Customer Reviews

Skeleton at the Feast

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

 

 

DCI Michael Thackeray is sent back to Oxford, to the college where he'd studied, while his superiors work out what to do with the disaster of a case he left behind. Back at Yorkshire, his detectives try to get on with their lives and cope with the death of one of their own. All is not well at Oxford. His college, which has always hidden its crimes, has continued to do so but a missing professor, the professor's missing girlfriend, and considerable missing money compound Thackeray's old memories of a murder that took place when he was a student.

Author Patricia Hall balances the Oxford mystery with the case of a 13-year old girl who was raped and beaten back in Yorkshire. Reporter, and Thackeray's girlfriend Laura serves as a bridge, spending weekends in Oxford with Thackeray and working on both cases.

Virtually all of Hall's male characters are damaged, trying to make a life for themselves despite the loss of so much. Thackeray has never recovered from his years at Oxford, and now must relive that terrible time and the cover-up that he has never forgotten. His sergeant, Kevin Mower, is slowly self-destructing out of grief for the loss of his love. Strong women, Laura, her grandmother, and DC Val Ridley provide the strength to keep the males moving.

Hall's writing is vivid and American readers are likely to enjoy her judicious use of Yorkshire dialect. The mysteries themselves are fairly anti-climactic, however. In particular, the the Oxford murders seem a little too disconnected. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop--but it never did. Likewise the Yorkshire mystery was quickly resolved once Thackeray returned to the job--so quickly that I wondered why it took so long in the first place. SKELETON AT THE FEAST is interesting and thought provoking, but needs a bit of sharpening to be a really compelling mystery.

Detective Michael Thackery is in trouble with the Bradfield brass since a female police officer died on his last major case. The leadership claims negligence on his part and failure to obey orders caused the death. He is up for review in a short time but his superior, Detective Superintendent Jack Longley sends Michael to a seminar at St. Fridsuade's College to keep him out of the firing line.

The Master of the college, which happens to be Michael's alma mater, wants his former pupil to investigate the sudden disappearance of Professor Mark Harrison. The professor vanished with his girlfriend, but left behind a wife under psychiatric care, a son dead from a drug overdose, and a bitter daughter. Much to Michael's surprise, his investigation leads to scandals and crimes that the college would prefer never see the light of day.

Patricia Hall's ongoing series starring Michael Thackery and his girlfriend Laura Ackray continues to be one of the better British police procedurals on the market today. SKELETON AT THE FEAST is a complex, multi-layered mystery that shows how ugly the academic world can turn. The romance between Michael and Laurie is progressing and fans of the series will take much pleasure in this novel and want to read the next book in this delightful series

Harriet Klausner

"Skeleton at the Feast" is yet another compelling and riveting installment in the Yorkshire Mystery series that features the broodingly charismatic Detective Chief Inspector, Michael Thackeray.

In "Skeleton at the Feast," Thackeray has been sent to Oxford University (his alma mater) in order to attend a summer course on police management. In reality however, Thackeray has been sent out of Bradfield while his fate is being decided -- a young police officer had been shot under his command, and Thackeray is now facing an inquiry into whether or not he is to be held accountable for her untimely death. For Thackeray however, being in Oxford again resurrects all kinds of painful memories of not really fitting in, being harassed by the snobby upper-class students with whom he played rugby, and the tragic accidental death of one of the first women to be admitted to St. Frideswides (Thackerary's college). And when Thackeray's old tutor, Hugh Greenaway, and current Master of St. Frideswides asks Thackeray to unofficially look into the disappearance of a senior don and an old undergraduate rugby foe, Dr. Mark Harrison, he reluctantly agrees to do so. But when he meets the don's abandoned wife, Thackeray realises that there is a whole lot more going on then Greenaway had led him to believe. Motivated by sympathy for Mrs. Harrison, and a desire to see justice done, Thackeray begins to look deeply into the affairs of the missing Mark Harrison, and discovers that Harrison is not the only person missing from Oxford. His young mistress seems to be missing as well; and not only has her disappearance been ignored, but few seem to care as to her whereabouts. Angry that once again unsavory misdeeds are being swept under the carpet, Thackeray is determined to discover the truth and to bring it out into the open. The once friendly Greenaway tries to warn Thackeray off, but will independently minded Thackeray listen?

What makes "Skeleton at the Feast" such great reading is that we get to know a little bit more about DCI Michael Thackery and the past that haunts him and that helped shape him. We also get to see how much policing in England seems to have become a little bit less the pursuit of law and order, and more about clearance rates and numbers. And while the Oxford events that are related in "Skeleton at the Feast" make for compelling reading, what makes this mystery novel doubly interesting is that Patricia Hall has juxtaposed what occurs in Oxford with a case of violent assault that has taken place in Bradfield which Thackeray's sidekicks DS Mower and DC Ridley have to cope with under the command of the new acting head, the ambitious DI Jackie Bairstow, who is after Thackeray's job. How Hall manages to juxtapose these two different subplots, and yet makes everything seem so seamless, is absolutely brilliant.

The greatest charm about this series (and book) is that Patricia Hall has created a group of characters whose well-being we have come to care about. With each new mystery novel we learn a little more of each character and empathise with the ups and downs in their lives. The Yorkshire Mystery is a wonderfully absorbing series, and "Skeleton at the Feast" fits in superbly.

SKELETON AT THE FEAST involves intrepid reporter Laura Ackroyd and friend D.C.I. Michael Thackery of the Bradford police force. Michael has been placed on leave following the death of a subordinate and is attending a two-week course at Oxford designed to make him a better administrative copper. Thackery attended Oxford as a young man, where he played rugby but never quite fit in. Following graduation, he returned to his North Yorkshire roots to become a police officer and has not been back in 20 years.

While attending the course, he crosses paths with old lecturers and tutors and one of them asks him to look into the disappearance of a local don who apparently left with a young female employee of "Friddie", Thackery's old school. Thackery's unauthorized investigation into the disappearance of his former school fellow and rugby mate soon sets off a chain of events that leads to the unearthing of skeletons galore.

Meanwhile, Laura is back in Bradford crossing paths with Kevin Mower who is distraught following the death of his former colleague and Val Ridley, blonde copper with a big crush on Mower. The Bradford police force is searching for the fiend who attacked a young girl living in council housing whom he left for dead. Never fear, Laura finds the way to Oxford where she links up with Thackery for a little sleuthing and romance.

I love this series, but begin with the first book. The strength of Hall's stories is characterization. Each book builds on the last.

I just discovered a new favorite crime author. This series which is usually set in Yorkshire took a trip to Oxford. I was immediately transported into the world of cover-ups and intrigue at Oxford University. Hall's Oxford characters kept me turning the pages late into the night because they were intriguing and realistic. I love Detective Thackeray and his love-interest Laura Ackroyd. Their romantic spark was authentic, not sappy. I wanted to see how they were doing as a couple as well as how they would solve the case. The case unraveled in surprising and rewarding ways. A great read.