Customer Reviews

An Embarrassment of Corpses

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After a night of snark-hunting, Sir Harry Random, a well-known children's author, turns up dead in a fountain in Trafalger Square. His body is found by his friend Oliver Swithin, a fellow snark-hunter and part-time children's author who has created one of the most malevolent characters in all of children's literature, the ferret Finsbury. Sir Harry is but the first in a series of corpses, all of whom seem to be the work of a zodiac serial killer. Oliver's uncle Mallard is a Detective Superintendent in the New Scotland Yard whose attractive young assistant Effie Strongitharm is a budding love interest of Oliver's. The story of their search for the murderer is a cleverly written and twisting tale, fast-paced and most of all, FUN!

I have read many, many mysteries and there are precious few that stand out. This is one of those few. It has a very readable style, believable characters, is very humerous, and has twists and turns which will fool even the most experienced armchair detectives. Plus, all of the clues are right there in the story if you can see them.

I hope there are many more to come like this from Mr. Beechey!

this is some of the best writing i've enjoyed since terry pratchett's earlier discworld novels. the plotting is superior to most serious mysteries, the thumbnail descriptions of minor characters are amazing (and the major characters are incredibly well drawn), and the humor is of the put the book down and laugh out loud for several minutes variety.

alan beechey has only one other book listed here on amazon, written in 1999. after that, nothing. why, oh why not??? two is not enough. perhaps he will emulate 'the cat who' author and resume, though i hope he won't take twenty years to do so.

maybe he went back to england. i think i'll check the brit amazon site....

This novel made me homesick for England. But pleasantly so. It opens in London's Trafalgar Square, which lives in my memory as the place to go on Christmas Eve. There would be a huge Christmas tree, sent over from Norway, I believe, all decorated and lit up, and hundreds of people singing Christmas carols. There's no Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in the opening of this book. There is a body instead. It is discovered by Oliver Swithin, who has hay-colored hair that is straight and floppy. teeth that are too prominent, docile blue eyes behind wire-framed spectacles. He is wearing a tuxedo that has seen better days. Not a macho hero, one deduces almost immediately. Sir Hargreaves (Harry) Random was "floating face-down in a Trafalgar Square Fountain....with a look of mild irritation on his face, mortified in all senses of the word." Listen to this. Far above ... the rising sun was gilding the pigeon guano on Nelson's hat." (For the unknowing, Nelson's column is one of the primary features of Trafalgar Square.) There are a lot of wonderfully visual and fresh images like that throughout this well-wrought novel. Here's a description of a police officer, Sergeant Welkin: "He was an overweight man in his thirties, with a black moustache and a harsh boxer's face, who invariably reminded people of someone else they knew. He bred Burmese cats." Oliver writes a series of books about a "Foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, ex-public-schoolboy ferret named Finsbury.... giving the beast all the vices he had never possessed." The series of course becomes a critical and financial success, though not for Oliver, who isn't getting any of the money. "Hoist by your own pet," Oliver's uncle murmurs. The Finsbury books expose the infants of England to the evils of alcohol, drugs, pornography, promiscuity, soccer hooliganism, smoking, and country and western music." (Ahem! Excuse me?) Mr. Beechey very cleverly, after introducing Finsbury, obeys the dictum that if you show a ferret early in the plot, the ferret should bite someone before the end. If left to myself here, I'd quote the whole book and you wouldn't have to buy it and that would never do. Oliver as sleuth is assisted by, or sometimes desisted by, his Uncle , Inspector Tim Mallard of the Yard. He sleuths by Zodiac signs, following the trail of a serial murderer. He also yearns for Sergeant Effie Strongitharm and fantasizes her response to him with replies that range from a snorted "With *you*?" to a breathless, "At last--take me now, my shy young hero among men." He's not too successful with Effie, which is hardly surprising. There are many surprises in this book so I'm not going to tell anything about the plot progression. One big surprise almost lifted me out of bed, where I was reading. For a few pages, I was really......no that would be a spoiler. There are a lot of puns in this book, and as you've seen--much humor. Not of the slapstick kind, but my favorite kind of understated English humor that depends mostly on a very satisfying use of words. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment. I loved this book And I've decided I have to visit London next year. For sure.

I wish I could give this book 10 stars. From the clever plotting to the interesting characters to the smooth writing style and the endearing quirks (like the funny character names), it was a joy from beginning to end. And it kept me guessing as to the murderer's identity. I'm sad to discover that the author has only one other book listed on Amazon. Mr. Beechey--please write another!

I have seldom laughed so hard reading a mystery novel. It was also, I thought, an excellent mystery. It kept me guessing & I didn't arrive at the solution before the characters did, as I usually do. Everything made sense in the end, the characters were well-drawn, very clever, witty, sexy, and sometimes satisfyingly over the top (Hoo, Watt, & Eidenau - now really!) When can I get Beechy's next book?

Reading this book was the most fun I have had in a long time. There are many enjoyable and entertaining mystery novelists in the world today but you must treat yourself to this wonderful new voice. The book has a strong main plot (the serial murders) and subplots which you are as eager to have resolved as the murders themselves. Who dunnit isn't the only surprise at the end of the story.

The book is a very fast read. You owe it to yourself to spend a few hours romping through London with Finsbury the Ferret and his creator.

Children's book author Oliver Swithin finds the corpse of a friend, Sir Harry Random, floating in the fountain at Trafalgar Square. Oliver is convinced that his buddy has been murdered, but the police disagree. However, each day, a new corpse with a strange note or object begins to appear.

Oliver's uncle, Detective Superintendent Timothy Mallard realizes that a serial killer is on the loose in London. Needing some help to get the investigation off the ground, Timothy turns to his nephew, who is wealth of trivial information, for some assistance. Oliver soon begins to piece together the links between the deceased, only to find that is a smoke screen to further hide the real culprit. They need to uncover the diabolical killer's identity soon before another victim is added to the rising toll.

AN EMBARRASSMENT OF CORPSES is one of the best serial killer mysteries of the nineties. The novel is a combination of a brilliant who-done-it (the killer is identified early, but most readers will miss the not so obvious clues) with humorous characters. Alan Beechey breathes fresh life into a sub-genre that has become very trite recently.

Harriet Klausner

this is some of the best writing i've enjoyed since terry pratchett's earlier discworld novels. the plotting is superior to most serious mysteries, the thumbnail descriptions of minor characters are amazing (and the major characters are incredibly well drawn), and the humor is of the put the book down and laugh out loud for several minutes variety.

alan beechey has only one other book listed here on amazon, written in 1999. after that, nothing. why, oh why not??? two is not enough. perhaps he will emulate 'the cat who' author and resume, though i hope he won't take twenty years to do so.

maybe he went back to england. i think i'll check the brit amazon site....

this is some of the best writing i've enjoyed since terry pratchett's earlier discworld novels. the plotting is superior to most serious mysteries, the thumbnail descriptions of minor characters are amazing (and the major characters are incredibly well drawn), and the humor is of the put the book down and laugh out loud for several minutes variety.

alan beechey has only one other book listed here on amazon, written in 1999. after that, nothing. why, oh why not??? two is not enough. perhaps he will emulate 'the cat who' author and resume, though i hope he won't take twenty years to do so.

maybe he went back to england. i think i'll check the brit amazon site....