Customer Reviews

Faithful Unto Death

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Despite the cover artwork (inspired no doubt by the success of the Rosamunde Pilcher Bookshelf series) this is an excellent mystery on many levels--but cozy this little village kidnapping?suicide?murder most foul? is not. First, Caroline Graham is an intelligent and graceful writer (P.D. James readers take note). Second, she's plotted an unexpected, but not unfair solution (no deux ex machina, thank you). And third, she's made the off-duty Inspector Barnaby an ambitious and imaginative cook (though it must have been the fault of spell check--where are copy editors when you need them--that he tossed "garlicky croissants," not croutons, in a salad) as well as an intuitive detective who somehow is able to overlook his aide's rampantly lascivious and asocial nature. Fourth, it's perceptive and funny. Even the minor characters, who could so easily be stereotypical stick figures, are sharply individuated, from the village bobby to the aged coquette. Thanks, Amazon for flagging this one as of interest. "Faithful Unto Death" was so satisfying in every way that I plan to reread instead of donating to the library.

Caroline Graham is often referred to as a modern-day Agatha Christie. Certainly her characters, humour and carefully crafted mystery story lines are reminiscent of the great Christie. But her books are also quite different. We don't see the detail in Christie's books that we see in Graham's. This particular book is funny and complex. It is also one of the best descriptions of a psycopathic personality that I have ever read. And it's done with so much class! Barnaby seems to have finally met his match with this villain, and you will have to read it to find out how.

Caroline Graham's England consists of close-packed villages surrounded by miles and miles of nothing worth seeing, of hard-working city businessmen and urban coppers looking down their slim trim noses at country people and their insular ways, of village bobbies who know the villagers and the cycles of the seasons but naught about investigative work, and of quaint self-assured English eccentrics and villagers whose lives rarely extend beyond the boundary line. I don't know if they exist in Cool Britannica today, but in Graham's world, their constricted lives, hidden passions and occasionally murderous impulses make fascinating reading.

I have read and enjoyed all Caroline Graham novels. She specializes in cosy english villages with cold blooded murderers. "Faithful until Death" is another fine example. The characters are very well written and I felt I was there in Fawcett Green. Ms Graham kept me guessing until the end as to who the murder was which is why I enjoyed the novel. I recommend curling up in front of a blazing open fire with a warm drink and a Caroline Graham novel as the perfect way to relax.

If you like "Midsomer Murders" you will like the Inspector Barnaby books by Caroline Graham. The "Midsomer Murders" series is loosley based on Graham's mysteries. You will find the character of Sergeant Troy is quite different in the television show. He is much more likable. I enjoy both the books and the show. Some people are turned off by the character of Troy, and that makes them dislike the books. I think the people in the series are very human. Some are fine and admirable, some are dreary, some are condescending (this is England, after all), some are nazis and chauvenists. Just like real life. I think the "cozy" provides a sampler of characters in the charming setting of the English village, otherwise there would be no story. Just scenery. So don't hate the books just because Troy is repellant. It is kind of different to get inside the mind of someone not so nice. "Faithful Unto Death" is my favorite Inspector Barnaby book. It is quite complicated, and I very much like the characters in this book. It is very good "cozy" reading, and much more intellectual and complex than my other favorite, Agatha Raisin (by M.C. Beaton).

Although I found the Inspector and Sargeant Troy somewhat one dimensional (the Sargeants' thoughts being almost an unwelcome intrusion), the mystery surrounding the bell-ringers disappearance and the intricacies of its' resolution more than compensated for their lack of amiability. Whereas quite a few village mysteries wind up with barely plausible plots, Faithful Unto Death has as many fascinating twists and turns as an English country road.

I was intrigued at first by this mystery, but found the solution -- or lack of one -- unsatisfying. I have read most of the other Barnaby and Troy mysteries, and am finding the character of Troy to be increasingly distasteful. Graham may think his mysogyny and homophobia is amusing in a cantankerous way, but it borders on the offensive. I'm not a member of the P.C. police, nor do I have an automatic disdain for tasteless humor, but I find nothing redeeming or entertaining about Troy.

#5 DI Tom Barnaby British police procedural. Once again a small English village is the setting, as Alan Hollingsworth is found dead--at first believed to be of a suicide, his wife Simone having disappeared a few days previously, ostensibly to visit her sick mother, although her mother had been believed dead for many years. Then the thirty-year-old daughter of one of the Hollingsworth neighbors disappears, something totally out of character for her.

DCI Barnaby and his Sergeant Troy begin investigating, gleaning information from all the nosy neighbors and trying to sift through to find the important bits. Was Alan done in by a former business partner that he'd swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars? Is the beautiful Simone's disappearance voluntary, or was she abducted? Neither were well-liked, but neither were they seemingly the types to incur strong hatred. Through many twists and turns, the mysteries are eventually solved, although not to Barnaby's satisfaction, as it's mostly speculation on his part.

I did figure out the main part of the mystery about halfway through, but the hows and whys were a bit muddled til the end. Enjoyable, but perhaps a little TOO long and twisty.

When docile Simone Hollingsworth disappears her controlling husband soon assumes the guise of villain. But all is not as it seems in the placid village of Fawcett Green.

Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and his bag carrier Sergeant Troy have come up against one of the cleverest criminals yet devised by author Caroline Graham and the novel has more twists and turns than a country road.

Graham is noted for character-driven novels with intricate plots and wry humor. This one has its share of eccentric village denizens, enough suspense to keep one turning the pages and a conclusion that's annoying yet totally plausible. Graham has a knack for occasionally breaking the rules of conventional mystery writing but her style is so engaging one can't help but forgive her quirks.

This is one of the best of the series.

The level-headed detective and awkward sergeant make the journey to the conclusion of the case entertaining. The story has surprises and witty commentary about uncommon habits and personality types. Very enjoyable.