Thus Was Adonis Murdered [Large Print] [Paperback]

Sarah L. Caudwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2005

This is the story of Julia Larwood, a young barrister who finds herself accused of the murder of a young man whilst on holiday in Venice. A friend comes to her aid and unravels the clues, discovering an art theft, an impersonation and the identity of the killer.

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

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* 'Without doubt, one of the funniest crime writers - ever!' - Mike Ripley * 'Witty, clever... an elaborately plotted, very English and charming story.' - Publishers Weekly * 'A finely honed, icily witty gem of detective fiction.' - Mystery News * 'Caudwell's light touch and the puzzle she presents make for a diverting tale.' - Washington Post Book World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sarah Caudwell studied law at St Anne's College, Oxford and practised as a barrister for several years in Lincoln's Inn. She later specialised in international tax planning at a major London bank. She died in January 2000. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753168421
• ISBN-13: 978-0753168424
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,148,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy contemporary of P. D. James, August 20, 2001

By 

Laura G. Carter "Castlebreaker" (Reidsville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Mass Market Paperback)

I'd never before heard of author Sarah Caudwell until I saw her latest novel, "The Sybil In Her Grave", in a local bookstore. Intrigued by the Edward Gory-illustrated book jacket, I took it down & read that it was one of a series, if you will, of books containing the same characters. Not being one to start in the middle of something, I discovered that the book I'm reviewing now, "Thus Was Adonis Murdered", was the first one in her all-too-short series featuring Professor Hilary Tamar et al. Casting about for a new mystery author (and having consumed P. D. James' latest, "Death In Holy Orders"), I decided to give Prof. Tamar a try.

I just finished the book and I found it most delightful. It contains a very brilliantly-constructed conundrum of the "whodunnit" variety. Julia Larwood, one of a group of young barristers who are friends with Prof. Tamar, goes to Venice on holiday, only to wind up in bed with the corpse of the young man she's fancied throughout the trip and finally managed to engage in a one-afternoon stand. (Of course, when she first got into bed with the young man, he WASN'T a corpse, which makes his subsequent dispatch all the more distressing ...) Naturally, members of the Venice police force don't take kindly to this set of events, particularly when Julia's personally-inscribed copy of that year's Tax Finance Act is found lying next to the stiffening body ...

From London, then, Prof. Tamar and Julia's other friends at 62 New Square (Selena, Cantrip and Ragwort - all intriguing personalities in themselves) attempt to help solve the mystery and spring Julia out of jail. What follows is an erudite, often hilarious, web of intrigue, frustrated passion and outright chicanery told in VERY tongue-in-cheek style by Prof. Tamar himself ... or herself ...

Come to think of it, you never know the sex of our intrepid narrator. Ms. Caudwell has neither Tamar or his compatriots refer to him/her in any way that might reveal the Professor's sex. And that's just one of the subtle plot contrivances that make "Thus Was Adonis Murdered" a delightful read.

Sadly, Ms. Caudwell died recently, so her series turned out to be all-too-short. Therefore, I'm beginning the second novel, "The Shortest Way To Hades", featuring the elegant professor and the barristers of 62 New Square, quite slowly, so as not to finish all the books in the series too quickly and to savour the wonderful prose and imaginative situation I'm very likely to find there.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant brilliant brilliant, July 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Mass Market Paperback)

One of the funniest and most delightful books I've ever read - though the others in the series, especially The Sirens Sang of Murder, come close. Julia Larwood is a talented young tax barrister who cannot keep her purse, her love life, or her own finances in order. When her pursuit of romance during a tour of Venice goes badly wrong, we learn her side of the story from letters home to her friend and fellow lawyer Selena Jardine. Julia and Selena, like almost all of Caudwell's characters, express themselves in literate, measured, bitingly funny prose evoking such 18th century novelists as Jane Austen and Samuel Richardson. The mystery itself starts out in a light-hearted manner, but ultimately moves convincingly into the realm of romantic obsession. Readers who appreciate sharpness of obversation and elegance of phrase will savor every nuance. Those looking for comfortable conclusions and easy platitudes concerning human feeling and behavior had best look elsewhere.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, extremely funny mystery, May 28, 2003

By 

Cynthia S. Froning "astrocyn" (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Mass Market Paperback)

I discovered Sarah Caudwell in the worst possible way: by reading her obituary in the New York Times. Once I read her books, I was even more sorry that she died so prematurely, because her mysteries are among the funniest books I've read. Caudwell has a wonderful ironic tone. She uses the standard mystery formula populated with her broadly drawn cast of regulars to send up academics, lawyers, tax collectors, amateur detectives...the whole lot.

As someone who conducts research for a living, I was particularly amused by the following, as Hilary (our narrator of indeterminate gender) makes his/her way to work:

"On my first day in London I made an early start. Reaching the Public Record Office not much after ten, I soon secured the papers needed for my research and settled in my place. I became, as is the way of the scholar, so deeply absorbed as to lose all consciousness of my surroundings or of the passage of time. When at last I came to myself, it was almost eleven and I was quite exhausted: I knew that I could not prudently continue without refreshment."

This quotation give the flavor of the whole book, really the entire series. If you turn to mysteries for their psychological characterizations or examination of the dark side of life, this book will not do it for you, but if you love intelligent satire, Caudwell can't be beat.