Wycliffe and the Redhead (Wycliffe Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

W. J. Burley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2007 | Series: Wycliffe Series

Simon Meagor is a lonely middle-aged man. With a broken marriage behind him, his life centers solely on his antiquarian bookshop. Still haunted by the memory of a suicide he feels responsible for, Simon’s horror only multiplies when Morwenna, the daughter of that man who committed suicide, applies for a job in his shop. Mesmerized by her, Simon finds himself agreeing to her employment. Cleverly, over a period of time, Morwenna manipulates herself into his work, his life, and finally into his room above the shop. And then she disappears. When her body is discovered in a flooded quarry, suicide is considered since Morwenna was suffering from a fatal disease. Inevitably, however, suspicion falls on Simon Meagor. Wycliffe becomes intrigued and increasingly disturbed by this new and shocking case, which grows more and more complicated as he delves even deeper into a dark and murky past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 21st case for Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe of Cornwall involves the shy and retiring Simon Meagor, an antiquarian bookseller in Falmouth from whom Wycliffe buys books. Some years ago, Simon's testimony convicted George Barker of murder. Now Barker is dead, and his redheaded daughter, Morwenna, has blackmailed Simon into giving her a job as his shop assistant. When Morwenna is found dead in her car in a flooded quarry, Simon is an obvious suspect, but there were plenty of other complications in the young woman's life that could have led to violence. Wycliffe's team of series regulars, including DS Lucy Lane, pathologist Dr. Franks and DI Doug Kersey, helps him in the investigation, which sees many tangled plot threads tied up in a satisfactory ending. If Burley's characterizations are a bit rote and his prose a mite stiff, he never fails to provide a puzzle that will delight procedural purists?as does this one, stitched cleverly into its atmospheric Cornish backdrop.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Whenever a character comes back as many times as Chief Superintendent Wycliffe (21 appearances), a reviewer is faced with a dilemma: What can you say that you haven't already said? Reviewing Wycliffe and the House of Fear (1996), we called attention to Burley's "solid plotting, well-described and colorful setting, and intriguing characters." All that is equally true in this story of the disappearance and possible murder of redhead Morwenna Barker, last known to be working for a Falmouth bookseller whose testimony once sent her father to jail for manslaughter. Morwenna is much more than she seems in Burley's delightful teaser of a plot, and the Cornwall setting, with its remote valleys and rugged coasts, is as vividly described as ever. The characters, again led by the thoughtful and insightful Wycliffe, are thoroughly satisfying. Finally, we have no choice but to repeat ourselves by emphasizing one more time how pleasurable the familiar conventions of the genre can be in the hands of a writer as good as Burley. Stuart Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (October 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752881434
• ISBN-13: 978-0752881430
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burley deserves to be read., May 16, 2000

By 

Leonard L. Wilson (Springfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wycliffe and the Redhead (Hardcover)

What a pity it is that most of Burley's books are already out of print when so many of the unbelievable female private eye series and those stupid cat mysteries are thriving. The Wycliffe stories are among the very best detective novels, ranking right up there with Georges Simenon's Maigret series. In fact, Wycliffe is very much like an English Maigret, a detective who builds his cases not so much upon factual evidence as upon his ability to feel the atmosphere of the crimes and the characters of the victims and the suspects. To call his novels "procedural" is not truly accurate, although there is plenty of good solid criminal investigation involved, with a very interesting cast of assistants. But the emphasis is always upon the very realistic characters, involved in real human activities. The reader becomes as engrossed in the lives of these people as Wycliffe is as he quietly soaks in the ambience of the Cornish villages, where most of the stories take place, and bit by bit learns the secrets that lie behind the motivations of the characters. If you have never read a Wycliffe novel, and if you love good writing, especially in the detective genre, give yourself a special treat and try this book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wycliffe remains fresh in his 21st police procedural, October 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Wycliffe and the Redhead (Hardcover)

George Barker was sent to prison for manslaughter, predominately based on the testimony of antique bookstore owner Simon Meager. After being held behind bars for six years, George is released, but almost immediately commits suicide. Morwenna, George's daughter, blames Simon over the misfortune that struck her family, starting with the incarceration of her father. Shockingly, Morwenna asks George for a job and even more stunning he gives her one.

However, not to long after that, Morwenna vanishes. Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe looks for the missing woman, who turns up dead, an apparent murder victim. Wycliffe begins an investigation by looking into the deceased's past, which he hopes will provide clues to the identity of the killer before anyone else is murdered.

WYCLIFFE AND THE REDHEADS is the twenty-first entry in what is one of the best British police procedural series on the market today and for the past two decades. Wycliffe remains a thoughtful fresh character, who feels like a member of the family. The secondary cast adds a Cornish flavor to a tasty who-done-it that is cleverly described by the great W.J. BURLEY.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read, March 29, 2010

By 

Claudia A. Reynolds (Rumford, ME USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wycliffe and the Redhead (Wycliffe Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

This story was chosen for one of the televised Wycliffe video series. There was modification made to the original story, so the actual book was much more in depth and twisty. All came together in the end and I liked the characters very much. I had not read a Burley/Wycliffe for some years and enjoyed this one very much. It had enough substance to pull me into the book until the end.