A Death to Record: A Mystery [Hardcover]

Rebecca Tope (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2003 | Series: Detective Sergeant Den Cooper

When the body of herdsman Sean O’Farrell was discovered in one of the farm buildings, Detective Sergeant Den Cooper is more than happy to cast one of the local farmers, Gordon Hillcock, in the role of chief suspect. After all, it is a well-known fact that there was no love lost between Gordon and the victim. And besides, Den has a little grudge of his own – Gordon is currently dating Den’s ex-fiancee Lilah and was actually the reason she dumped him only a few short months before their wedding.

However, Den did not plan on Lilah’s determination to protect her new lover. How far will she go to make sure that Den directs his suspicions elsewhere?

From the author of A Dirty Death comes another wonderful tale of muck, mayhem, and murder set in the deceptively idyllic English countryside. With a richly textured plot and a memorable cast of eccentric characters, Tope draws us into all the drama and complexities of small-town life where nothing is quite what it seems.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author Tope's return to Devonshire for a follow-up to A Dirty Death (2000) is every bit as good as the first. She creates a devastating portrait of one of England's distressed farming communities and manages to turn a sprawling farmyard crime scene into the absorbing equivalent of a locked-room mystery. The brutal death of herdsman Sean O'Farrell at Dunsworthy Farm surprises no one, and almost no one mourns his death. Still, there's only one obvious suspect, and only a few more even possible. Det. Sergeant Den Cooper would be only too happy to see farm owner Gordon Hillcock hanged for the crime, for Hillcock is the new lover of Lilah Beardon, Den's former girl. The conflict of interest is evident to everyone, but Den stays on the case with instructions to do absolutely everything by the book. The crime scene itself has been hopelessly muddled and mucked, witnesses are nonexistent and a confession is unlikely, so the dogged police work of endless interviews is about all that's left-interviews that peel off layers of history and tangled relationships and distorted versions of reality. Tope creates some truly memorable characters in the process, from the unlovely victim to his wife and daughter, each of whom has learned to cope in a unique way. Tope's English farm setting and characters may lack the charm of the traditional country-house mystery, but they will linger much longer in the reader's memory.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Tope's latest should appeal to those who like offbeat procedurals. It's set on a dairy farm in England and ladles out more information about cows and manure than most citified readers will want to know, but those who can get past the muck and the mooing will find a nifty mystery. After the mutilated body of farmhand Sean O'Farrell is discovered by his boss, dairy farmer Gordon Hillcock, the first police officer on the scene is Den Cooper. Den is sure Hillcock is the killer, but his certainty is based less on evidence and more on his long-standing dislike of Hillcock, who stole Den's girlfriend. Long-buried hatreds, farming rivalries, family feuds, injured pride, and false witnesses all emerge during the investigation, but in the end, it's Den's knowledge of the farming community, good police work, and well-honed instincts that help nab the killer. An out-of-the-ordinary plot and an appealing cast of characters ensure this one a place on any shortlist of top rural mysteries. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (June 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312302606
• ISBN-13: 978-0312302603
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating British police procedural, June 15, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Death to Record: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Now that BSE has subsided, TB is decimating the herds of cows all across England, and rightly or wrongly, the farmers believe that badgers are the carriers of the disease. On Recording Day, Deirdre Watson expects her time on Dunsworthy Farm to be boring as usual. However, she revises her opinion and becomes horrified when the owner of the property, Gordon Hillcock, finds the body of his herdsman, Sean O'Farrell in his barn, a homicide victim.

The lead detective on the case is Detective Sergeant Den Cooper who absolutely hates Gordon and hopes the Devon dairy farmer is the guilty party. Gordon is now seeing Lilah Beardon, the woman Den loves and had been seriously involved with for the past three years. His investigation proves to Den, his co-workers and his superior that Gordon is the most likely culprit but they have to work overtime and work around local prejudice to find evidence that will back up their hunch.

A DEATH TO RECORD is a fascinating British police procedural that focuses as much on interpersonal relationships as it does on the actual investigation. Den is a fine person who doesn't let his personal feelings for his ex-girlfriend get in the way of his doing his job to the best of his ability. The victim was a vile man who tortured animals and had a lot of enemies, which makes for a lot of suspects. The person who actually did the deed will be hard to find but Den will not rest until he does.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muck and reality of an English dairy farm, March 7, 2005

By 

Verna Suit (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Death to Record: A Mystery (Hardcover)

A DEATH TO RECORD is the latest installment of Tope's well-written mystery series set in an English farming community. Lilah Beardon is now engaged to Gordon Hillcock, 15 years her senior and owner of Dunsworthy Farm. When the Dunsworthy herdsman is found stabbed to death by a hayfork, Gordon is the prime suspect. The only detective available to investigate the murder is Detective Sergeant Den Cooper, Lilah's ex-fiance. Den hates Gordon for taking Lilah from him and would love to find him guilty, but he is a fair person and tries not to let his jealousy blind him to other suspects. Lilah also is concerned about Den's bias and vows to find the murderer and clear Gordon herself.

Tope conveys all the muck and reality of a dairy farm, and also the difficulty of an independent farmer's survival in the face of increasing regulations and sinking market prices. Animal cruelty is another issue in the story.

Lives are intertwined in the small community and a local murder affects even those only peripherally involved. Tope's characters are believable, sympathetic and charming, and I look forward to what's in store next for residents of the Okehampton police district.