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George Gently Omnibus
The first four titles in the George Gently series at a great price.
GENTLY DOES IT: The last thing you need when you're on holiday is to become involved in a murder. For most people, that would easily qualify as the holiday from hell. For George Gently, it is a case of business as usual. The Chief Inspector's quiet Easter break in Norchester is rudely interrupted when a local timber merchant is found dead. His son, with whom he had been seen arguing, immediately becomes the prime suspect, although Gently is far from convinced of his guilt. Norchester City Police gratefully accept Gently's offer to help investigate the murder, but he soon clashes with Inspector Hansom, the officer in charge of the case. Hansom's idea of conclusive evidence appals Gently almost as much as Gently's thorough, detailed, methodical style of investigation exasperates Hansom, who considers the murder to be a straightforward affair.Locking horns with the local law is a distraction Gently can do without when he's on the trail of a killer.
GENTLY BY THE SHORE: You'll find plenty of bodies stretched out on a summer beach - but they're not usually dead...In a British seaside holiday resort at the height of the season, you would expect to find a promenade and a pier, maybe some donkeys, 'Kiss-Me-Quick' hats, candy floss and kids building sandcastles. You would not expect to find a naked corpse, punctured with stab wounds, lying on the sand.Chief Inspector George Gently is called in to investigate the disturbing murder. The case has to be wrapped up quickly to calm the nerves of concerned holidaymakers. No one wants to think that there is a maniac on the loose in the town but with no clothes or identifying marks on the body, Gently has a tough time establishing who the victim is, let alone finding the killer. In the meantime, who knows where or when the murderer might strike again?
GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM: Time spent messing about on the river isn't supposed to end with a brutal murder.The staff at Stoley's Boatyard were used to holidaymakers returning their pleasure cruisers a little late after a week or so exploring the network of waterways around Norchester. They were not used to finding their yachts burned almost beyond recognition with the charred remains of a client still aboard.Taking on the murder investigation, Chief Inspector George Gently faces an enquiry like no other he has ever handled. Somewhere beneath the lies of the victim's wife, somewhere obscured by the brittle edge of her daughter's fear, somewhere hidden by her son's hysteria, lies the truth. Gently's only hope is to sweep aside the litter of chaos and confusion to uncover the identity of the killer.
LANDED GENTLY: Having been invited to spend Christmas in the country, fishing for pike, Gently finds himself hunting a completely different predator when a guest at Merely Hall, a nearby stately home, is found dead at the foot of the grand staircase on Christmas morning.At first the tragedy is assumed to be a simple accident, but Gently is not one to jump to conclusions and is soon in no doubt whatsoever that this was murder. Merely produces the finest tapestries in England but the threads that Gently must unravel in his investigation are more complex than any weaver's design, with everyone from the lord of the manor to his most lowly servant falling under suspicion.
GENTLY DOES IT: The last thing you need when you're on holiday is to become involved in a murder. For most people, that would easily qualify as the holiday from hell. For George Gently, it is a case of business as usual. The Chief Inspector's quiet Easter break in Norchester is rudely interrupted when a local timber merchant is found dead. His son, with whom he had been seen arguing, immediately becomes the prime suspect, although Gently is far from convinced of his guilt. Norchester City Police gratefully accept Gently's offer to help investigate the murder, but he soon clashes with Inspector Hansom, the officer in charge of the case. Hansom's idea of conclusive evidence appals Gently almost as much as Gently's thorough, detailed, methodical style of investigation exasperates Hansom, who considers the murder to be a straightforward affair.Locking horns with the local law is a distraction Gently can do without when he's on the trail of a killer.
GENTLY BY THE SHORE: You'll find plenty of bodies stretched out on a summer beach - but they're not usually dead...In a British seaside holiday resort at the height of the season, you would expect to find a promenade and a pier, maybe some donkeys, 'Kiss-Me-Quick' hats, candy floss and kids building sandcastles. You would not expect to find a naked corpse, punctured with stab wounds, lying on the sand.Chief Inspector George Gently is called in to investigate the disturbing murder. The case has to be wrapped up quickly to calm the nerves of concerned holidaymakers. No one wants to think that there is a maniac on the loose in the town but with no clothes or identifying marks on the body, Gently has a tough time establishing who the victim is, let alone finding the killer. In the meantime, who knows where or when the murderer might strike again?
GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM: Time spent messing about on the river isn't supposed to end with a brutal murder.The staff at Stoley's Boatyard were used to holidaymakers returning their pleasure cruisers a little late after a week or so exploring the network of waterways around Norchester. They were not used to finding their yachts burned almost beyond recognition with the charred remains of a client still aboard.Taking on the murder investigation, Chief Inspector George Gently faces an enquiry like no other he has ever handled. Somewhere beneath the lies of the victim's wife, somewhere obscured by the brittle edge of her daughter's fear, somewhere hidden by her son's hysteria, lies the truth. Gently's only hope is to sweep aside the litter of chaos and confusion to uncover the identity of the killer.
