Alan Hunter (1)Critiques
Auteur de Gently Does It
Pour les autres auteurs qui s'appellent Alan Hunter, voyez la page de désambigüisation.
Critiques
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2016) of the original Constable hardcover (1982).
One of the first things Gently had noticed about her was her ready and eager appetite. How she kept her figure was a mystery perhaps known only to the French; it was because, she claimed, that unlike the English she didn’t stuff herself at breakfast . . .
Chief Inspector Gently has moved into the vicinity of the music festival community Shinglebourne with his new French wife Gabrielle. As was the case with Gently Instrumental (Gently #24 - 1977), another local musician is found murdered. The Czech immigrant Hannah was somewhat of a recluse and lived in the restored local Martello Tower (another hint that the fictional Shinglebourne was inspired by the real-life Aldeburgh).
The victim had many admirers and an ex-husband to add to the list of suspects. As usual, although it is not his official case, Gently is called in to assist and can't resist solving the mystery. He makes a few wrong turns along the way but gets there in the end.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original US hardcover published by Walker Mysteries in 1983. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Link
Gently Between Tides was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2016) of the Walker & Co. hardcover original “Death on the Heath” (1982).
NOTE: This book is a spoiler for Gently Where She Lay (Gently #19) as one of the suspects from that earlier book returns and is again a suspect. The earlier book’s plot is discussed enough to reveal the earlier murderer.
‘So,’ Gently said. ‘If not you, if not another boy friend, who am I looking for?’
Reymerston stared over his glass. ‘Don’t think I haven’t been giving it some thought. Unlike you, I know the field, and unlike you, I know I’m innocent. And unlike you I’m a suspect – which really gets the grey matter weaving. All the same, one doesn’t rush to point a finger at other people.’
‘But you can point one.’
A man is found murdered on the heath in Suffolk. He was the manager of a firm of printers and the family of owners comes under suspicion, including the scion. Meanwhile, the scion's uncle married his mother after the death of his father. Does that sound like a setup from some classic play that we all know? Gently suspects that the solution to the current crime also lies in the past. There are of course twists in the way before the final answer is revealed.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published under its original title by Walker & Co. in 1982. Image sourced from Goodreads.
I was relieved that this book at least returned to the investigative scenarios of the series, rather than continuing the suspense thriller styles of the previous 2 books.
Trivia and Link
Gently in the Past was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Walker Mystery hardcover original (1980).
Jules hastily filled a glass and the Englishman took quick gulps. A middle-aged man, he was solidly built and his jacket sagged from hefty shoulders. Also he had an air of authority, of being a man who could handle a situation. As far as one could tell his clothes were of good quality and his waterlogged brogues perhaps handmade.
Gently Under Fire represents a major change in the long-time series of the Scotland Yard Chief Inspector. The original title The Honfleur Decision drops the long-running title theme of phrases incorporating the use of the character's name within a cliche phrase. The publisher is suddenly Walker Mystery and not Cassell Crime. The biggest change though is that the story is a suspense thriller and not a murder investigation. It also turns into somewhat of a romance.
The story starts off with a bit of humour. Gently enters a bar in the coastal town of Honfleur, France. He is on vacation with his sister and her husband. It turns out though that he is thoroughly drenched from having been tipped into the harbour waters by an unknown assailant. Was it some kind of malicious prank against English tourists or some sort of misunderstanding? But then he is fired upon and the situation becomes more serious as evidently someone intends to assassinate him.
With the assistance of the local police and eventually the DST, it turns out that Gently's mysterious assailant is a terrorist who has mistaken Gently for an English agent on his trail. Gently becomes the bait in an entrapment plan. He meanwhile falls in love with a Frenchwoman who may not be all that she seems to be.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Walker in 1980. Image sourced from Goodreads.
This was not the style of my preferred Gently and it marks a major shift in the series. It was quickly followed by a direct sequel The Scottish Decision (Gently #27 - 1981), later republished as Gently Heartbroken.
Trivia and Link
Gently Under Fire was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Cassell hardcover original (1978).
Only too blatantly they were playing with fire if they pressed on with this dubious affair – yet Gently was showing no signs of relenting. Like a miller of God, he proposed to grind on.
Gently is called in by the patriarch of a yacht building company after the suspicious death of his illegitimate son is ruled a suicide. It turns out that the rest of the family resented the incomer who had turned out to be the patriarch's favourite and who had also become the designated successor of the firm. Gently initially uses the alias of "Mr. Scott" as he pursues his enquiries. In the end an exhumation is called for (the only reason for the macabre spooky cover used for the first edition hardcover seen below) and poisoning is revealed.
