L.C. TylerBesprekingen

This cosy crime novel started off promisingly with a dryly voiced narrative by a writer, Ethelred, who is facing the predicament of being modestly successful but only by dint of cranking out three different series of easy-reads: a detective series, a romance series under a woman's name, and a historical whodunnit series set in the reign of Richard II. The problem is that his detective has become a character in his own right and is not co-operating when Ethelred tries to write the next book in the series, so throughout the story extracts appear of book beginnings which Ethelred deletes as unsatisfactory. Events in his own life are interfering with his ability to channel the policeman's character.

Meanwhile, he has had to identify the body of his ex-wife whom it seems has been found murdered at a local beauty spot. He appears to have the cast-iron alibi of having spent a few days in France around the time of the murder yet the police keep questioning him, as does his literary agent, a chocolate fixated eccentric middle aged woman called Elsie who insists on leading an investigation in parallel to the one being conducted by the police. It becomes apparent that there are a number of people who were swindled by Ethelred's ex-wife even though he has remained friendly with her despite her adultery and manipulative behaviour.

I thought this was promising to begin with given the wry humour, but I found the Elsie character a bit too irritating and 'forced' somehow, especially when the novel suddenly switched to her viewpoint and more and more of it was from that. I also wasn't keen on the twist which started to loom more and more obviously by about half way, certainly by two thirds of the way through. The ending itself is rather deflating, though I gather this is book 1 of a series and things are therefore not as they appear - the seeming death of one of the main characters. Therefore this balances out at a 2-star OK rating and I won't be looking for more of the series.

Delightful humorous mystery. Cleverly plotted.

This was funny, quirky and filled with wonderful characters reminiscent of Wodehouse. Ethelred (aka Red) Tressider is an author with three pseudonyms, each writing different genres. One writes mysteries, that garnered his agent's nickname of the "red herring seller". The agent, Elsie Thirkettle, is an eccentric who takes no nonsense from anyone and sets her own rules. With Elsie as the apprentice they investigate the murder of Ethelred's former wife. Although they divorced some years previously, he is under suspicion because her body was found near where he lives. This humorous novel is the first in a series, of which I am fortunate to own the second - and the surprise ending ensures it will be read soon.

1657 and John Grey has gone home to Clavershall West, his home in Essex. After a drunken night he wakes up to find a body on the village's dung heep. Faced with the reluctance of the local magistrate to investiate he decides to do so.
In this story Grey seems at times to be naive, so I look forward to find out if he becomes more worldly in his approach to life and its mysteries. But I did enjoy this story.

A pleasant light read. It's a closed circle whodunit set aboard a Nile riverboat cruise, with some elements of a spy novel.

Ethelred Tressider, just barely successful writer of comic mysteries and his agent Elsie Thirkettle, always on the lookout for more successful talent, are invited to take part in a weekend of lectures on mystery writing in a location so remote 'even sheep are keen to shun'. The writers and a couple of members of the audience have arrived early to get prepared. Unfortunately, over night, a heavy snowfall traps everyone inside. Tensions are already starting to mar the already ruined weekend when one of their members goes missing.

Farewell My Herring is the ninth entry in the Herring Mysteries by LC Tyler but the first I've read. I admit my main reasons for requesting this from Netgalley were the title and the cover and that's always an iffy proposition. I wasn't sure what to expect except perhaps a rather humorous homage to the Golden Age of mysteries and there are certainly traces of that here. But that was just a bit of what kept me reading.The characters are all interesting, especially Ethelred and Elsie who make for a very likeable pair of would-be sleuths. As well, the dry wit of the dialogue, and the numerous red herrings scattered about kept me engaged and entertained throughout. Overall, great fun to read, perfect for a lazy afternoon.

Thanks to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

fun, situational-humor, verbal-humor, sleuth, sly-humor, stranded, country-house, murder, mystery, mystery-writer, wry-humor, snarky, England*****

Mystery writers, agents, rural Yorkshire, and lots of snow=murder and snickering humour. This entangled tale is as full of twists and red herrings as it is of fun. Won't even try to do any kind of summary, but be prepared to ignore reality and enjoy the read. This is the first Herring I'vr read, but it won't be the last!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Allison & Busby via NetGalley. Thank you!

'If I were to kill you somewhere like this,' said the taxi driver cheerfully, 'it would be months before they found the bits the buzzards didn't want. Every time I drop a passenger off round here, I think: now, there's a good place for a quiet murder.'

