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Inspector Lane Parry #2
Murder at Beechlands
Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard finds himself on a busman's holiday when he forced to take refuge from a heavy snowstorm in a country hotel while traveling in Sussex in January 1948. At first, he mistakes the guests for inmates in a lunatic asylum until the body of Wing Commander Lawton (Lawty) Lawrence is found in the snow. First pubished in 1948 in the U.K. as A Party for None and in the U.S. as A Party for Lawty. It is the second book of the Parry duet. The first, Murder at Shots Hall, is also available from The Rue Morgue Press.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 25, 2021
C'était tellement mauvais comme livre, j'en reviens juste pas. Pour la première fois de ma vie, et j'ai honte de le dire, j'ai sauté un bout d'un livre pour lire la fin. Rendu à 100 pages, après déjà 4 jours de lecture pénible, j'étais sur mon divan ce soir avec ma tisane, et je ressentais physiquement le sentiment d'ennui, voire de dégoût, en lisant les dialogues criards et vulgaires, en lisant les descriptions, et la nullité général de l'intrigue, des personnages, de l'écriture, et je me suis dit que je pourrais pas continuer comme ça pour 90 pages encore. Maudit que c'était mal écrit. Alors, au prise avec cet ennui poignant, j'ai décidé d'abréger la chose, et je suis allée lire la solution. Pis le pire, c'est que j'ai skippé 60 ou 65 pages, et pour vrai, je n'ai presque pas manqué d'informations pour la solution (qui était celle que je voyais venir dès le départ, pour les raisons que j'avais envisagées), et même les 20 dernières pages, j'ai eu du mal à rester concentrée pour les lire tellement j'en pouvais plus d'ennui. Le tout était d'une médiocrité et d'une vulgarité sans nom, et ça donne surtout envie de lire Georgette Heyer et Nancy Mitford pour me souvenir que c'est possible que la presque majorité des personnages d'un roman soient détestables, sans que ça vienne gâcher l'expérience de lecture (c'est même souvent très drôle, mais encore là, n'est pas witty qui veut).
Bref, terrible, terrible roman.
Bref, terrible, terrible roman.
January 17, 2023
I would give this 1.5 stars. This was a muddled mystery that knowing the bones now, it had promise but... But, when you use screaming people drunk people as a way to sustain drama it really grates at the nerves. I could skim through chapters and get by when an actual event happened and to try and piece together events.
If you like lots of dialogue and 'characters" then this is for you. If you're looking for solid plot and to allow the reader share the ability to figure out the whodonit- this is probably not for you. I know there will be other reviews so - read through them and determine if this is for you. The nice thing is in the back is a great list of Rue Morgue books.
If you like lots of dialogue and 'characters" then this is for you. If you're looking for solid plot and to allow the reader share the ability to figure out the whodonit- this is probably not for you. I know there will be other reviews so - read through them and determine if this is for you. The nice thing is in the back is a great list of Rue Morgue books.
November 11, 2017
When his car becomes snow-bound at the beginning of Murder at Beechlands (1948) by MaureenSarsfield, Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard rejoices at the sight of lights gleaming through the snow-laden trees. Well...briefly rejoices anyway. Because as far as he can tell, he has stumbled upon a country asylum--all the lights at Beechlands (in truth a country house turned hotel) are ablaze and the inmates are stampeding in and out of the building, frollicking in the snow. He soon discovers that the antics are in aid of a homecoming celebration for war hero Wing Commander Lawton "Lawty" Lawrence.
But somebody wasn't really feeling all that celebratory at Lawty return and treated the hero to a well-placed knock on the head with an ice hammer before shoving his body out the windo and into the snow. In fact, once Parry discovers that the hotel is cut off from any outside members of law and order and begins investigating, he soon learns that virtually everyone in the hotel had reasons to want Lawty dead--from the hostess of his party, hotel owner Annabel Adams, to Christie Layne, the quiet young woman he seduced and promptly forgot, to a cuckholded husband. Other suspects include a thief working as a waiter at the hotel, the chef who is as French as french fries, two potential investors in the hotel, a Hollywood actress, and a scantily clad woman who collects men and jewelry (not necessarily in that order).
Parry has to work at great disadvantage without access to the usual support and spends a great deal of time lurking about the house. But there are plenty of clues to be had and Parry sifts them to pinpoint the culprit. The story is fun and filled with extraordinary characters. And Parry is an interesting investigator. Sarsfield does a fair job with clueing and plot.