LANDED GENTLY: Having been invited to spend Christmas in the country, fishing for pike, Gently finds himself hunting a completely different predator when a guest at Merely Hall, a nearby stately home, is found dead at the foot of the grand staircase on Christmas morning.At first the tragedy is assumed to be a simple accident, but Gently is not one to jump to conclusions and is soon in no doubt whatsoever that this was murder. Merely produces the finest tapestries in England but the threads that Gently must unravel in his investigation are more complex than any weaver's design, with everyone from the lord of the manor to his most lowly servant falling under suspicion.
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First published April 1, 2012
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About the author
Alan Hunter
104 books63 followersAlan Hunter was born at Hoveton, Norfolk and went to school across the River Bure in Wroxham. He left school at 14 and worked on his father's farm near Norwich. He enjoyed dinghy sailing on the Norfolk Broads, wrote natural history notes for the local newspaper, and wrote poetry, some of which was published while he was in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
He married, in 1944, Adelaide Cooper, who survives him with their daughter. After the war he managed the antiquarian books department of Charles Cubitt in Norwich. Four years later, in 1950, he established his own bookshop on Maddermarket in the city.
From 1955 until 1998 he published a Gently detective novel nearly every year. He retired to Brundall in Norfolk where he continued his interests in local history, natural history, and sailing
He married, in 1944, Adelaide Cooper, who survives him with their daughter. After the war he managed the antiquarian books department of Charles Cubitt in Norwich. Four years later, in 1950, he established his own bookshop on Maddermarket in the city.
From 1955 until 1998 he published a Gently detective novel nearly every year. He retired to Brundall in Norfolk where he continued his interests in local history, natural history, and sailing
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 16, 2016
I like the BBC TV series and decided to try the books. It was a good choice.
There are 46 books written by an antiquarian book dealer who became an author after WWII. They begin in the late 1950s and continue until the 1980s. They are great fun to read and in their own way are a glimpse into the middle of the 20th century like the Sherlock Holmes books are for Victorian era England.
The writing is not of the hard boiled, blunt crime stopper ilk. It is very descriptive and great fun to read. Things like:
“Within the circle of light two grotesque figures were hopping and gyrating. Ponderous, massive, yet with a sort of elfin agility, they gave the impression of something non-human, of mindless animals caught in a bewitched pattern.
“The north-east subrubs were crawling by on either hand, frosty deserts of streets and yards, dusted and parceled with misty light. Hatched along the line came row after row of slum properties, their obscene backs lit dimly from uncurtained windows.”
The mysteries are not so much mysteries as tellings. The redoubtable Chief Inspector Gently always has his peppermint creams and pipe. He likes to eat and drink tea and ask simple questions. There is organized crime, genetically spent English lords, and many times the sea and the riverbank alder carrs of eastern England as characters.
If you wish to step away to another time and place and see it lay across the page while you follow an unfolding mystery with characters who speak like you are there, pick up a Gently book.
There are 46 books written by an antiquarian book dealer who became an author after WWII. They begin in the late 1950s and continue until the 1980s. They are great fun to read and in their own way are a glimpse into the middle of the 20th century like the Sherlock Holmes books are for Victorian era England.
The writing is not of the hard boiled, blunt crime stopper ilk. It is very descriptive and great fun to read. Things like:
“Within the circle of light two grotesque figures were hopping and gyrating. Ponderous, massive, yet with a sort of elfin agility, they gave the impression of something non-human, of mindless animals caught in a bewitched pattern.
“The north-east subrubs were crawling by on either hand, frosty deserts of streets and yards, dusted and parceled with misty light. Hatched along the line came row after row of slum properties, their obscene backs lit dimly from uncurtained windows.”
The mysteries are not so much mysteries as tellings. The redoubtable Chief Inspector Gently always has his peppermint creams and pipe. He likes to eat and drink tea and ask simple questions. There is organized crime, genetically spent English lords, and many times the sea and the riverbank alder carrs of eastern England as characters.
If you wish to step away to another time and place and see it lay across the page while you follow an unfolding mystery with characters who speak like you are there, pick up a Gently book.