Sometimes you just need an escape, a harmless diversion from all the doom and gloom, and this 9th outing for mid-list author Ethelred Tressider and his shamelessly cynical literary agent Elsie Thirkettle delivers the perfect piece of escapist cozy crime fiction. The pair travel to the remote Fell Hall to take part in a creative writing weekend, and together with their fellow teachers they have arrived the day before the course starts to prepare and discuss the course. Unfortunately, and much to the chagrin of the course director Wendy Idsworth, a couple of the students have turned up early. Even more unfortunately, a blizzard is setting in, cutting off the house from the outside world.... Needless to say, before too long one of the characters ends up dead as a dodo, and as our hapless pair of amateur sleuths investigate it seems that everyone has a motive for killing the victim. When a second person disappears, the race is on to find the culprit before the snow melts and they can escape.

I had read three of the previous novels in the series, so I knew what to expect, but this works perfectly well as a stand-alone novel for anyone new to the books. The narrative perspective alternates between Ethelred and Elsie, which at times gets a bit of getting used to, but the book delivers everything you would want without ever taking itself seriously. It's fun, with enough clues and/or red herrings to keep you guessing as the plot rattles along apace. An added bonus for book-lovers is that the theme of this novel means that there is a lot of joy to be had poking fun at writers, publishers and the general world of books. So, switch off your phone, make a cup of tea and put your feet up - just enjoy the mystery and escape the real world for a few hours.

Following the death of his Mother, John Grey has retired from being in the pay of spymaster Arlington and taken up residence as Lord of the Manor in his home village in Essex. Just prior to Christmas a man's body is found the village is in uproar demanding that the local 'witch' be hanged for the murder. Grey is not so sure and stalls for time. As the list of suspects grows longer and time grows short the village is cut off by snow and Grey finds that he has not travelled so far from the wily politics of his former paymaster.
I really like the John Grey stories. They're not as complex as some historical mysteries but hit a nice mid note where the plot is complex and not too absurd and the sense of time and place excellent. Here the superstitious and traditional villagers are played against the changes brought into place in Restoration England.

Une amusante comédie policière...

Interesting twist. Bears no similarity to Christie or Sayers.½

Ethelred Tressider, mystery write (aka herring seller “it was a facetious reference to the red herrings that she considered my stock in trade”), and his agent, Elsie (the herring seller’s apprentice?) try to solve the mystery of the apparent death by suicide of Ethelred’s ex-wife Geraldine. Geraldine had taken several people, including another of her ex-husbands and her banker, to the cleaners with an investment scam.

Even though I recognized the cleverness of the plot at the end of the book, I doubt I’ll read more of this series since I remember feeling confused—almost disoriented–most of the way through. (Maybe it was those painkillers?) Jane (when she was blogging at Fleur in Her World ) recommended this.

4 stars

This is the latest in a series of British cozy mystery novels, featuring Ethelred Tessider and Elise Thirkettle. It's the only one of the seven books in the series I have read up to now. Ethelred is a "mid-list" crime fiction writer and Elsie is his literary agent. Most of the story is set in west Sussex in England, but there's frequent travel to London.

Novelist Roger Vane shocks his friends and relatives when he turns up at his own memorial service. He's been missing for 20 years in the jungles of Asia. Once the initial surprise of his re-appearance wears off, questions arise about whether he is who he says he is. Just as he seems to answer those questions satisfactorily, he is killed. Ethelred is writing a biography of Roger when he re-appears and is therefore deemed to be a good candidate to validate his identity, and after the murder, to find the killer. Somewhat unique in amateur detective stories, Ethelred and the police have a good working relationship. Ethelred goes about talking to people who knew Roger before he went missing and many of them have a motive to want him dead. The story-telling follows the conventional Golden Age approach, but with a droll twist at the end which will probably take many readers by surprise.

The story is full of interesting characters and is well-paced which makes it a good read. Previous books in the series have been finalists in the Edgar Awards and therefore may be worth a read too.

Author Ethelred's ex-wife Geraldine goes missing and then he is called upon to identify her body. Ethelred seems (to his agent Elsie) to be keen on carrying out an investigation of his own, rather than helping the police.

Ethelred was very entertaining, although I went off him by the end; Elsie on the other hand was an extremely good character, both in the chapters when Ethelred is talking about her and in those chapters in her own voice. I found the sections where Ethelred is trying to write his next crime novel boring, although I suppose I see the point of them. I'm pretty sure the author is wrong on the effect of divorce on a will made during marriage. It is hard to write about the end without giving things away, but this turned out not to be the sort of story I thought it was going to be.

