Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill are unsure if a sheep farmer's death is an accident or murder, until they delve into the farmer's murky family history and discover more than they had bargained for."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
More work for the undertaker in the 50-year-old village of Lydmouth, where the cast's memories of the late war are eclipsed this time by the image of a man left dangling from the storied Hanging Tree in nearby Ashbridge. Inspector Richard Thornhill is informed that the corpse is that of Les Carrick, of Moat Farm, but it isn't--it's his twin brother Mervyn, a master at the Ashbridge School. (Is it really Les after all? Or did someone murder Mervyn mistaking him for Les? Time will tell.) Meanwhile, a Peeping Tom has set his prying eyes on higher sights, moving up from boring holes in the ceiling of a public convenience to peering in a window at Larry Jordan, the famous actor visiting the Bull Hotel incognito, to flashing Lydmouth Gazette reporter Jill Francis. In addition, Taylor (The Mortal Sickness, 1996, etc.) presents a properly suspicious Italian hand who just won't leave Moat Farm to return to his own country; decorous hints of adultery, illegitimacy, and blackmail; and an observant sixth- former whose story about seeing the late Mervyn Carrick just before he was killed keeps changing with the moon--in other words, nothing unfamiliar, nothing untoward, and all tossed together with a soothing lack of dramatic urgency, or of tangible clues. Readers who, beguiled by Taylor's understated wit and nostalgic charm, persist to the end will be rewarded for their patience by an unguessable killer. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Taylor's Lydmouth series is turning the classical detective story into a complex picture of our own past' -- Independent 'Andrew Taylor is one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting novelist writing on crime in England today' -- Spectator 'The people depicted here are real and believable and the drabness and genteel facade of Fifties England is skilfully brought to life. Taylor is, as always, adept at showing the reality beneath the surface' -- Sunday Telegraph 'How skilfully he recreates the atmosphere of the time through innuendo, attitude and detail ...Taylor is the master of small lives writ large and he has carved a classic detective story' -- Frances Fyfield 'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' -- Val McDermid
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
best of the 1st 3 Village mysteries,
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This review is from: The Lover of the Grave (Hardcover)
This is the 3rd book in Taylor's Lydmouth Village mysteries (the 1st was An Air that Kills & the 2nd was The Mortal Sickness (A Lydmouth Mystery)). They are somewhat similar to his Roth trilogy--set in a small town in England--but have a somewhat different feel to them. While the setting is pretty dreary (esp. since this one's in the dead of Winter), they are, perhaps, not as dark as the Roth series. I liked this one best of the 1st 3 in the series and better than the Roth books as well. However, in this book, the romantic tension between the two main characters, Inspector Thornhill & Jill Francis, becomes more intense & more explicit than in the 2 prior books. Also, the mysteries are intertwined and clever. It's pretty slow going until the dramatic end, which is not only surprising, but also leans towards the next book--to see what happens to the two of them.
It's well-written as usual, but with more observant/interesting turns of phrase such as: p. 300: "Jordan wa not a stupid man but, as with so many self-centered people, egoism obscured his view as effectively as a pair of blinkers." But, it's still not in a class with Taylor's terrific masterpieces: Caroline Minuscule and An Unpardonable Crime IMHO.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Hanging Tree,
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This review is from: Lover of the Grave (A Lydmouth Mystery) (Paperback)
The Lover of the Grave is the third entry in Andrew Taylor's Lydmouth series, in which he chronicles the incidence of crime in a 1950's English village. Everyone knows everyone, and class, propriety and respectability are still highly valued. The lives of the villagers are, of course, influenced profoundly by their mores, and when crimes occur, there's usually a carefully hidden secret that lies beneath. It's up to Inspector Richard Thornhill to dig that secret up.
Near Lydmouth stands an ancient oak, renowned as a place of execution and suicide. Now, during a particularly cold winter, the body of a local teacher is found hanging from it, and Thornhill instantly suspects that he did not kill himself. The regional journalist, Jill Francis, naturally wants to write about the sensational story. She and Thornhill, who is married with children, have been strongly attracted to each other ever since Jill first came to town. The plot of this novel plays out on two levels, the murder mystery and the undeniable sexual pull that complicates the relationship between cop and reporter. To complicate matters, a peeping tom is drilling spy holes in the local ladies' convenience, lurking at the windows of hotel guests, and following Jill home. The Lover of the Grave is a moderately paced, atmospheric mystery, with a host of well-drawn characters and full of local color. Though not as suspenseful as the earlier two novels in the series, it packs enough action, and perhaps more interestingly, psychological elements, to make it well worthwhile. The sudden denouement, on both the personal and professional levels, leaves the readers eager to pick up the next volume.
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