I would have enjoyed it a lot more, though, if someone had format edited the Rue Morgue Press edition (or the original--if this reprint follows the formatting faithfully). The chapters just flow along in huge chunks as though it's all of a piece and yet the scene and/or the speaking characters may change often within the chapters. There are no page breaks to indicate a change of scene and it was a bit jarring to be with Parry in the snow in one sentence and immediately be upstairs at Beechlands in the next. It ruined the rhythm of the story and made it difficult to keep up with the action. Overall, a decent read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
But somebody wasn't really feeling all that celebratory at Lawty return and treated the hero to a well-placed knock on the head with an ice hammer before shoving his body out the windo and into the snow. In fact, once Parry discovers that the hotel is cut off from any outside members of law and order and begins investigating, he soon learns that virtually everyone in the hotel had reasons to want Lawty dead--from the hostess of his party, hotel owner Annabel Adams, to Christie Layne, the quiet young woman he seduced and promptly forgot, to a cuckholded husband. Other suspects include a thief working as a waiter at the hotel, the chef who is as French as french fries, two potential investors in the hotel, a Hollywood actress, and a scantily clad woman who collects men and jewelry (not necessarily in that order).
Parry has to work at great disadvantage without access to the usual support and spends a great deal of time lurking about the house. But there are plenty of clues to be had and Parry sifts them to pinpoint the culprit. The story is fun and filled with extraordinary characters. And Parry is an interesting investigator. Sarsfield does a fair job with clueing and plot.
I would have enjoyed it a lot more, though, if someone had format edited the Rue Morgue Press edition (or the original--if this reprint follows the formatting faithfully). The chapters just flow along in huge chunks as though it's all of a piece and yet the scene and/or the speaking characters may change often within the chapters. There are no page breaks to indicate a change of scene and it was a bit jarring to be with Parry in the snow in one sentence and immediately be upstairs at Beechlands in the next. It ruined the rhythm of the story and made it difficult to keep up with the action. Overall, a decent read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
December 17, 2016
I very much enjoyed the humorous dialog in this novel; wish there had been more of it throughout and less exposition. It seemed to take me forever to finish, and not because it wasn't a good story with well-defined characters. In the end, I think the formatting of the book is what slowed me down. The line lengths seemed too long, the margins narrow, but both within book design limits. But for me, it tired my eyes quicker. I know the publisher was trying to "save paper," and I'm grateful for the reissue, but this is one time I wished it had been available as an ebook.
July 16, 2020
"Inspector Parry thought he'd stumbled into a lunatic asylum instead of a hotel
"Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard finds himself on a busman's holiday when he is forced to take refuge from a heavy snowstorm in a country hotel while traveling in Sussex in January 1948. When he first glimpses the hotel guests frolicking in the snow, he mistakes them for lunatics at play. Instead, he learns that they are all guests invited to attend a homecoming party for a war hero.
"But when the battered body of Wing Commander Lawton Lawrence turns up in the snow, Parry realizes that playtime is over and that a murderer is walking the halls of Beechlands. It doesn't take Parry long to recognize that virtually everyone in the hotel had reason to see Lawty dead. He may have cut a dashing figure chasing German bombers and fighters in the skies over London, but he was also something of a cad and any number of women and their husbands had reason to want him dead.
"Suspects include the hotel's bosomy and debt-ridden owner, a thief-turned-waiter, a French chef who never saw Paris, a Hollywood actress with a perpetually open mouth, two potential investors in the hotel, a woman given to wearing scanty dresses, a cuckolded husband, and a young woman whose 'braown maouse' demeanor conceals a clever brain as well as a forlorn heart."
~~backcover
This book was just too scattered for my tastes: a good deal of to-and-froing, unrealistic characters, and semi-aimless plot. Just not my cuppa.
"Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard finds himself on a busman's holiday when he is forced to take refuge from a heavy snowstorm in a country hotel while traveling in Sussex in January 1948. When he first glimpses the hotel guests frolicking in the snow, he mistakes them for lunatics at play. Instead, he learns that they are all guests invited to attend a homecoming party for a war hero.
"But when the battered body of Wing Commander Lawton Lawrence turns up in the snow, Parry realizes that playtime is over and that a murderer is walking the halls of Beechlands. It doesn't take Parry long to recognize that virtually everyone in the hotel had reason to see Lawty dead. He may have cut a dashing figure chasing German bombers and fighters in the skies over London, but he was also something of a cad and any number of women and their husbands had reason to want him dead.
"Suspects include the hotel's bosomy and debt-ridden owner, a thief-turned-waiter, a French chef who never saw Paris, a Hollywood actress with a perpetually open mouth, two potential investors in the hotel, a woman given to wearing scanty dresses, a cuckolded husband, and a young woman whose 'braown maouse' demeanor conceals a clever brain as well as a forlorn heart."
~~backcover
This book was just too scattered for my tastes: a good deal of to-and-froing, unrealistic characters, and semi-aimless plot. Just not my cuppa.
June 6, 2022
Three and a half stars: A typical English house party murder mystery, in which all the suspects are stranded together in a large snowbound hotel. It's a pleasant read, although sometimes there's too much talk among the suspects and not enough action. Could have been trimmed by about 20 pages and tightened up a bit.
September 2, 2011
First Line: Up in her private suite on the first floor, Mrs. Anabel Adams paced the deep red pile carpet of her sitting room, backward and forward and round and round.
Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard is stranded in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard, his car having gone into a ditch in the Sussex countryside. Staggering through the snow, he manages to find refuge at Beechlands, a place that he assumes to be a mental institution from the behavior of the people out playing in the snow. However, it's merely a country house hotel redone in florid Rococo style by its owner, Mrs. Anabel Adams. Mrs. Adams has assembled a party of guests in honor of war hero Lawton Lawrence, but when "Lawty's" body is found in the snow, Parry finds himself on a busman's holiday. Everyone seems to have a reason to want the hero dead. Can Parry himself stay alive long enough to find the killer in the snowbound hotel?
This is the second of Sarsfield's three books that I've read, the first being Murder at Shots Hall. Sarsfield is as much of a mystery as her books, since she only wrote three, and no one knows what became of her. From the talent she showed us in these two Lane Parry mysteries, it's a shame we don't have more.
The setting of snowbound Beechlands is perfect. Although renovated in what Mrs. Adams believes to be a very tasteful (and very red) Rococo style, it is an old house with rambling hallways, doors leading everywhere, and secret passageways. The weather means that no one's able to leave, and Inspector Parry can't get anyone to come take over the investigation.
Sarsfield's main strength is in her characterizations. The cast here is particularly brilliant: the grande dame owner, the pickled war hero, a movie actress, potential investors, a couple of locals, a devoted servant, and others-- all of whom are hiding something, all of whom have possible motives for wanting Lawty dead. With the booze flowing freely, most of the cast resembles a flea circus on crack; none of them are capable of staying put, and they're constantly scuttling in and out of dark rooms on all the various floors of the hotel.
I was enjoying the setting and the antics of the characters so much that I didn't make an effort to keep a scorecard as to who may have done it. If I begin reading more vintage mysteries, it will be due to writers like Maureen Sarsfield. In my best Lawty Lawrence imitation, I raise a glass to her memory.
Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard is stranded in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard, his car having gone into a ditch in the Sussex countryside. Staggering through the snow, he manages to find refuge at Beechlands, a place that he assumes to be a mental institution from the behavior of the people out playing in the snow. However, it's merely a country house hotel redone in florid Rococo style by its owner, Mrs. Anabel Adams. Mrs. Adams has assembled a party of guests in honor of war hero Lawton Lawrence, but when "Lawty's" body is found in the snow, Parry finds himself on a busman's holiday. Everyone seems to have a reason to want the hero dead. Can Parry himself stay alive long enough to find the killer in the snowbound hotel?
This is the second of Sarsfield's three books that I've read, the first being Murder at Shots Hall. Sarsfield is as much of a mystery as her books, since she only wrote three, and no one knows what became of her. From the talent she showed us in these two Lane Parry mysteries, it's a shame we don't have more.
The setting of snowbound Beechlands is perfect. Although renovated in what Mrs. Adams believes to be a very tasteful (and very red) Rococo style, it is an old house with rambling hallways, doors leading everywhere, and secret passageways. The weather means that no one's able to leave, and Inspector Parry can't get anyone to come take over the investigation.
Sarsfield's main strength is in her characterizations. The cast here is particularly brilliant: the grande dame owner, the pickled war hero, a movie actress, potential investors, a couple of locals, a devoted servant, and others-- all of whom are hiding something, all of whom have possible motives for wanting Lawty dead. With the booze flowing freely, most of the cast resembles a flea circus on crack; none of them are capable of staying put, and they're constantly scuttling in and out of dark rooms on all the various floors of the hotel.
I was enjoying the setting and the antics of the characters so much that I didn't make an effort to keep a scorecard as to who may have done it. If I begin reading more vintage mysteries, it will be due to writers like Maureen Sarsfield. In my best Lawty Lawrence imitation, I raise a glass to her memory.
July 8, 2020
Fun in spots, sort of hellish in others. It's partially the setting, a hotel in a snowstorm that's slowly losing heat, light, etc, with people getting bumped off or stalked round every corner, and also the fact that those people are SO bizarre. Most of them are shrill or difficult. It's a little hard to take.
June 9, 2013
3.5 stars for this well-written, very atmospheric British mystery. I disliked most of the characters (as maybe I was supposed to?) so couldn't warm up my review for more stars, but I would love to read the other two books Maureen Sarsfield wrote before she mysteriously disappeared from the writing scene.
September 2, 2013
I lost interest 2/3 of the way into the book. Several of the characters as they were described were annoying. The writing began strong and interesting as the characters began to develop, however, the characters became predictive.
The setting was an old manor in a winter storm which I truly enjoy but gave up on page 120 or 190.
The setting was an old manor in a winter storm which I truly enjoy but gave up on page 120 or 190.
February 1, 2016
An excellent British Country Hotel murder mystery, with a typical plot - a group locked up in a snowstorm, one of them a murderer. What makes it shine is the cast of characters, and the camp humour. A cross between Agatha Christie and Phoebe Atwood Taylor. Great fun.
June 2, 2010
Locked in by weather in a rustic British country inn, a murderer strikes!!--a group of characters, all with secrets must cope until the murderer is caught, help arrives, or the murderer strikes again
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews