Customer Reviews

The Hangman's Row Enquiry (Ivy Beasley)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For years cantankerous spinster Ivy Beasley ruled the English village of Round Ringford with a nurturing iron first. The townsfolk respected her, but did not care about her. When her cousin Deirdre asks her to move near her, Ivy agrees and relocates in the assisted living community Springfields in Barrington.

Still filed with vinegar and energy, Ivy needs something to occupy her time. She thinks she may have found just the thing when she meets Augustus "Gus" Halfhide at church. He has recently moved here and seeks something to excite his time too. They along with Deirdre open up an investigative agency. Their first case they choose as it interests them involves the death of a woman in one of the cottages on Hangman's Row. The cottage belongs to Theodore Russell whose ancestors once owned most of the village, but he became a recluse who used an agent Miss Bailey to conduct his affairs.

Ann Purser provides a delightful spin-off from her Lois Meade mysteries starring former series support player the silver haired crabby Ivy, her cousin, and their new friend. Fans will enjoy the dynamic trio as they investigate the murder of Gus' neighbor with zest and vim as they display energy that a person half their age will admire. With Gus adding enigmatic denouements, Deirdre a bit of fear, and Ivy vinegar of course, fans of the Meade English cozies will want to read this senior citizen murderer investigation.

Harriet Klausner

I love the Lois Meade series (will even buy the hardcovers) and was looking forward to another good series. BUT, it was not to be. Ivy has lost her bite, the plot has holes you can drive a lorry through, and Gus failed to intrique me. Who cares who he is or what he did! Just a 35 year old guy hanging around with the old folks? I don't think so. And then to pull in an evil twin at the last minute. How old and creaky is that? I am annoyed because I wanted to like it and it is really is bad, and I won't buy the next one.

...awaits the discerning readers of this book. Not since "Cold Mountain" have I been so furious at the ending of a book. Well, "furious" was my reaction to "Cold Mountain" because up until the last page I felt I was in the presence of great literature. This book is not great literature by any stretch of the imagination; but that's quite all right because it does not pretend to be. This is a modern day English cozy murder mystery with a cast of characters mostly from the 45 to 85 age range. It had a mundane murder with no real satisfactory motive, but the characters were interesting. It started slowly, but picked up steam and piqued my interest by page 50, so I stayed with it - all the way to its penultimate page wherein I was robbed of a satisfactory conclusion. It is that robbery, in fact one word - "appeared" - that disquieted me, that compelled me to read, re-read, and read for a third time the offending sentence on the page.

***Spoiler Alert*** The murderer and accomplice have been discovered, apprehended and jailed. The accomplice is sitting in his/her cell deciding that the best thing to do is tell the authorities the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Perhaps the court will choose to be lenient. Quoting now, from the book: "'Now then,' said a harsh voice, the door opened with a crash. 'You've not drunk your tea, I see. You must do better with this nice cod and chips. Shall I get you another mug of tea?' -- 'Yes, please," ----- said, and realized it was the first time (he/she) had spoken since answering to (his/her) name and details in the court."

We go on for another half page while the accomplice eats and enjoys the meal. Then, feeling drowsy, the accomplice decides to lie down for a while. Quoting again from the book: "When they came in to collect (his/her) plate, (he/she) appeared to be fast asleep."

So, because of that word "appeared" we must assume that the accomplice is dead. If the accomplice is dead, then he/she died of natural causes or was deliberately murdered by the "harsh voice" that brought the (probably poisoned) food. Since this is a mystery, it would ludicrous to assume that this character died of natural causes without the author telling us specifically that such was the case. It must therefore be that this character was put out of the way by a third, still unknown, character whose identity and motive are yet to be discovered. And that, dear friends, is a cheap shot. It's a blatant attempt to try to sell the next book before it's even been written. "Oh me, oh my, there a murderer still on the loose! Whatever shall we do?" To which my reply is, "Put this book back on the shelf from whence it came and solemnly vow that never again will you read anything written by this cheat masquerading as an author."