This was a very short Gently (only 176 pages) and was not especially memorable. I noticed that the title avoided using the cliche of "Gently to Sleep", which might have been subject to allusions of boredom. Instead they made it "Gently to a Sleep", which is both unmemorable and awkward.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell in 1978. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Link
Gently to a Sleep was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Cassell hardcover original (1977).
‘It’s the performance that’s always mattered . . . isn’t it?’
‘Didn’t I tell you that from the start?’ Capel hitched forward eagerly and brandished his empty glass at Gently. ‘When the chips are down we’re all expendable – Virtue, Craggy, even Walt. We have our entrances and exits but music is for ever. Music is life, and sanity. My goodness, we need it in our world. Music is hope. While we keep creating it civilization has a chance.’
The fun in Gently Instrumental was in looking for the parallels between its fictional music festival town of Shinglebourne with the real-life Aldeburgh and its association with composer Benjamin Britten and its Aldeburgh Festival. These were primarily that it was a coastal fishing village with an annual music festival associated with a local composer and the coincidences of having a concert hall converted from an earlier malting building, a Martello tower, a tourist beach, etc. In the case of the plot there is also that fictional composer Walter Hozeley is homosexual and the murder victim was his then partner. There is of course no such fatal drama associated with Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears.
The fictional plot has composer Hozeley working with a local clarinet quintet in preparation for a premiere at the upcoming music festival. The featured clarinetist disrupts the rehearsal and puts the performance in jeopardy. Later in the day, he is found murdered and Gently is called in to assist the local authorities. It gradually turns out that the composer and the 4 members of the associated string quartet may each have had a motive for the murder. Gently solves it all of course.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell in 1977. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Flash forward trivia: Gently returns to Shinglebourne in a later book Gently Between Tides (Gently #29 - 1982) when another local case requires his assistance. The later book is a somewhat spoiler for the earlier one as some of the suspects return and are obviously in the clear for the earlier murder. [I'm several books ahead in my reading over my reviewing of the Gently series.]
Soundtrack
Benjamin Britten didn't compose a clarinet quintet so I had no contemporary example to use for my soundtrack. One of the most famous (and earliest) clarinet quintets though is Mozart's Clarinet quintet K581 in A major (1789), which you can see and hear performed by Sabine Meyer and the Armida Quartet here.
Trivia and Link
Gently Instrumental was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Cassell hardcover original (1976).
Gently Where The Bird Are had an intriguing opening premise. A photograph of an apparent murder victim has been sent to the police with no other information. Who sent the photograph and why? Is it a photo of an actual murder victim (with a gunshot wound to the head) or is it a hoax (a prone body decorated with makeup)? The body is lying on a tree-lined path with a clear sky in the background. Gently deduces from the skyline that the location must be near the coastline and enquiries lead them to zero in on a site where a local policeman actually recognizes the forest path.
Interviews with the locals cause Gently and the authorities to zero in on a group of birdwatchers and photographers in the vicinity of a bird sanctuary. Characters lie about their actions for various reasons and then a prime suspect goes missing. Soon a connection is discovered to a bank robbery and a criminal on the run. Gently pieces it all together in the end of course.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell in 1976. Image sourced from Goodreads.
I found the opening of this book to be its most clever aspect. The interviews with witnesses and actual suspects became a bit of a slog though in comparison. I'm in for the long haul on the Gently series though and am still enjoying the variety of plots and locales which author Hunter brings to his annual outings.
Trivia and Link
Gently in With the Birds was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2014) of the Cassell hardcover original (1975).
‘That’s just certain. But he was a chiel who had no friends at all in Kylie.’
‘Then a man whom he had deeply offended.’
Iain considered the point leisurely. ‘From what I hear tell there were plenty of those. The laddie had more illwishers than a herring has bones.’
Gently returns to Scotland to help a friend who has been scapegoated for the murder of a romantic rival. As previously in Gently North-West (Gently #14 - 1967) he has no authority as a policeman while dealing with the locals. The Scots inspector on the case trusts Gently's instincts though and doesn't mind the assistance. The victim was an outlander with a reputation that left him with few friends, so the suspects are plentiful.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell in 1975. Note how at first glance the image of a man falling from the cliff might be mistaken for one of the birds in the background. Image sourced from Goodreads.
I'm continuing to enjoy the Gently series as my go-to light reading this summer. Mysteriously only the first 30 of the 46 novels appear to be in print as of 2023, so I'm going to have difficulty in sourcing them soon.
Trivia and Link
Gently With Love was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1973).
She dredged up a throaty little laugh. To describe her voice as husky was a simplification. It had an ecstatic, caressing quality that seemed to go straight to the base of your spine.
The description above is extremely brief, but it has various markers ("ecstatic", "caressing" and "base of your spine") which definitely give the impression that the voice of femme fatale Mimi Deslauriers in Gently French was able to induce the sensation known in the present day as ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response). You can compare it especially to the ASMR passage in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (1925) i.e. "a roughness in her voice like a grasshopper's, which rasped his spine deliciously and sent running up into his brain waves of sound which, concussing, broke." As an ASMR experiencer myself, I'm regularly on the alert for instances in books where the relatively rare sensation is described so that I can add them to my ASMR in Fiction shelf.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1973. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Otherwise, this was not a very compelling Gently investigation. He sets his sights very early on Mimi Deslauriers, the French woman partner of a notorious English crime lord who has been murdered. Gently is convinced that she is behind the murder, although she herself has a solid alibi. All that remains is for Gently to draw out who was her accomplice, whom he suspects as being a younger and more attractive man. There was not very much suspense along the way to the inevitable conclusion.
Trivia and Link
Gently French was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1971).
This was a so-so Gently with the only unique feature being that the 'murder' weapon was a horse. A known philanderer meets his come-uppance on a heath and Gently is called in to determine whether it was an accident or murder. It doesn't take him very long to discover a horse with a temper in the vicinity and then he only has to find the appropriate horse-person who could have controlled it. Various unpleasant personalities make their appearance and by Ebert's Law of the Economy of Characters*, the prime suspect becomes pretty obvious.
See front cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1970. Image sourced from Goodreads.
See painting at https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/3/1-curtius-l...
The cover art is a detail from the painting “Curtius** Leaping Into the Gulf” (1842) by Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846). Image sourced from Fine Art America.
Footnotes, Trivia and Links
* Although 'Ebert's Law' was designed for film, I find it quite adaptable to mystery novels when trying to identify the culprit. The original is: "In film criticism, Roger Ebert's Law of Economy of Characters says that a character who is introduced with no clear role will turn out to be important to the plot. The rationale for the law is that shooting budgets for film and television do not allow for "unnecessary characters"." Sourced from EverybodyWiki.com. Original source: Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary: A Greatly Expanded and Much Improved Compendium of Movie Clichés, Stereotypes, Obligatory Scenes, Hackneyed ... Shopworn Conventions, and Outdated Archetypes (1999).
** The story of Marcus Curtius (and his horse) is from Roman mythology and you can read about it at Wikipedia. The myth has absolutely nothing in common with this novel.
Gently at a Gallop was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1970).
‘There is gold. And I think the Superintendent knows it.’
‘Then he’s an old fox,’ Bressingham said.
‘He doesn’t want to believe in it,’ Ursula Bressingham said. ‘It’s against himself he is arguing. But there is gold. And he knows it.’
Gently is approached by the nephew of a man who apparently died from a fall down the stairs in his dilapidated mansion. The nephew has a gold medal coin of Pope Innocent III which he believes is part of a larger treasure which his uncle had discovered. Gently takes on the case and it turns out that it was likely murder as the victim appears to have been tortured and beaten before his death. A nearby warehouse man becomes the main suspect as he may have observed the treasure being discovered. But then the warehouse man himself is found dead in a similar situation. Can Gently solve the murders and discover the secret to the hidden treasure? A local antiques and coin dealer becomes Gently's ally in the quest.
See cover at https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/md/md22863603540.jpg
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1970. Image sourced from AbeBooks.
I can't say much further about this one except that the reveal was completely unexpected to me and was shocking in its horrifying implications. Alan Hunter and George Gently came through in a big way on this one with some clever red herrings and misdirections throughout. I'd even say this is my favourite Gently to date, combining both a treasure hunt and a murder mystery.
Trivia and Link
Gently with the Innocents was adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017) as Series 2 Episode 1 in 2009. The plot varies considerably from the original novel except for the first victim being murdered in their dilapidated mansion. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1969).
This one didn't leave much of an impression except for Gently treating the West Indian immigrant witnesses respectfully, in contrast to the racism of some of the other police authorities. I didn't catch any great descriptive passages or dialogue so am at a loss to post any interesting excerpts. The background had a depressing aspect as it involved the drowning of illegal immigrants from Jamaica who were put to sea in an unworthy vessel run by a gang of human traffickers. One of the traffickers is murdered in London and the suspects are plentiful as many local community members had relatives on board the doomed vessel. As usual Gently is called in to sort out a difficult case, and the centre of the investigation becomes a Calypso Club run by an influential family in the community.