I'm keen to read more about Elsie.

London in 1665 is a place of fear as the plague has returned and no-one is safe. However what better place to get rid of a murder victim than a plague pit. When an agent of the Crown is murdered Lord Arlington enlists the help of lawyer John Grey to recover a letter purportedly from the Duke of York to the French Ambassador and possibly treasonous. Grey is charged with escorting a prisoner across the South of England to Salisbury to meet the King and explain about the letter. Accompanied by his childhood friend/sweetheart Lady Pole, Grey has to be on guard against those who seem friends as well as those who are supposed enemies, and the road is not easily as people are avoiding the Plague.

This is a third outing for John Grey and Tyler is definitely hitting his stride with both the character and the machinations of the Restoration Court. The research is excellent and the inclusion of genuine historical characters (Samuel Pepys is a key one here) is played subtly. The politics are complex but clearly related to actual historical intrigue and subterfuge. Aminta Pole is developing as an excellent counterpoint to Grey and their bickering relationship is a light interlude. Overall an extremely enjoyable historical romp.

Mistaken for another man, law student John Grey is summoned to Lincoln's Inn by the mysterious Mr SK. Intrigued he visits and finds himself at the centre of a plot to assassinate Oliver Cromwell and restore the monarchy to Commonwealth England. Grey already has history with Mr Thurloe, Cromwell's security advisor, and becomes a double agent. Not sure who to trust, including his own family, Grey is placed in danger and even in The Tower.

Generally I am a big fan of historical fiction and this one stacked up well, interesting period and complicated plot, but I found it hard to get into. This is possibly because the characters didn't seem well-fleshed out, or because the plot looped back on itself several times and became hard to follow. Either way I didn't enjoy the book as much as I anticipated.

Enjoyable crime novel set in time of the Plague of London. John must try to navigate London's infected streets to find an important letter. Full of historical detail, the dirt and doubt of Londoner's lives amidst the plague provides a fascinating backdrop to the increasingly complicated mission on behalf of the King's government.½

Crikey, I don't know whether it was personal resonances or just bloody good writing, but this had me welling up. And I am not one who is usually emotionally affected by books. This was especially unexpected because I am used to this author's "Ethelred and Elsie" series of detective novels being light-hearted fun. That's not to say this was without humour - there were plenty of witty bits - but the central psychological and existential rollercoaster of our hero Chris was quite powerful.

In this historical crime novel, would be cryptographer John returns to his home village from Cambridge and goes on a bit of a bender. He wakes to find a dead man, one he knows has been recently killed (he assisted his father, a surgeon in the English Civil war). The victim also has a code key on his person: was he a spy?

No one seems wiling to cooperate with his investigation: the local Roundhead magistrate just wants it all covered up, his suspiciously Royalist secretary wants to implicate and ideally humiliate his love rival (our hero, John) and Aminta, daughter of the former squire, has very different ideas about whodunnit.

I really enjoyed this novel which whilst poking fun at the hapless narrator (and the residents of neighbouring Suffolk) had as a setting the interesting period after the civil war when everyone had to go back home and get on with each other again. It also wasn't as long as some of the other historical crime I've read, which was a refreshing change.

Another brilliant John Carey novel by L.G. Tyler.
His stories are always edge of the seat writings and this is no exception.
This involves an assassination of Oliver Cromwell by a secret society named "The Sealed Knot".
It also hints that Grey is a double agent - working for both the Roundheads and the Cavaliers.
A great read!
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Little, Brown Book Group via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

I find I enjoy stories about writers. This is a murder mystery told by two narrators, a third rate mystery/romance writer and his literary agent. The agent is abusive and dismissive of the writer and the writer has a bit of sardonic self knowledge. The novel opens as the writer returns to his home in England after a short vacation in France to find that is wife is missing and presumed dead. This is a quite clever and filled with black humor.

I believe this is the first of a series and I had already read a later installment. The ending of this novel leaves me with a bit of a mystery about how the later installments recovered from this ending.

This clever little novel of a third rare murder mystery author and his difficult relationship with his agent and their involvement with a hosted dinner party that results in the death of the host, is set in England. Also included is the historical murder mystery that the character is working on during the action of the story. This creates an interesting mirror of the plot and reflects on the real author. The narrative role is played alternately by the murder mystery author and his agent, which results in some clever play with unreliable narrative.

Funny mystery

This was fun!

Dry humor in a well written book, a perfect read.