Element of Doubt [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Dorothy Simpson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1989

One of the novels featuring Inspector Luke Thanet, of which "Last Seen Alive" won the 1985 Crime Writers' Silver Dagger Award. Mrs Nerine Tarrant has everything a woman could wish for, but when her body is discovered below the balcony of her palatial country home, there is no shortage of suspects.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This mild and methodical mystery unfolds in a picturesque English village where gentlemanly detective-inspector Luke Thanet is hard-pressed to discover who pushed beautiful but unpleasant Nerine Tarrant over the second-story balcony of her manor "High Gables" to her death below. There is no lack of suspects, and Thanet, with stolid, respectable Sgt. Lineham at his side, is kept busy interviewing them. Did Nerine's husband Roland, although seemingly shattered by her death, finally seek revenge for her many infidelities? Could her senile mother-in-law, terrified at Nerine's threats to send her to a nursing home, have given her the fatal shove? What about Celia Speed, whose husband and son were both having affairs with the promiscuous Mrs. Tarrant? Even Nerine's 18-year-old-son Damon and her sister Daphne may have their own complicated reasons for wanting her dead. Kindly, pipe-smoking, utterly domestic Thanet gently probes into every aspect of village life, carefully gleaning leads from the most recalcitrant suspect. The seventh book in the Luke Thanet series is a bloodless mystery with emphasis on a thoughtful, logically persued course of action that does, however, end up being solidly charming.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708919499
• ISBN-13: 978-0708919491
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,395,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very British murder mystery, June 13, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: ELEMENT OF DOUBT (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the seventh in a series of mysteries set in Kent, England, and featuring the detective work of Inspector Luke Thanet. In this story, when Inspector Thanet is called to the scene of the death of a woman who fell from a balcony, he quickly realizes that this was no accident. Quite a few people connected with the case seem to have something to hide, and it is up to Thanet to get to the bottom of it all.

This is the second Dorothy Simpson book I have read, and I am hooked. In this book, Dorothy Simpson succeeds in weaving a fiendishly complicated plot, leaving you completely baffled as to who could have done it. I really enjoyed this very-British murder mystery, and highly recommend it to you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very good, very detailed, July 11, 2009

By 

adorian - See all my reviews

This review is from: ELEMENT OF DOUBT (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an excellent whodunnit. It's typically British in that it's a murder at a big house with lots of suspects, each of whom probably has a good motive. The characters are complex adults with complex problems. But what I liked most about it was the descriptive detail given: gardens, food, architecture, interior design. The author is in no rush to get us to the Big Reveal. We linger lovingly on the good detail. I highly recommend this one to all lovers of classic British murder mysteries.

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so, August 25, 2011

By 

JoeV "Reader" (Arlington Hts, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Element of Doubt- an Inspector Luke Thanet Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the seventh adventure of British Detective Inspector Thanet, a methodical, hardworking copper in Kent, England. The series is low key with very little violence, swearing, action or sex. Thanet and his partner Sgt. Lineham tackle one crime at a time, interviewing suspects and then pool their knowledge to solve the crime. Both are married and there's usually a "family crisis" in the background for one or both of them, which is juggled while the two go about sleuthing. Simpson's books are classic British "cozys", with excellent character development and usually a fairly intriguing mystery.

In Element of Doubt, our heroes are tasked with solving the mysterious death of Nerine Tarrant, who took a fatal swan dive off of a second story balcony. Nerine was beautiful, married to a well to do surgeon, the mother of an 18 year old son, and to put it bluntly - was the town tramp - conducting one adulterous affair after another. As Thanet and Lineham investigate, they find no shortage of suspects. The secondary cast here is a set of quirky, well developed and very real people. The familial crisis in the background revolves around Thanet's wife, who is now a probation office, she and Luke butting heads over the murdered woman's son. Luke views the young man as a suspect; Mrs. Thanet sees him as a troubled youth who deserves some slack.

The story-line is at its best as it follows the investigation, but drifts - and slows -perceptibly when delving into the Thanets' marital "difficulties". The other minus in this book is the reader - on several occasions - has to wait for Thanet to catch up, particularly with the identity of two of the victim's paramours, which is never good news in a mystery and makes the conclusion anti-climactic. An above average British mystery series, but Element of Doubt is one of the weaker entries.