May 30, 2014
I'm a great devotee of Tey, an aficionado of Wentworth, and was delighted to discover another writer of mid-century mysteries in Alan Hunter. The pace of the novels is leisurely, as the semi-sensational plots wander through richly described landscapes and interiors, and vividly sketched cameo characters wander in and out. The peppermint-cream-chewing, pipe-smoking Chief Inspector has a passion for justice belied by his phlegmatic temperament. None of this may be particularly original in literary terms, but it's pleasing, and Hunter does craft some lovely sentences. All that said: in these four novels, I did not find a single female character with significant agency or interest; where women are of significance to the plot, it's almost invariably because of their emotional involvement with their family members or love interests. Also, there is something unsettling to me about the (apparent) assumptions of Hunter as an author, writing in the mid-50s, that the subtle and blatant lines drawn based on class, on gender, on race, etc. are set to endure, and somehow arising from elemental conditions, or persisting from a past that is, on the whole, reassuringly continuous. I read a fair bit of popular fiction from this period, as well as more "literary" works, and I think this is more a symptom of the author than his historical moment; I think these Gently novels would be more interesting if they treated the ideas (as well as the furniture and towns and clothing and accents) of that time with more specificity. I like the writing enough that I'll probably read a few more in the series to see if Hunter does add such nuance.
June 27, 2015
Gently Done
I found George Gently through the TV series, and have enjoyed reading the original novels, although there is not much commonality between the two. I struggle a bit with written dialects of various parts of Great Britain ... and Mr Hunter has a very odd idea of how Americans speak, but despite this, the stories are solid and a good bit of fun.
I found George Gently through the TV series, and have enjoyed reading the original novels, although there is not much commonality between the two. I struggle a bit with written dialects of various parts of Great Britain ... and Mr Hunter has a very odd idea of how Americans speak, but despite this, the stories are solid and a good bit of fun.
July 27, 2022
It took a while for me to get into these but when I did I really enjoyed them. Its not often you can describe books about murder/s as gentle, but these are just that.
If GR was working and let me submit reviews on a computer I'd put something in for each book, but it's not and I cannot be arsed to write a proper review on a phone, so I'll just say Landed was the weakest but I'd still like to read more of the books.
If GR was working and let me submit reviews on a computer I'd put something in for each book, but it's not and I cannot be arsed to write a proper review on a phone, so I'll just say Landed was the weakest but I'd still like to read more of the books.
September 1, 2020
Great whodunnit
Great whodunnit. All 4 books were engaging and easy reads. The first 2 books similar in style with tegards to the murdrers mannerisms but all 4 books very good. Will read more.
Great whodunnit. All 4 books were engaging and easy reads. The first 2 books similar in style with tegards to the murdrers mannerisms but all 4 books very good. Will read more.
March 25, 2021
I don’t remember how many of these books I read, maybe 2? But clearly, after all this time, I am not motivated to finish the others.
Currently reading
September 27, 2021working my way slowly through the series, I stop an start these reads..at bus stops, etc. great character insights and into human nature,
May 6, 2022
A good read
July 28, 2015
A grand delight to read and get to know George Gently.
Alan Hunter's George Gently character is a man on a mission. He thinks about all the facts and studies the character in each story with a slow and observant passion for the truth. Looking at all around him with diligence and willing to change course when needed. If a well written mystery is what you want....this collection is one you should read.
Alan Hunter's George Gently character is a man on a mission. He thinks about all the facts and studies the character in each story with a slow and observant passion for the truth. Looking at all around him with diligence and willing to change course when needed. If a well written mystery is what you want....this collection is one you should read.
August 9, 2013
Enjoyed these, although the writing can be a bit archaic (written in the '50s--who knew "distemper" isn't just a disease striking pets?). The character of Gently, though baring none of the accoutrements of the TV one (dead wife, Jensen auto) has the same laid back demeanor. If you like British mysteries, they're worthwhile. And Hunter wrote dozens of them. Not all were written in the 50s!
October 15, 2017
Definitely not my favorite in this series.
Too philosophical for me. All the blathering about the old order and the new and sacrificing oneself for a crazy viewpoint made zero sense to me. The history of the English peers' houses surely proves that among them were all types as well as among those who are not peers of the realm. Silly to my mind.
Too philosophical for me. All the blathering about the old order and the new and sacrificing oneself for a crazy viewpoint made zero sense to me. The history of the English peers' houses surely proves that among them were all types as well as among those who are not peers of the realm. Silly to my mind.
December 11, 2012
The first four Gently novels, these were written in the 1950s. To some extent that shows as they feel rather dated and pedestrian in parts. But the carefully constructed plots and thinly disguised East Anglian locations still make for an entertaining read.
September 21, 2015
These books presented George Gently as a character not at all like the TV series inspector and I actually liked it better for that. I think you would have to like see a plot worked out to enjoy the book, which I did.
July 3, 2015
Good tales. Gentle pace. No gory descriptions.....seems a different character to the Inspector Gently portrayed on TV by the excellent Martin Shaw
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews