A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs

The Felse Investigations #4

by Ellis Peters

When the tomb of Jan Treverra is opened to reveal two recently dead bodies, neither of which is Treverra's, Detective Inspector George Felse, on holiday nearby, steps in to investigate the murders. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, British Literature, Mystery Thriller

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

A pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.

Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.

During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.

Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite Felse novels so far. I have not read them in order. We have a modern day mystery entwined with an historical one. Great fun and enjoyable characters.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do so love Ellis Peters. I know she sold a gazillion Brother Cadfael books and so one really can't pity her, but I still think she is under appreciated. Her contemporary mysteries are so good. The writing is clean and lovely and sad. Every book is a meditation on mortality. They're about the awareness of moments, either miniature celebrations of life or tiny one act tragedies that maybe just play out on a person's face. And maybe give away a murderer.

And then there's this fullness and contentedness that comes with recognition. The characters recognize what they know, what they're experiencing -- love or maturity or connectedness or disappointment or transition. Maybe it's not realistic to write characters who are so aware of their place in life, but it is very joyful.

And then there's a gentle underlying grief because mortality includes all those moments and the fact that they are finite.

I thought perhaps EP had sons -- although it seems she did not -- because she writes about the inner life of boys and young men with sensitivity. She makes them more than the sum of sports and Tom Sawyer, spittin' and sassin', the kind of Dennis the Menace, isn't he adorable when he's naughty? hijinks that can make for some very wearisome boy characters. I find myself torn now between my old crush on Dominic Felse and hoping my son turns out like him.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how I discovered Ellis Peters but it was a lucky thing for me as a reader. This is the fourth in her Felse crime series, named after Detective George Felse.

George, his wife and his 18 year old son Dominic are on holiday in Cornwall. When Dominic rescues a boy from the rocky waters of the bay near their hotel, he meets the boy's uncle, a journalist investigating a centuries old tomb in the town's graveyard.

It seems everyone in small town Maymouth is connected. The coastal town has a history of smuggling rum, among other things. The 18th century couple whose tomb is about to be opened were involved.

Once the tomb is exhumed, all manner of secrets spill out. Several mysteries twist and turn within several families. Dominic, my favorite character in the series, is instrumental in solving a tangled story.

I love Ellis Peters's sparkling prose. Her characters are rich, both young and old; she does family and romantic relationships with humor and grace. For this reader she always keeps the pace at least a few steps ahead of my comprehension. Good for me that there are still nine more books in the series to enjoy.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peters sends her sleuthing family the Felses into Cornwall on vacation and right into the thick of an interesting group of characters and their problems. You may recall that after Felse #2, I was concerned about the Felse Family Investigations becoming formulaic. Felse #3 broke that mold and #4 has smashed it to smitherines.

Not only is the setting new, but the characters, new friends all, and also this tale is structured tightly to a long weekend timeline of Wednesday through Monday. Peters ability to write substance into every scene, string us along with copious information along with clues, all the while withholding the solution to the puzzle, is admirable. Peters own character also comes through as she deals in this edition as others with passion and crime in a manner appropriate for all ages. This threw shadow on my last journey to Cornwall in the words of Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers, which I completed prior to this Felse binge. The Shell Seekers ended with a conviction that while it was memorable, it wasn’t a title I wanted hanging around my house for future reading. In direct contrast, I find myself promoting Peters Felse Family Investigations inside and outside our home.

The Cornish setting allows this book to feature peculiarities of a seatown, including its coastline, culture of seamen/ tourists passing through, and local legends. Inspector George Felse is the leading character, as he consults on a case out of his jurisdiction, but Peters main concentration of family development in this work centers around the Rossall family of Tim, Philippa and Patrick.

The discovery of this series has become a welcome triumph of this span of illness I’m facing. As I still have to hold back on physical activity to promote healing, I’ve already downloaded #5!

The Shell Seekers, Pilcher, 1987
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

There’s More!
The Piper in the Mountain (Felse #5), Peters, 1966
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer Felse to Cadfael, even though I met up with the monk first. In this volume Dominic is more prominent than George, who seems limited to standing in the background looking wise and occasionally coming out with a judgement or summing-up. As for the luv story at the end, meh.
It was a good weekend read after several less than stellar choices on my part, which is why I am surprised I have so little to say about it.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best book titles ever...

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellis Peters, best known for his Brother Cadfael mysteries, also wrote modern mystery stories featuring DI George Felse. This entry finds George and his wife and son on holiday at the coast, and drawn into a local mystery.
The best I can say is that this features interesting characters, a curious mystery involving the opening of a century-old tomb, and a hint of local smuggling hovering in the background. The mystery is pleasant. Any violence happens off-site, or before the events described in the book. There is a clever if stolid local policeman, a local lady of the manor, and young man who discovers he is not the child of the people he was raised by, and a tangled family tale tarnished by theft and brutality.
This was enjoyable enough to read, as Peters of course writes well, with attention to good prose and smart plotting. But I would not rush out to pick up a copy. I prefer Cadfael and his cronies.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

" 'Shed here no tears. No Saint could die
More Blessed and Comforted than I'

"read the epitaph composed by Jan and Morwenna Treverra before their quiet deaths centuries ago. But the pious portrait of content they conjured fragments when permission is granted for their tombs to be opened -- and an all too twentieth century corpse is found within.

"An unfailing sense of strategic timing draws Detective Inspector George Felse to the scene, abandoning family, seaside and Cornish cream teas in favour of the vaults of Maymouth's little Saxon church. There, in the derelict seashore graveyard, a mystery unfolds, a trail of violence in Maymouth's history which casts shadows centuries long ..."
~~back cover

A nice little mystery, combined with subplots of family and greed and coming of age. Ellis Peters is amongst the best mystery writers going, as anyone knows who's read the Brother Cadfael mysteries.

[Cheryl Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely old fashioned mystery, in an Agatha Christie style.

[Judi Easley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not BC, but darn good!

I've read Brother Cadfael many times over the years since I first discovered them and have watched the movies as well. This series appears to be totally different, but it is just as well written. The details, characters, and depth of the story are totally Ellis Peter's. Each character is well-fleshed out and an interesting part of the story, even if they don't have a direct link to the crime. And each of the red herrings is as interesting as the whole crime itself. And I had to be gently led by the author to the complete answer because I never saw it coming. Now I'm on to the second book and am just as lost in that one as I was in this one. Recommended.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title's the best thing about this book.

There is a teenage character in Lake Wobegon whose favorite books are about the LaFlamme (I think) family, whose teenage son is treated just like an adult. Wobegon guy longs for that life. The beginning of this book was like the LaFlamme series. I kept thinking this might be a Young Adult novel, but the rest of the book (and title) don't fit a YA selection. I think it's just a cloyingly written book.

I have enjoyed Ellis Peters' Caedfal series, though.

[Matthew Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

I just re-read it for at least the fourth time--I’ve lost count. And yet I felt tears of joy well up at the triumphant end.

Edith Pargeter, the real name of Ellis Peters, was a mystery-writing genius of the first order. Very few are the authors who can create a whodunit that a reader might want to re-visit so often and with such pleasure. Come for another adventure of the Felse family, stay for the boldly drawn character development of the coast of Cornwall cast, and hang on for the twisty plot of at least (?) three graves with unexpected contents! Delightful.

[JodiP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I like each Felse mystery more than the last. We see Dom grow, but his involvement with the mysteries ebbs and flows. The stories themselves are really engaging and I always want to know who dunnit. Motives tend to be fairly straightforward, but this isn't a bad thing. The next book was smapled at the end of this one, and once I get through my current pile, I will probably go on to this one!

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another old favorite, this was one of the first Felse mysteries I read, and I have since reread it many times, but it never gets old. On vacation with his family, George Felse becomes involved with a local mystery (actually three mysteries, spanning centuries), when his teenage son Dominic pulls a younger boy out of the sea. Full of interesting, believable characters; family secrets; and lots of humor, this book is both entertaining and hard to put down.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this the night I had to stay up all night in the San Francisco airport. She's a good writer with a good storyline and good characters. It's a comfortable mystery.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good story with a variety of characters and a human story subplot - with murder thrown in the mystery is only solved at the end like any good mystery should

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fine author! Efficient in her use of words, but, oh, such fine words. Read it.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Felse family is on vacation in Cornwall. When Inspector Felse is invited to the exhumation of the bodies of a local legendary couple by a famous scholar, they find a missing corpse replaced with two very modern and recent ones, and a wife that was apparently buried alive. The discovery opens up a can of worms, leading to a missing teen, a family secret, and possible buried treasure. The story also deals with the issue of what exactly is a parent and how far a person will go to protect the ones they love. Peters writing is as always smooth, lyrical, and poetically beautiful. She puts you right into the story and has you hanging on her every word. Her description of scenes, character thoughts and explanations keeps you engrossed in the story. I am enjoying the Felse series, which is new to me, but I fell in love with Ms. Peters a long time ago with her Brother Cadfael series.

[Harron68 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first of this mystery series and I call it "OK." Not as good as the "Peter Wimsey"or the touchstones of the genre, but has its moments. The best element is the puzzle, with twists. The weaker spots were the atmosphere, clear relationships between characters, and a blandness of Felse (in this novel at least). The character Simon is the most interesting and varied in personality, from sweet to angry, tempermental. Simon also provides much of the solution to the puzzle.
I give it 3 stars based on the cleverness of the plot. The "extras" that can make a good plot great are lacking. The book is from 1965, perhaps its age or the demands of a certain book length at the time constricted the writing.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this title so much, Interesting seaside setting... and all the characters were so well drawn. My "thing" with mysteries is the development of relationships between the major characters in any given series, and this series has not failed yet. The detection work is not always done by George Felse, but his life as a man in a family with a growing son is just always portrayed with depth and genuineness.
He is someone you would like to know. His wife is lovely and intuitive, and Dominic, even as a 13 year old in the first book, was quite astute and insightful.

I would suggest people read the GR review by Heather from 2015 for a perfect review of how I, too, feel about this book and Peters's writing.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprise to me, a book sale find that is much different from the Brother Cadfael series, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. D.I. George Felse is the focus of the series, although here, on holiday at the seashore with his wife and 18-year-old son, he plays a peripheral role. A tomb is about to opened to solve a centuries-old family mystery, and George is invited to be present, and thus is witness to the fact that the body inside is quite recent, and covers another, unidentified body. Duncan, his son, plays a pivotal role as he has gotten to know several of the locals quite well, and doesn't hesitate to do the right thing. Cornwall's tradition of smuggling plays a part, too.

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like Ellis Peters. I've read all of Cadfael and most of her books under her name Edith Pargenter. I enjoy her writing immensely. Not this idiotic, disjointed mess. Yes, there was a plethora of colorful, homey, bucolic background scenes, along with a ridiculous four page description of folks at the pub drinking. In fact, the whole story could have been told in 20 pages, maybe less. So many times I thought of just jettisoning this boring waste of paper, but, shoot, it's a short book....I should be able to finish it. Actually sorry I bothered. Oh well, only a couple days reading down the drain.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

murder if roger ackroyd.

As told by Ellis Peters. Dom is growing quickly and is now eighteen. It is the end of summer and the Felse family are on vacation. Dom meets another boy, by dragging him out of the see where Dom thinks the boy is drowning. He isn’t but we meet the family (mom, dad, son, uncle, great aunt, companion). An historical vault is to opened, to see check for some long lost poems. No poems, the intended occupant missing and not one, but TWO dead bodies, quite recently dead, are in place of intended occupant. A fun end of summer family mystery with some south coast smuggling history thrown in as well.

[Cathy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet, coming in at under 200 pages.
My first Inspector Felse novel but 4th in the series.
This is set in Cornwall, Felse is on holiday with his family. In fact, what I liked most about this book was the fact that Felse is almost like a secondary, incidental character in this. We know very little of his thoughts or feelings on events until the end.
The main characters are the local families at the heart of the mystery. Peters writes beautiful characters and a beautiful setting. Much is fitted into the 196 pages and all of it is a delight to read.

[MaryAnne Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Although this is a George Felse mystery, in this one he is not the main protagonist. There is an intricate historic mystery, and a much more contemporary one. Part of the story is determining if the two mysteries are related. Simon Towne has come to the coast to look into a locally historic tomb. He is not expecting what is found when the group opens the husband and wife mausoleums. The secondary plot is that of young Paddy who is forced to face the circumstances of his birth and how they may affect his future.

[Sherry Schwabacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my fourth Felse mystery and I continue to enjoy them. The plots continue to feel organic to the settings and I love the village characters. Peters really has a finely calibrated grasp of adolescent emotions and teen-age son Dominic, now 18, helps with a younger teen in this outing. The Felse family is enjoying a vacation in a seaside village that soon becomes a Busman's Holiday for George.

[EuroHackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery itself was pretty good, but I could've done without the Boy Wonder (Dominic) hijinks and the supremely cringey Romantic Grand Gesture ending. This was also quite obviously written by a woman, given the lovingly abashed description of all the male characters, and the rather unusual closeness of Dominic and his mother. Maybe the author was going for a friendly happy family vibe, but what worked in 1965 only comes off as creepy in 2021.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining.

Once again the kids are involved with stumbling across clues. Unique murders and bodies missing from tombs, or bodies there unexpectedly? Anyway, George is supposed to be on holiday with his family but of course works through the clues with the local authorities to find a culprit or two. Plenty of suspects to go around. And as usual George has it figured out but lets the drama play itself out.

[Ulrike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that Dominic is getting older, Peters gives us Paddy, a 15 year old boy. The dynamics with Paddy's family are interesting, as is the evolving relationship between Dom & his parents. (The adoption subplot is wrapped up a little too neatly, but since that's not the primary focus of the book, that is understandable.)

Audiobook narrator Simon Prebble gets 5 stars as usual. I listened at 1.2x, which is my habit for library books.

[Loulou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me.
I don't usually mind that books are dated, and in the case of mystery /crime, I usually prefer them to be. However, in this instance I think it's date might be the problem.
It's sat on my to read shelf for years. I have no idea when or where I got it. I shall be passing it on so it can find someone to appreciate it properly.