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Gently Does It (Chief Superintendent Gently #1)
by
Alan Hunter
When a timber merchant is found stabbed in the city of Norchester, the local police find an obvious suspect in his son. But Inspector Gently soon realizes that there is more to it than appears on the surface and sacrifices his holiday to prove his suspicions correct, and require every contention of Gently's to be proved to the hilt before they will take action.
Paperback, 250 pages
Published
by Robinson Publishing
(first published 1955)
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To my surprise, I quite enjoyed this book. I’ve not seen the TV show, but I know of it, and knew what to expect when picking it up. I’m usually more of a fan of the fast-paced action thriller, but actually it was quite nice to read something a bit more laid back and relaxed – if such a thing can be said of a murdery mystery style book.
I was intrigued by the author’s disclaimer at the start, that this isn’t a traditional whodunit and is more about piecing together the proof so the police have eno...more
I was intrigued by the author’s disclaimer at the start, that this isn’t a traditional whodunit and is more about piecing together the proof so the police have eno...more
This is the first of the George Gently series that was begun in 1955. Gently is a Scotland Yard police inspector from the East Anglia section of England who eventually becomes a Chief Superintendant. This case begins while Gently is on vacation and he gets involved in the murder of a mean old man. The local police force regret asking him to help because he won't let them settle for the easiest to catch and most likely suspect.
Gently quietly but surely teases out the truth from a tangle of lies w...more
Gently quietly but surely teases out the truth from a tangle of lies w...more
The pace of this book is slow, measured and thoughtful, just like its protagonist. And I loved it for that. Detective Inspector George Gently is a pleasure to spend time with: a methodical, deep-thinking man in his fifties, Gently is mild, quiet and rather humble. He's fond of fishing, food and peppermint creams. He's also a particularly fine detective: the type who is precise, observant and never satisfied with less than the truth.
Where other policemen rush to close a case early, Gently believe...more
Where other policemen rush to close a case early, Gently believe...more
c1955. I thought this would be a DNF but circumstances arose that this was the only book that I had available for a while. I am glad I persevere. It was a great little detective story and although the author noted that it was not meant to be a "whodunit" it was a bit of a guess although you could determine the guilty party at the same time that the protagonist did. i am glad that I had watched some of the TV series derived from this series as it helped to establish the area and time. If it was n...more
Gently is a fine name for the detective in this series by Alan Hunter in which there are 46 mysteries starring George Gently. He is a gentle man and goes about solving murders without a lot of thrills and violence. He eats hard candy and is always looking to see where his next bag of sweets are going to come from.
The series began with this book, Gently Does It, written in 1955, and ends in 1999, six years before the author's death. The first nine books are available for the Kindle (at least in t...more
The series began with this book, Gently Does It, written in 1955, and ends in 1999, six years before the author's death. The first nine books are available for the Kindle (at least in t...more
A gentle book about a gentle Chief Inspector. I enjoyed the Martin Shaw TV series, but I don't think that they quite got the bulky, slow moving, peppermint cream addict, with a passion for fishing quite right. It is well written, and if you like Agatha Christie, this is the series for you.
Old fashioned, but then this is the world before television, when the newspapers ruled the world. Superman, Dick Barton and football constituted popular culture. A timber merchant at odds with his only son is...more
Old fashioned, but then this is the world before television, when the newspapers ruled the world. Superman, Dick Barton and football constituted popular culture. A timber merchant at odds with his only son is...more
This is the first book in a 46 book series. George Gently is a member of Scotland Yard's CID team. He is on vacation when he becomes involved in a murder investigation. He happens to have seen the prime suspect in a murder the afternoon of the murder and goes to the local police station where he knows the Superintendent.
The local police force are certain they know the murderer and that it is just a matter of time until they pick him up. Gently isn't so sure and sets out to investigate the murder...more
The local police force are certain they know the murderer and that it is just a matter of time until they pick him up. Gently isn't so sure and sets out to investigate the murder...more
The first in a very long series of amiable detective murder mysteries, in the tradition of Agatha Christie. There’s a murder, local plods jump to the obvious conclusion, our hero steers patiently things in the right direction, the villain is apprehended and all is well with the world. There are some nice characterisation touches - the daughter of the Dutch businessman has been very sheltered, and still has a noticeable accent, while the son, more out in the world, has mostly lost his. But the au...more
It's the end of the summer holidays tonight and I've thoroughly enjoyed the George Gently series that I have consumed head to tail up to the 7th book. Alan Hunter writing in the 50s about the 50s shapes his characters well, but the place and times he unfolds is wonderful. I loved Dangerous Davies more, but maybe that's because I love Peter Davison more than the bluff Martin Shaw. Incidentally, TV George Gently is not much like the novel George Gently. A matter of audience I would say.