The other item of note was the unfortunate original 1969 title of the book as Gentle Coloured, which has been changed in later reprints to Gently Sinking as if to make it a companion piece to the earlier boating related novel Gently Floating (Gently #11 - 1963). Even the Sinking title has an ugly association to it though, given the mass tragedy in the background.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the unfortunately titled original UK hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1969. Image sourced from Goodreads.
So this wasn't the most impressive Gently to my mind, but I still admire the series and author Alan Hunter for his attempts to refresh his styles and locales with each additional novel. I think his George Gently is quite as great a series detective as Simenon's Inspector Maigret, even if Simenon's 75 Maigret novels outdo Hunter's 46 Gentlys.
Trivia and Link
Gently Sinking was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1967).
They are in the presence of a manner of hero. One whose occupation is with death, with many deaths, with death in terror. They stare at Gently, this modern hero, this man who opens up mysteries, whose strong hands, casually filling a pipe, have ripped the veil from many a dying: who has seen what they pray not to see, has dealt with men they pray not to deal with: makes, as vocation, a common thing, what most men fear and turn aside from: at him they stare, a modern hero, a man who occupies himself with death. And he unthinkingly stares back, seeing the straw he will make his bricks with, mindlessly noting a thousand things as he tells the reporters precisely nothing, quite unaware within himself of the projection of a heroic image, which he would immediately know to be false, though it would reveal to him much about those who perceived it. He stares, and eyes fall, though his stare is a mild one. His stare has no penetration, yet it seems to lay one open.
As I've learned during this deep dive of Alan Hunter's George Gently novels, he changes styles and methods with each outing. Some of the books insert Gently into a cultural milieu where the dialogue of the witnesses and suspects can be in 60s beatnik lingo, in Scottish dialect, in Caribbean dialect, etc. For Gently Continental, Gently investigates the death of a vacationer at an English seaside resort which is run by an Austrian family of refugees from the time of the Second World War. They have built up the hotel through an inheritance and through hard work. Often their dialogue is in untranslated German, although the sentences are short and usually easy to understand.
The victim was tortured prior to his death, but met his end by fatally falling or jumping off a seaside cliff onto ruined debris below. The identity of the supposed Irish-American victim seems obvious at first, but soon a false identity is revealed with a mysterious origin and connections. The family and hotel staff are all under suspicion. In one of his stylistic changes, Hunter writes all of the suspect interrogations as if they were a playscript (or as if they were a police stenographer's transcription).
Gently: I want you to tell me, Mrs Breske, everything you remember about the deceased.
Mrs Breske: But there is nothing! He is here six, seven weeks, and I do not speak to him more than twice.
Gently: Did he have an accent?
Mrs Breske: Ach, yes. He came from America, is true. He has that slur, you know, and he speaks through his nose. I, myself, have met many Americans. During the War I was in London. This one, yes, he is like the others, indeed, is certain.
Gently: He had a strong accent?
Mrs Breske: Oh, ja.
Gently: Perhaps a little too strong?
See cover image at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1967. Image sourced from Goodreads.
The bulk of the rest of the text is in exaggerated purple prose like that of Gently's portrait above or in the aftermath of his revelations to his police colleagues below. I'm continuing to enjoy these Alan Hunter novels as my current favourite light reading in between other works.
Shelton is silent. He is overwhelmed. He has never before met this level of intelligence. He feels like a child with a hideous algebraic problem, whose despair is resolved by the huge wisdom of an adult. He had no key, it was impossible; the key is provided, all is plain. At a single blow Gently has smashed the impasse, shown how the terms fall into place. All, that Shelton had stared at so hard, is suddenly, without violence, coherent and related.
Sidenote
There is no mention of Gently's girlfriend/partner Brenda Merryn in this book and one might suspect that Gently's leading her into danger in the previous book Gently North-West (Gently #14 - 1967) might have caused a breakup. In fact she is mentioned again a few books later, although without an appearance.
Trivia and Link
Gently Continental was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1967).
The big shock in this one was that the formerly celibate (or at least single) Inspector George Gently was in a relationship, and with a former suspect no less! A foursome consisting of Gently & partner with Gently’s sister and partner head off to Scotland for a fishing vacation. They end up in the middle of murder and in the midst of an apparent training camp for an independent Scottish Nationalist movement. There was plentiful Scottish language used throughout whether in the dialogues with the locals or in the chapter epigraphs. I’ll admit that much of it went over my head except for what I could interpret due to context.
’But Knockie, I maun tell ye – the Englishman kens ye were up the braes!’
‘Man,’ McGuigan growled from his belly. ‘If ye winna hold your tongue, by gar, I’ll grip it an’ stow it down your thrapple!’
https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/md/md22454610249.jpg
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1967. Image sourced from AbeBooks.
Although the solution to the murder became quite evident before the final confrontation, it was still fun to observe Gently away from his normal hunting grounds in Norfolk.
Trivia and Link
Gently North-West was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime hardcover original (1965).
Gently shook his head.
'I’m from the Central Office. I’m merely advising on the case.’
‘The Central Office! Isn’t that the Yard?’
‘Until they build us new premises*.’
‘But I thought—’
‘We sometimes confer with our colleagues on a case.’
Her brown eyes regarded him challengingly.
Superintendent George Gently is pulled into a case when a distant relative by marriage appears in his office declaring his innocence of his ex-wife's murder. The husband had apparently been on the run when the body was discovered, but he insists he didn't know about the murder until he came back from a cruise. Gently is uncertain of the man's innocence but decides to investigate for the good of his relations.
He discovers the murdered woman was in a relationship with her neighbour, a rather formidable female, and various complications appear to confuse the case further. An emerald necklace has gone missing but is then discovered simply thrown away in the outside trash. Witnesses provide contradictory evidence of the sightings of suspects, including the husband who apparently had an argument with the victim before her demise. Gently uncovers all in the end.
I am continuing to enjoy the crime novels of Alan Hunter, who has been called "England's Simenon," due to his prolific series (46 novels) featuring the George Gently character, similar to Simenon's regular character Inspector Maigret (75 novels).
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime in 1965. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Footnote
* In this 1965 book, Gently is anticipating the move from the 1890 'New Scotland Yard' to the 1967 'New Scotland Yard' building. In 2016, the headquarters was again moved to its current 'New Scotland Yard' location. The original Scotland Yard name derives from the Metropolitan Police Service having its original headquarters at a location where the Kings of Scotland traditionally stayed in London. Source: Wikipedia.
Trivia and Link
Gently with the Ladies was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only, whereas the books cover the period 1955-1999. I haven't read the later books yet, but I suspect Gently does not age according to the real time.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1964).
'This is quite serious. We have a murder case with a tiger in it.'
'Who's the chummy?' Gently said. 'The tiger?'
'Please! I told you this was serious. But the tiger may have been used as a murder weapon, which is unique in my experience.'
Superintendent Inspector George Gently is called in on the eve of his fishing vacation when a buried body is uncovered. The victim was apparently mauled and killed by a tiger when it escaped a local exotic animal importer a year previously. In the meantime, the man had been thought to have disappeared. He had been a shady character with a penchant for blackmail.
There are no shortage of suspects as the blackmailer's victim ledger is discovered with coded letters and payment schedules. But can Gently solve the case within 48 hours and still make it to Wales for his fishing? Never bet against the Super! I enjoyed this one quite a bit as everyone seemed to have an unshakeable alibi until Gently starts untangling the web of deception.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1964. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Link
Gently Sahib was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2013) of the Cassell hardcover original (1972).
‘Do you like doing this job of yours?’
I made a face. ‘Not very much.’
‘Why do it then?’
‘There’s something sacramental about it.’
‘Sacramental!' He laughed amusedly. 'I suppose you do hear lots of confessions.’
‘My people are usually at the end of their tether. I represent their last link.’
‘Through you salvation.’
‘In a sort of way. Murder is a crime that must be shriven. The killer puts himself outside society and I’m his only way back.’
Gently Where She Lay finds Superintendent George Gently called in on a case where divorcee Vivienne Selly is found smothered in her bed. This case was unique in the books of the series that I've read to date in that it is written in the first person from Gently's point of view. That doesn't really provide any real eureka moment where we learn Gently's realization of the culprit, as that simply comes along naturally during the course of the interviews.
The book was more risque than other books of the series, as we learn that the victim was a dominatrix and had a cult of followers. The sexual element is not portrayed explicitly however. The ending reveal was more pathetic than dramatic.
I am continuing with the George Gently novels as my current 'light' reading next to more serious reads and/or my translation work. Although author Alan Hunter does experiment with occasional stream of consciousness and other unconventional methods for the genre, overall they are mostly in the cozy line and I still try to imagine Martin Shaw from the TV series in the Gently role, even though the TV adaptation was quite different.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The rather disturbing dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell in 1972, which gives the impression of it being a nightmare out of Paul Gauguin's Tahiti period. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The George Gently books were adapted as the TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt. Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1974).
Superintendent Gently is called in on a suspected suicide by film director Adrian Stoll who is found gassed in his caravette (a small mobile home) in a forest where he was filming a badger sett. It is soon determined to be murder though and the suspects are plentiful from the victim's worlds of cinema and family.
I found this one to be a bit tiresome with its dated hipster jargon esp. with Gently being regularly called the "fuzz." It all hearkened back to Gently Go Man (Gently #9 - 1961) with which this #21 in the series had a twisty connection. I jumped ahead from #11 to #21 in this reading as some of the interim books are more difficult to source (only 30 of the 46 are available on Kindle for instance).
I'm still continuing with the George Gently novels as my current 'light' reading next to more serious reads and/or my translation work. They are more along the cozy line in that way and I still try to imagine Martin Shaw from the TV series in the Gently role, even though the TV adaptation was quite different.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell in 1974. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The George Gently books were adapted as the TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt. Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1963).
His eyes were greenish-hazel eyes which had a mild expression but which were nevertheless penetrating. The driver didn’t know who this man was but supposed he might be a doctor or perhaps a medical specialist on holiday. The expression of his eyes startled the driver and the driver remembered it for some time afterwards. Later he saw a newspaper picture of the man. He was Superintendent George Herbert Gently.
This #11 of the George Gently series stood out due to several passages of extended stream of consciousness writing with no punctuation. It was not the sort of thing which you would expect in crime & mystery genre novels. I always find it especially interesting to watch how a series author (there are 46 George Gently books) takes chances and changes styles in order to keep things interesting for themselves.
The investigation this time involved a boat-builder who is found dead in the water after having been knocked on the head. There are plenty of suspects including a rebellious son, workers at the boatyard and competitors in the business. There was quite of lot of maritime terminology in this one and, if you are a landlubber like me, you might find yourself having to look up the meanings of words such as launch, staithe, dinghy, mudweight, boathook, ebb, helm, aft, yacht, etc. You may think you know what they mean but may still want to check to see if it is what you think it is.
See book cover at https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/30563319417.jpg
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1963. Image sourced from IberLibro.
I'll admit that I bumped this up a star due to the writing experimentation used and because I was able to guess the identity of the murderer fairly early. Admittedly, that was based on the non-detection method of asking myself: "Who is the most unlikely person in this extended cast to have committed this crime?" 🤔🕵️
Footnote
* Yes, I stole the idea for my lede from Jackson Brown's 1972 song Rock Me on the Water.
Trivia and Link
Gently Floating was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1962).
This is the 10th Inspector George Gently book and also my 10th review. I've managed to source all of the early 1950s & 1960s books on Kindle but after that it becomes a bit more haphazard as only 30 of the 46 have come out as eBooks and the paperbacks will be harder to find. I latched onto the series after enjoying the TV adaptations, but discovered that the original book character is rather different. He has the same unflappable nature and persistence, but you don't get the same sense of the gruff charm as portrayed by actor Martin Shaw. A curious addiction to peppermint sweets in the first several books disappears later on and pipe-smoking is the only remaining quirk.
Gently Where the Roads Go finds the Scotland Yard CID man called in when a trucker of Polish extraction is found murdered by the side of the road. The investigation trail leads to a road house run by a woman who acts suspiciously and then on to a nearby RAF base where supplies and arms have gone missing. There are various tie-ins back to World War II and the issue of Polish refugees working for the RAF. Gently manages to uncover a more sinister connection in the end.
See cover at https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/md/md30769438939.jpg
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell in 1962. Image sourced from Abe Books.
Trivia and Links
Gently Where the Roads Go was adapted as the 2nd Episode (actually called Season 2 Episode 1, as the 2007 Pilot was considered Season 1) in 2008 of the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017) where it was renamed The Burning Man, with the plot being considerably changed. Very few of the other TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. The full episode can be seen on YouTube here. The framing of the video makes it somewhat awkward to watch.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseurs hardcover original (1961).
‘I wouldn’t help you if I could, screw. You make it a crime for these kids to get a touch out of smoking. That’s Squaresville from Squaresville. It’s no crime east of Suez.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ Gently said. ‘It’s outside our jurisdiction.’
