max Bittersohn to investigate. Shortly thereafter, he breaks his hip in a fall on the stairs, and as a result is unable to attend a holiday train ride with his fellow club members - a blessing, as it turns out, since someone is killed and the rest of the party felled by poison in the caviar. It is up to Max to sort through the elements and discover the culprit, if he himself is not next on the list….As one show more might expect from the title and brief summation above, “The Convivial Codfish” is quite a silly entry into the Sarah Kelling cozy mystery series, but it is one that I enjoyed much more than the previous book simply because the antics of the characters are so very silly indeed! I felt that Sarah was a bit sidelined here, which is a shame because I like her as a character, but peeking into the lives of some of the other Boston Brahmins was fun, and while the solution was slight, it was fairly clued. Mildly recommended. show less

verbal-humor, historical-fiction, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship, fun, cozy-mystery****

Originally published in 1984
Absolutely loony and so much fun! A long standing but small group of elderly men gather for a party train on a member's property, and not only does it become deadly (investigated by a Keystone Kops police chief), but it also highlights a recent theft and an *accident* which befell one of Sarah's favorite relatives. Enter her new husband, Max, who now becomes known only as Jem Kelling's nephew by marriage (despite being a well-respected art theft detective). Together and apart, they investigate the situation with lots of plot twists, red herrings, goofy characters, and lots of laughs. Loved this fun reread!
The show more narrator was adequate. show less

Kirkus Reviews Jewish detective Max Bitterson and his recent bride Sarah (The Bilbao Looking Glass) are living in Boston and seeing a lot of Sarah's older WASP/Boston-Brahmin relatives--many of them truly looney. For instance, Uncle Jeremy Kelling has just been named Exalted Chowderhead to the Order of the Convivial Codfish, has lost his enormous ceremonial chain. . .and has landed in the hospital after a fall, which Max determines was no accident: it was carefully engineered. What's the motive, then? Well, Uncle Jem's injury does keep him from the annual Codfish bash held aboard the private railroad on the estate of Tom and Wouter Tolbathy--generations-long purveyors of fancy foods to Bostonians. And the caviar served that night (by a show more vanishing waiter, wearing the missing chain!) is laced with poison; moreover, Wouter, the train's engineer, is found dead in his cab. . .from a karate chop. Who's behind all the mayhem? Could it be the Russians? So believe the local police. But Max persists in talking to survivors, domestics, and what seems like half of Boston--till he comes up with some complicated answers and a certifiable culprit. Arch, fey folderol in the MacLeod manner, but Max's no-nonsense personality helps to dilute the preciousness: mildly palatable entertainment overall.
(Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 1984) show less

A pleasant mystery with some quirky characters. Especially interesting if you know Boston, since action takes place in specific downtown areas and in the suburbs.

-- Plot unfolds in Boston & suburbs around December 25 when Comrades of the Convivial Codfish gather for Annual Scrooge Day. Someone is injuring & poisoning comrades. Chowderhead's nephew uncovers perpetrator in a matter of days. Read this classy whodunit to learn who & why. --