Goodbye Nanny Gray [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jill Staynes (Author), Margaret Storey (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1990

Miss Pheobe Gray was the model of a proper English nanny until she inherits a fortune. Then she is the model of a proper dead English nanny, and Superintendent Bone must discover if she was murdered for money--or something else. HC: Summit.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two very good storytellers make a pseudonymous debut as Stacey, in a beguiling and rather exotic variant on the British-village whodunit. When two children find the body of retired governess Phoebe (Nanny) Gray, Supt. Bone goes to Saxhurst to investigate. Nanny's close friend, psychic Emily Playfair, proves a source of information on the residents, and the detective visits each in search of one with a reason for killing the old woman, supposedly beloved by all. Those who could have had murderous motives, however, include Sir Valentine Herne and his wife, Lady Fiona, impoverished since Nanny inherited a fortune from Val's brother; the wife of a rich Arab, Mrs. Abduraman, who lavished gifts on but privately feared Nanny; also the victim's niece and legatee, Carey Sidgewick. Casting his net further, Bone interviews international rock star Ken Cryer of the manor house and Ken's small son Jemmy, who was with the wily little Mona Staveley when she discovered Nanny lying in the woods, too far for the woman to have walked there herself. By the time Bone fits the puzzle pieces together, with help from attractive Emily Playfair, mystery fans will be reluctant to leave the company of almost everyone in Saxhurst and hope for a series starring the likable sleuthing partners.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Needlessly intricate plotting and an uneven style cloud the English village atmosphere in this first novel by a pseudonymous pair of British writers. While the apt word appears quite often, frequent moments of awkwardness tend to stilt the whole. The discovery of retired governess Nanny Gray's body draws Det. Supt. Bone's attention to a wide assortment of suspicious characters. Some interesting moments, but not enough to cushion the rough going. REK
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books; 1st edition (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708922619
• ISBN-13: 978-0708922613
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,088,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cozy Procedural with Interesting Characters, June 8, 2008

By 

M, Compulsive Reader (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goodbye, Nanny Gray (Paperback)

British police-procedural com village-people. An elderly children's nurse has disappeared, her body is found, but it indicates death before the lookout was broadcast. Some loved her, others resented, several would benefit from her death, all with nice characterizations. In addition, the widowed policeman shows loving attention to his young daughter who is handicapped by the auto accident which killed her mother. A nice start for a series.

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent "proper British mystery" series, October 16, 2008

By 

Diane, genre fiction & wordplay lover "diane_d" (suburban southern NY state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GOODBYE, NANNY GRAY. (Hardcover)

Susannah Stacey is the nom-de-plume of Jill Staynes & Margaret Storey. Their Superintendent Bone stories (from the 1980's and '90's) are full of fine writing, likable and richly-drawn protagonists, and interesting, suspenseful mystery. I chose this one to review because I believe it's the first of the series. It's worth hunting at your local used book store for any you can't find online.

4.0 out of 5 stars A mystery, a village, a skewed time line, and . . . ., June 19, 2008

By 

M, Compulsive Reader (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GOODBYE, NANNY GRAY. (Hardcover)

Delicious village-cozy. Read it as much for rich characterizations and author/viewpoint-character's observations as for the puzzle.

The body of an elderly children's nurse, reported missing, is found by two children, beyond where she could have walked. She is the recent recipient of a generous bequest by a former child-in-charge, delighting her niece who would inherit, appalling another who had hoped to inherit the sum to restore the family seat. But, one of the children says Nanny was dead in her house before the alert about her missing has gone out, and the autopsy says Nanny had indeed died before the alert.

Add a resident rock-star, a neighbor who "sees" things vaguely, an Arabian woman with a secret, several motorcycles and people riding them, the policeman's little girl who barely survived the auto accident that killed her mother.

And it's the intro to a series, so there's more joy to come.