Charmingly comfortable mystery. I found out about the series by way hung episodes of the TV series. I'm always on the lookout for the words "based on the novel(s) by..."
The story ambles through suspects much like Chief Inspector Gently ambles though the town on holiday, questioning.g suspects likely and unlikely with the dame quiet patience he might apply to fishing, waiting to set the hook in the most proper fish, not necessarily the biggest.
I don't even know what they are, but now I have a cr...more
The story ambles through suspects much like Chief Inspector Gently ambles though the town on holiday, questioning.g suspects likely and unlikely with the dame quiet patience he might apply to fishing, waiting to set the hook in the most proper fish, not necessarily the biggest.
I don't even know what they are, but now I have a cr...more
Neil downloaded this one after we both enjoyed the TV series. I really enjoyed it. Despite the warning at the beginning that we will find out whodunnit well before the end, it was three quarters of the way through before the killer was revealed and I found the tussle to find the evidence to sustain a charge kept me turning the pages just as effectively.
I look forward to reading more - there are over 40 in the series, so it could become an expensive habit!
I look forward to reading more - there are over 40 in the series, so it could become an expensive habit!
There's an author foreword to this book pointing out that this isn't a story about figuring out who did it (because that's clear early on) but about proving he did it. And that's entirely true.
Quite a mellow book, ambling along much like its peppermint-scoffing detective. I'll check out the next, but haven't yet been quite captured enough to invest in the 40-odd books in the series.
Quite a mellow book, ambling along much like its peppermint-scoffing detective. I'll check out the next, but haven't yet been quite captured enough to invest in the 40-odd books in the series.
I read this because I enjoyed the TV series - not the best basis for reading a book I know. It took me a long time to read it - I kept putting it down to read other things and then coming back to it. This was because I didn't particularly like or find any of the characters interesting enough, apart from Inspector Gently himself (and that was probably because I was thinking of the TV character).
But I did finish it eventually, and ended up quite liking it - but I think that is because I really li...more
But I did finish it eventually, and ended up quite liking it - but I think that is because I really li...more
Very much of its time, a snapshot of 1950s life in a fairly thinly-disguised Norwich. The detective story is slow and fairly plodding, but none the less entertaining for that. Sometimes Hunter's writing feels a little over-wrought by today's standards, but only occasionally. It's an enjoyable read and a quick one.
When a timber merchant is murdered a holidaying Chief Inspector (Gently) gets involved in the case.
Is well written and the story was good – except for the end which was out of character for the rest of the book (the cool calm killer panicking and taking a crazy risk) which spoilt my overall enjoyment.
Is well written and the story was good – except for the end which was out of character for the rest of the book (the cool calm killer panicking and taking a crazy risk) which spoilt my overall enjoyment.
Though I've seen and enjoyed the TV series, this is the first Chief Inspector Gently novel I've read. Set in the 1950's England it is indeed a gentle tale compared with recent Scandanavian offerings, this is much more to my taste.
Love the era this is set in, George Gently is the old fashioned straight copper.
I've just got to get some of those peppermint creams! Lovely book, good mystery and a wonderful detective. I'll be looking for more of these.
Of the books in this series I've read so far, this one is the best!
Entertaining enough but not the best written crime fiction I've read.
I got this book because I enjoyed the PBS series GEORGE GENTLY. The book was good and I enjoyed picturing the TV actor as Gently.
I love the Gently novels for the view of the 1950s, not quite the England we know and not quite how we think the recent past was, either. The character is urbane, unhurried, likes a pipe and his peppermint creams.
Inspector Gently is very much in the Sherlock Holmes mode of the reasoning detective - the focus of the book is very much upon the detail of the deductive process, which I enjoyed.
Not sure I'll continue with this series, which is unusual for me :-P But it was a quick, gentle (pardon the pun) read. So maybe I'll come back to it when I need something easy.
May 20, 2013
Matthew Mcdonald
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Kollisionwhispervortex
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Fiona
marked it as to-read
May 12, 2013
Joyce Deanell
is currently reading it
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Alan Hunter was an English author of crime fiction. All of his 46 novels feature Inspector George Gently and are mainly set in East Anglia.
Initially a farmer, he became an antiquarian bookseller before writing his first novel.
More about Alan Hunter...
Initially a farmer, he became an antiquarian bookseller before writing his first novel.
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