Gently Go Man was the basis for the first TV episode of the Inspector George Gently (2007-2017) series, but those who seek out the book hoping for a more extensive background will likely be disappointed. The original novel is very much dated by its antiquated beatnik-like slang used by its biker gang, some members of which (mild spoiler)
Inspector Gently is called in when one biker is run off the road and killed while his passenger survives in a coma. The sole other witness and chief suspect has disappeared. Gently interviews various members of the bike gang and realizes there is more to the crime than first appears. The gang describe themselves as 'Jeebies' and their preferred music is jazz. This is not a UK youth movement that I've ever heard of, unlike Mods, Rockers or Teddy Boys, so perhaps it is something invented by the author. The charismatic leader of the gang attempts to manipulate Gently, who is not impressed.
The unflappable Gently is always entertaining, but this was a chore to get through. Not recommended except for completists.
See cover at https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/ce/09/7bce098cb9896a70a176045969212294.jpg
The dust cover of the original hardcover of 'Gently Go Man', published by Cassell Crime Connoisseurs in 1961. Image sourced from Pinterest.
Trivia and Links
Gently Go Man was adapted as the very first episode of the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017) in 2007. The TV adaptation is considerably different from the original book. Very few of the other TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. A trailer for the series can be seen here. There is no free posting of the entire Episode 1 but it is available on various streaming channels such as BritBox. Someone posted an edit of all the scenes involving actor Richard Armitage as the biker gang leader, which you can see here (Note: This includes some spoilers about the plot of the TV adaptation).
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1961).
I had some fun searching for illustrations related to Gently to the Summit and that reflects in my rating. The case itself involves the return after 22 years of an apparent 'lost presumed dead' climber from a Mount Everest expedition in the late 1930's. The returnee makes himself known to his club and is met with doubt. Then another member dies under suspicious circumstances at Mount Snowdon in Wales and the returnee is the main suspect. Snowdon is a regular site of training runs for Mount Everest, although you can also walk up to the summit by hiking trails or travel by railway.
Chief Inspector Gently is called in from Scotland Yard's CID Central Office and has to solve the question of both the new death and the original disappearance and reappearance. He ends up reconstructing the crime by arranging for all of the suspects to walk up Mount Snowdon yet again.
See photograph at https://sp-images.summitpost.org/294136.JPG?auto=format&fit=max&ixlib=ph...
A photograph of the original Snowdon Café at the summit of Mount Snowdon in Wales in the 1930s, which is the site of various murderous happenings in ‘Gently to the Summit’. The original café was once described by Prince Charles (now King Charles III) as the ‘highest slum in Wales’. The original building was demolished in 2006 to make way for a modern visitor’s centre and restaurant. Image sourced from the Summit Post.
See photograph at https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2009/8/3/12492868...
A view of the modern Mount Snowdon visitor's centre which opened in 2009. Image sourced from an article High Tea, Mount Snowdon's Magical Mountaintop Cafe in The Guardian, August 2, 2009.
See dust cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell in 1961. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Footnote
* I was going to title this 'Gently's Return of Martin Guerre', but then wondered how well the classic 16th century historical case of imposture is known. You can read about it at Wikipedia. Note: The historical case is not a spoiler for the Hunter book as the fates are completely different.
Trivia and Links
The George Gently books were adapted as the TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1960).
Here, again, he was making a discovery – he, in his approach to a case, had never drawn up accounts of this kind. They were a compromise with the truth and he had automatically distrusted them; his way was to assemble the facts and to hold them suspended in his mind, where, by a sort of alchemy, they eventually moved into a pattern.
Gently with the Painters is a return to form for the Scotland Yard CID Central Office Inspector, after the previous investigation in Gently in the Sun (Gently #6 - 1959) which I reviewed as Not My Gently.
As usual, Gently is called in to a Norwich provincial investigation where the local authorities can't seem to build a sufficient case against their prime suspect, the husband of a murdered artist. The artist was the sole female member of a local artist's collective and although estranged from her husband, she would not grant him a divorce. Gently sees the case differently and begins to investigate the other artists of the group who each have their eccentricities and secrets to hide.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
I could not locate a copy of the dust jacket of the original 1960 hardcover edition from Cassell. This cover from the 1963 Pan Books paperback edition is a suitable macabre substitute. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Links
The dedication to Gently with the Painters reads as: “To the Norwich Twenty Group of Painters, who suggested, but are not portrayed as, the Palette Group of the novel.” Read more about the Norwich Twenty Group on Wikipedia here.
The George Gently books were adapted as the TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1959).
