Wycliffe and the Guild of Nine Hb [Hardcover]

W J Burley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2000

On the moor west of St Ives lies an artists' colony at the site of a disused mine working. Known as the Guild of Nine, it has been set up by Archer, who tends to run it according to astrological principles, and his wife Lina, a woman with her feet rather more firmly planted on the ground. The newest member, Francine, a beautiful if fey young woman in her mid-20s (her dramatic past is detailed in Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin), has a legacy she is prepared to invest in the colony. Archer is against it - not least because she is a Scorpio - while Lina takes a more pragmatic view. Then Francine's suitability becomes an irrelevance when she is found dead in her bed - killed by a (deliberately) blocked gas-heater flue. All the members of the colony naturally come under suspicion, and several of them have very good reasons for not wanting the police poking around in their affairs, particularly not a copper as dogged and hard to fool as Wycliffe. And then, right under his nose, comes another death ...The hit tv series starring Jack Shepherd has made Wycliffe the Cornish detective a household name, and this latest teasing mystery will delight his many fans.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

On the moor west of St. Ives, at the site of a disused mine, lies an artists’ colony. Known as the Guild of Nine, it was set up by Archer, who runs it according to astrological principles, and his wife Lina, a woman with her feet rather more firmly on the ground. The newest member, a beautiful young woman named Francine, has a legacy she wants to invest in the colony. Archer isn’t sure—not least because she is a Scorpio; Lina, as always, takes a more pragmatic view. But then Francine is found dead in her bed, asphyxiated by a deliberately blocked gas heater. Chief Superintendent Wycliffe investigates and soon discovers that several members of the colony have good reasons for not wanting the police involved. Then, right under Wycliffe’s nose, comes another death… W.J. Burley is the author of more than 20 books in the popular Wycliffe mystery series. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

A secondary-school teacher, until he retired to write full time

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Victor Gollancz; First Edition edition (October 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575070595
• ISBN-13: 978-0575070592
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,403,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best of the series, but still good., May 18, 2006

By 

Jules Jones "sf and romance author" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wycliffe and the Guild of Nine (Wycliffe Series) (Paperback)

This is the last completed book in the Wycliffe series (Burley had just started a new book when he died in 2002), and revisits the characters from an earlier book. It's set ten years after the events of "The Quiet Virgin", but can be read as a standalone. Detective Chief Inspector Wycliffe is in even more melancholy mood than usual, for he has to face both a new, and _female_, commanding officer, and the murder of a young woman he knows from an old case. For Wycliffe the case brings both guilt at not having kept in touch with Francine, and pleasure at seeing other figures from the past. Some strands of the plot are obvious, but as a second murder and then a third violent death interrupt the police investigation the possiblities multiply.

One of the weaker books in the series, in my view, but still no disappointment. As with the series in general, it's an enjoyable read for those times when you'd like something complex enough to be satisfying but short and simple enough to follow when you're tired or distracted. Note that there are major spoilers for earlier book "A Quiet Virgin".