BODY OF A WOMAN (First British Edition) [Import] [Hardcover]

Clare Curzon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2002 | Series: A& B Crime

The body of a woman has been discovered in Shotters Wood. The police are treating the death as suspicious. Called to investigate the death of a young woman found dumped in the woodland, Superintendent Mike Yeadings and his Thames Valley CID team find the body in exotic evening dress, her face covered by a feathered, bird-featured mask. From the chill details of post mortem & routine police investigation, her life emerges as one of enviable comfort, and Yeadings realizes he had once briefly encountered her, in quite normal circumstances. This was Leila, the dutiful, if undervalued wife of Professor Aidan Knightley, owner of a little gift shop in a quiet Buninghamshire town, devoted to her teenage step-children, Edward and Chloe, on good terms with her neighbors. Nothing could be more humdrum than her small-town life. The circumstances of her death seem totally alien to all who knew her. A senstive and powerful exploration of motive, cause and effect, Body of a Woman is the latest in the popular series featuring Superintendent Mike Yeadings, DI Angus Mott and the two competitive detective-sergeants Beaumont and Rosemary Zyczynski.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749005386
• ISBN-13: 978-0749005382
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars clever English police procedural, June 15, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Body of a Woman: A Superintendent Mike Yeadings Mystery (Hardcover)

Thames Valley Detective Superintendent Mike Yeadings recognizes the elegantly dressed body found in Shotters Wood as gift shop owner Leila Knightley. However, efforts to notify next of kin turn farcical, as no family members seem to be around in area except perhaps her husband Aidan, who is probably sleeping with someone.

The family returns home with the victim's stepdaughter Chloe coming back from visiting her grandmother in France and Leila's brother and his significant other from Scotland. Aidan provides no alibi, but recognizes the dress his wife wore as belonging to Chloe, who denies knowledge of it as hers, but admits to some memory lapses. A newspaper article highlights the dress leading to Sir Arthur Waites thinking he bought the garb for his wife years ago. Mike visits Arthur only to find weird happenings that may impact the homicide investigation.

Though the ending seems weak, the latest Yeadings mystery is a fascinating who-done-it that will keep readers enthralled until the let down final resolution. The story line is a clever English police procedural with Mike and cohorts struggling to obtain cooperation from the victim's survivors, all whom are fully developed characters. Though the climax seems pale in comparison, Clare Curzon's Thames Valley tale is a solid entry.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An English mystery with edge, March 23, 2005

By 

Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Body of a Woman (Mass Market Paperback)

With its genteel descriptions of English manor houses and their surrounding lush countrysides and quaint villages, "The Body of a Woman" often feels like the kind of polite English mystery one can relax with without undue fear of excess tension. But be warned: the book involves a sexual crime that warrants a fair amount of frank discussion and investigations of several seedy and/or perverse characters. The police characters, however, are competent and likable, and provide a nice grounding for the often unpleasant proceedings. If you enjoy smart mysteries, you shouldn't hesitate spending a few hours with this entertaining paperback.