I really enjoyed this book, though I did feel the plot meandered and was basically of little importance. I mean, what did the murdered lady mean to any of the sleuths, really?
But the gathering of these characters was good reading and I liked them all. Especially Roy, the 86 year old who is as lively as any of them. A fun read, and I look forward to more because I would like to keep up my acquaintance with the four in 'Enquire Within'....their village, the retirement home, the background on Gus, Deirdre's romantic future, Roy's crush on Ivy, etc.
A couple of things bothered me; the police were nowhere in the investigation and this seemed unrealistic. Even Miss Marple has her consults with detectives. And the investigation took weeks when in reality, the police would have been all over this murder to wrap it up fast. Maybe if there had been some doubt about it being murder, or if one of the sleuths got personally involved with the corpse or suspects--something to tie them to the need to investigate. If they are for hire, good. But in this they decided not to let anyone know they were investigating, yet people did...and even knew the name 'Enquire Within'.
Still, I really look forward to the next installment. Love her Lois Meade books...and am also awaiting #3 in the second series.

There was at the beginning the bones of a pretty good satire of the English village mystery or cozy mystery. I sat down to enjoy something similar to the (original five) Miss Seeton mysteries or Colin Watson's hilarious Flaxborough Chronicles. Unfortunately it was not to be.

I did not expect great writing but neither did I expect incompetent, almost random, plotting. I haven't read any of the previous books, but it does appear that a number of people enjoyed them a lot, even people who weren't impressed by this book, so I assume that the author is not incapable of setting up an entertaining murder mystery.


Possible spoilers-- you have been warned.

It was pretty obvious who the culprit was going to turn out to be-- mainly because the author so studiously ignores the possible existence of the character. I couldn't, however, believe that the author kept her/him off stage as long as she did or brought him/her on stage in such a clumsy manner. In a traditional mystery one expects to have some investment in the character who turns out to be the murderer. As S.S. Van Dine noted in point ten of his Mystery Writer's Credo "The culprit must turn out to be a person who has played a more or less prominent part in the story - that is, a person with whom the reader is familiar and in whom he takes an interest."

While I don't expect modern writers to adhere strictly to the 1928 rules of the golden age of mystery novels, there was good cause for most of them (or a modern cognate) to exist.

I also agree with the reviewer who noted the ambiguous situation at the conclusion with regard to one of the characters. I arrived at the same conclusion.

(End Possible Spoilers)


Conclusion: You have been warned. If you are trapped in a dentist's waiting room with only a choice of s crumbing 20 year old magazine or this book you should think carefully before picking up this book.

I enjoyed this book very much. I have read Ann Purser's other series (Lois Meade Mysteries) and find this new series just as egaging. If your looking for a good cozy mystery and an easy read this is a good choice.

Ann Purser certainly has a great new series on her hands! While I still enjoy the Lois Meade series best, it was nice to read the story of Ivy Beasley, a tangential figure in the Lois Meade series. Purser does an excellent job developing the characters in her story, so much so, that I can picture them well in my mind as I read her books. The Hangman's Row Enquiry was a fun and enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next installment of this series, and can't wait to see what trouble Ivy and her friends drum up next!

This tale, this beginning to a new cozy mystery series, is utterly unique. Almost every element of the story is simple: setting, characters, era, style, and so forth. In fact, I would urge any newbie to the mystery/ crime fiction genre to read this sample. University classes in mystery fiction would be well-served to make use of this unsophisticated story before moving on to really good crime fiction for more mature readers.

I would also suggest that this cozy mystery be available in centers for the aging. It is a nice tome involving several elders in senior residence community. Its the kind of book one can enjoy while having a cup of tea or prepaing for a nap. Its definitely not a page-turner of the sort that could increase blood pressure or arouse anxiety. The greatest challenge to the reader is not to discern who committed the murder, which seems to unfold as a minor detail, but to uncover unknown connections among the characters. It would be my opinion that elders might be charmed by the "hide and seek" element of the story, whereas more mature readers might wonder why such a banal tome was ever published. One needs to be warned, however, that the negative stereotypes of elders is well-developed, and could be offensive.

While this cuppa was served warm and steaming in a most inviting way, it too soon grows tepid.

THOMAS PATRICK HULL, CHICAGO

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a relaxing read. This Ann Purser cozy fills the bill nicely. I didn't think it would work with several geriatric sleuths but the characters are reasonably realistic and entertaining and the story held my interest. I look forward to more books in this series and also the author's Lois Meade series.

This is a new series for Ann Purser and very enjoyable

An amateur sleuth book with fiesty characters, well worth
the read !

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