He bought three of the shirts of the sort he had seen the reporter wearing. They were manufactured in Hong Kong and not very expensive. One of them was printed with rich fruit-like designs in green, orange, purple, and black, another featured rock-and-roll singers, the third film actresses. If that photographer really wanted something to enliven the silly season! ‘I’d better have a hat – one of those Italian straws with the green bands. And a pair of sunglasses. Have you sandals in a broad nine fitting?’ He finished up with a bottle of sun lotion and a threepenny ice cream cornet. Nibbling at the latter he began to feel happier, in spite of the intolerable heat. … If Gently had been down there on holiday he could hardly have behaved more eccentrically. That was Dyson’s fixed impression by the time they had finished lunch. - Inspector Gently acclimates to a heat wave in a coastal town.
Gently is called in from Scotland Yard CID's Central Office to investigate a murder in a coastal town which has the local police baffled. Instead of taking a serious tone, Gently starts off by acting as if he is on vacation. For most of the novel he interacts with the locals, but never seems to get a clue until he becomes intrigued by a local fisherman who leads him to an unmarked grave in the sands. The finale turns into a sea-chase, but it all ends with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ (that is, if you like endings where the guilty are confronted and brought to justice). For me, this was a case of "Not My Gently." Also, Gently's standard go-to snack of peppermint creams, which were a regular feature in the early books of the series, do not appear.
See cover at http://www.detective-fiction.com/4salepix/gentlysun.jpg
The dust jacket of the original 1959 hardcover edition from Cassell. Image sourced from Detective Fiction.
Trivia and Link
The George Gently books were adapted as the TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here.
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1958).
He glanced defiantly at Gently, but Gently was busy going through his pockets. Surely, in some neglected corner, there ought to be a peppermint cream? - Gently's trademark snacks hardly make an appearance in this book.
George Gently from the Central Office (the book series name for Scotland Yard's CID) is called in when a mysterious dead body is found in a flour hopper at a small town mill and bakery operation. The man is soon identified as part of a trio of racetrack sharps who had been living in the vicinity and wildly spending money from no apparent source. His confederates have disappeared and the hunt is on as Gently interviews various suspects at the factory and bakery, including the owner who is a local politician. Then a second body is found. Can Gently find the third man before he meets the same fate?
This was an entertaining book in the series that has the reader questioning whether the crime relates to the mill, the bakery, the racetrack or some other unknown motive. I did note that Gently's trademark peppermint cream candies were no longer a driving force to his thinking. They are being gradually phased out after being a quirky feature in the earlier 4 books.
See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The dust jacket of the original 1958 hardcover edition from Cassell. Image sourced from Goodreads.
Trivia and Link
Unlike most of the George Gently books, Gently Through the Mill did have a TV adaptation as part of the series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. This was as Series 2 Episode 4 in 2009. Several of the suspect characters are the same, although the plot is quite different. The TV series regular Sgt. Bacchus does not appear in the book. There is a generic teaser trailer which you can watch on YouTube here.
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Review of the Walker & Company (US) hardcover (1984) retitled from the Constable (UK) original hardcover "The Unhung Man" (1984).
I managed to source a fine used copy of George Gently #31: The Unhanged Man (1984) for a reasonable price, after thinking availability of the late Gentlys had dried up. Constable UK stopped its paperback & eBook reprints after Gently With Passion (#30 - orig. 1983/reissue 2016) after a long streak beginning with #1 in 2010. Presumably they thought the market dried up when the TV series (2007-2017) ended. So I thought #31 to #46 were lost to me as most of the original editions go for phenomenal prices. I lucked into a cheap #31 after all though.
Despite an intriguing premise as described in the synopsis: The only clue in the strange death of a retired Wiltshire judge is a clear fingerprint of a man sentenced to death eighteen years before and supposedly hanged in a British prison. the investigation was not very dramatic and my favourite excerpted quote (as above) had nothing to do with Gently or the case itself. You could even say that the title of the book is itself a spoiler. There is only the patient unravelling of various lies and mis-directions before the solution is uncovered. I wouldn't say there was any drop-off in quality, but it was only a so-so Gently to my mind.
See cover at https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41-bj3aNC+L._SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
The dust cover of the original UK hardcover published by Constable in 1984. Image sourced from Amazon.
I may still read further of the later books if I am able to source them at a reasonable price or make a lucky library or used book store find. Otherwise this is the end of my Alan Hunter/George Gently binge.
Footnote, Trivia and Links
* The Shakespeare "speech" is not identified. I don't know what it could be. The Shakespeare and Spring association brings to my mind the songs "In the Spring time, the only pretty ring time" from As You Like It and "When daisies pied and violets blue" from Love's Labour Lost. On a personal side note, I live in Ontario, Canada and I think the characterization of an Ontario spring is unfair 🌻🌞😎.
The Unhanged Man was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different, e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.