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Inspector Thanet #12
No Laughing Matter
The 12th crime novel featuring the Kent policemen, Inspector Thanet and Sergeant Lineham. This time they are investigating the murder of a ruthless, promiscuous local vineyard owner. This novel won the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award.
263 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
273 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Simpson
37 books117 followersDorothy Preece Simpson writes...
"I was born and brought up in South Wales, went to Bridgend Grammar School and then on to Bristol University, where I read modern languages before moving to Kent, the background of the Thanet novels, to teach French at Dartford and Erith Grammar Schools.
Moving to the Maidstone area on my marriage, I then spent several years devoting myself to bringing up my three children. During that time I trained as a marriage guidance counsellor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years.
You may think that marriage guidance counsellor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realise it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counselling.
I began to write after a long illness in 1975. The success of my first book, a suspense novel called HARBINGERS OF FEAR, gave me sufficient impetus to carry me through the two rejections which followed - very disheartening at the time, but invaluable in retrospect.
It was during this period that I realised that the crime novel is of such diversity that it offers enormous scope to the writer and decided to attempt to lay the foundation for a series of detective novels in my next book. This was the THE NIGHT SHE DIED." This was the first in a 15 book series starring Detective Inspector Luke Thanet. Severe repetitive stress injury caused her to stop writing in 2000.
She is an award winning author, receiving a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain.
"I was born and brought up in South Wales, went to Bridgend Grammar School and then on to Bristol University, where I read modern languages before moving to Kent, the background of the Thanet novels, to teach French at Dartford and Erith Grammar Schools.
Moving to the Maidstone area on my marriage, I then spent several years devoting myself to bringing up my three children. During that time I trained as a marriage guidance counsellor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years.
You may think that marriage guidance counsellor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realise it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counselling.
I began to write after a long illness in 1975. The success of my first book, a suspense novel called HARBINGERS OF FEAR, gave me sufficient impetus to carry me through the two rejections which followed - very disheartening at the time, but invaluable in retrospect.
It was during this period that I realised that the crime novel is of such diversity that it offers enormous scope to the writer and decided to attempt to lay the foundation for a series of detective novels in my next book. This was the THE NIGHT SHE DIED." This was the first in a 15 book series starring Detective Inspector Luke Thanet. Severe repetitive stress injury caused her to stop writing in 2000.
She is an award winning author, receiving a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
January 19, 2022
This is a favorite series of mine and I'll be sad when I finish it. I find Inspector Thanet and his sergeant Mike Lineham a great team, and wonderful family men. This was a particularly gruesome murder, reminiscent of a Midsomer episode in more ways than one. I had started to connect the dots but was hitting a brick wall at one point so was somewhat surprised at the end.
August 27, 2016
Zak Randish, winemaker, is found dead as a result of a particularly gruesome murder. He was successful and ruthless and there seem to be signs that he was in the habit of beating his wife. His father-in-law clearly didn't have much time for him and his work colleagues seem to have had ambivalent feelings towards him. DI Luke Thanet and DS Mike Lineham must try and weed out those who couldn't have committed the murder but devastating secrets must be revealed before the murderer is discovered.
I found this a quite harrowing mystery to read as the victim seems almost to have deserved his fate, if anyone can be said to deserve being murdered and I had huge sympathy with the murderer. The story shows clearly the devastation that murder leaves behind in its wake. As ever Thanet and Lineham work well together and manage to put aside some problems in the private lives to concentrate on their work.
This is a well written and often thought provoking series and I am finding it very good reading. If you enjoy crime novels with little graphic violence - though the murder scene is quite horrible in this book - then you will probably enjoy this book and this series.
I found this a quite harrowing mystery to read as the victim seems almost to have deserved his fate, if anyone can be said to deserve being murdered and I had huge sympathy with the murderer. The story shows clearly the devastation that murder leaves behind in its wake. As ever Thanet and Lineham work well together and manage to put aside some problems in the private lives to concentrate on their work.
This is a well written and often thought provoking series and I am finding it very good reading. If you enjoy crime novels with little graphic violence - though the murder scene is quite horrible in this book - then you will probably enjoy this book and this series.
October 8, 2013
1993, #12 Inspector Luke Thanet, Sturrenden, Kent; cosy police procedural, three-and-one-half stars.
Grisly murder in a vineyard turns up loads of suspects in this neatly convoluted police procedural. Seems slightly formulaic if you’ve read others in the series, as certain bits recur (the way Thanet “works” with suspects, a snippet of his home life, a mental leap near the end that allows him to finally put all the pieces together, his relationship with his staff), but everything is first-class, resulting in a superbly blended, classic British style “murder among the rich’n’peculiar”, with a nice sense of humor and a tidy finale, genteel “sensibilities”, and some very likable characters.
The entire series is, IMO, overall one of the most satisfying and generally entertaining set of mysteries I’ve seen in a long time. Not as erudite as Sayers, not as academic as Innes, not as brusque as McBain, but comparable in quality.
Grisly murder in a vineyard turns up loads of suspects in this neatly convoluted police procedural. Seems slightly formulaic if you’ve read others in the series, as certain bits recur (the way Thanet “works” with suspects, a snippet of his home life, a mental leap near the end that allows him to finally put all the pieces together, his relationship with his staff), but everything is first-class, resulting in a superbly blended, classic British style “murder among the rich’n’peculiar”, with a nice sense of humor and a tidy finale, genteel “sensibilities”, and some very likable characters.
The entire series is, IMO, overall one of the most satisfying and generally entertaining set of mysteries I’ve seen in a long time. Not as erudite as Sayers, not as academic as Innes, not as brusque as McBain, but comparable in quality.
August 22, 2020
Now that I have finished this story, I realize why I allow time to pass between readings. This murder mystery literally brought tears to my eyes. What the ensuing investigation of the horrible, wretched Zak (good riddance to bad rubbish!) revealed caused such a horrible domino effect of badness. I must cleanse my palate with something fluffy like Jeeves & Wooster.
'Evening, Tenby,’ he said. ‘Which way?’ The man half turned to the left and pointed. ‘In that big building there, sir. The bottling plant. He’s in the laboratory.’ He paused, swallowed. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, sir.’ Thanet’s heart sank. He always dreaded the first sight of the corpse. There was something so poignant about the newly dead, separated by so short a span of time from those who still lived and breathed. Although he had succeeded remarkably well in concealing this weakness from his colleagues Thanet always had consciously to armour himself against that first, awful moment.
'Looks as though the victim fell through a window, cutting his throat in the process. There’s a lot of blood about. And glass everywhere.’ Bad, but it sounds as though I’ve seen far worse, thought Thanet. ‘Do we know who he is yet?’
‘Owner of the vineyard, sir. Chap called Randish.'
‘Bit tricky in there at the moment, sir,’ said one of the SOCOs to Thanet. ‘Never seen so much broken glass in my life. We took all the shots we needed of the body and then thought we’d finish taking the floor first so we could sweep up a bit.’ He handed Thanet and Lineham some heavy-duty plastic overshoes. They put them on. ‘We’ll be careful,’ said Thanet. ‘Just take a quick look.’ He turned to the patrolmen. ‘Who discovered the body?’
‘Chap called Vintage. He’s the assistant winemaker here.’
‘Appropriate name,’ said Lineham, with a grin. Thanet shot him a quelling glance. This is no laughing matter . At once, he regretted it. He was being unreasonable. Amongst policemen an apparently inappropriate levity was often a safety mechanism against the sordid reality of much of their work. He was too tense. The sooner the next few minutes were over, the better. ‘Where is Vintage?’
‘Down at the house, sir, with the victim’s wife.’
It was, he thought, an extraordinary way to earn a living. Here he sat, in a dead man’s chair at a dead man’s table, trying to feel his way into a dead man’s life. If anyone had asked him why he did it he supposed he’d say, well, someone has to. And if asked to elaborate, even knowing that he risked sounding grandiose, he’d say that some of us have to try to balance the scales of justice, or evil would flourish unchecked and the world would descend into anarchy. His own contribution towards the struggle might be small, but it was what gave meaning and purpose to his life.
Excerpt From: "No Laughing Matter" by Dorothy Simpson. Scribd.
This material may be protected by copyright.
Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/350565649
'Evening, Tenby,’ he said. ‘Which way?’ The man half turned to the left and pointed. ‘In that big building there, sir. The bottling plant. He’s in the laboratory.’ He paused, swallowed. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, sir.’ Thanet’s heart sank. He always dreaded the first sight of the corpse. There was something so poignant about the newly dead, separated by so short a span of time from those who still lived and breathed. Although he had succeeded remarkably well in concealing this weakness from his colleagues Thanet always had consciously to armour himself against that first, awful moment.
'Looks as though the victim fell through a window, cutting his throat in the process. There’s a lot of blood about. And glass everywhere.’ Bad, but it sounds as though I’ve seen far worse, thought Thanet. ‘Do we know who he is yet?’
‘Owner of the vineyard, sir. Chap called Randish.'
‘Bit tricky in there at the moment, sir,’ said one of the SOCOs to Thanet. ‘Never seen so much broken glass in my life. We took all the shots we needed of the body and then thought we’d finish taking the floor first so we could sweep up a bit.’ He handed Thanet and Lineham some heavy-duty plastic overshoes. They put them on. ‘We’ll be careful,’ said Thanet. ‘Just take a quick look.’ He turned to the patrolmen. ‘Who discovered the body?’
‘Chap called Vintage. He’s the assistant winemaker here.’
‘Appropriate name,’ said Lineham, with a grin. Thanet shot him a quelling glance. This is no laughing matter . At once, he regretted it. He was being unreasonable. Amongst policemen an apparently inappropriate levity was often a safety mechanism against the sordid reality of much of their work. He was too tense. The sooner the next few minutes were over, the better. ‘Where is Vintage?’
‘Down at the house, sir, with the victim’s wife.’
It was, he thought, an extraordinary way to earn a living. Here he sat, in a dead man’s chair at a dead man’s table, trying to feel his way into a dead man’s life. If anyone had asked him why he did it he supposed he’d say, well, someone has to. And if asked to elaborate, even knowing that he risked sounding grandiose, he’d say that some of us have to try to balance the scales of justice, or evil would flourish unchecked and the world would descend into anarchy. His own contribution towards the struggle might be small, but it was what gave meaning and purpose to his life.
Excerpt From: "No Laughing Matter" by Dorothy Simpson. Scribd.
This material may be protected by copyright.
Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/350565649
September 15, 2023
An excellent read. Recommended.
February 15, 2025
Luke Thanet and his faithful sidekick Sergeant Lineham are called to a local vineyard where the body of the owner, Zak Randish, is found among shattered glass in his laboratory and foul play is suspected. At first, there are too many suspects and the detectives have to set about whittling them down. Links to Thanet's daughter, Bridget, who is home for a long weekend having been thrown over by her boyfriend. Some twists and an unexpected ending.
It's a very good read of the straightforward detective type. Very good descriptive prose of the local area and the growing of British vines. Enjoyable 4 star read.
It's a very good read of the straightforward detective type. Very good descriptive prose of the local area and the growing of British vines. Enjoyable 4 star read.
May 12, 2019
A really quick read! Enjoyable story (obviously)
June 29, 2024
I’m really enjoying reading and rereading this series. The mysteries are light reading, but I particularly enjoy following the lives of Inspector Thanet’s family members. I also like the setting in the Kent countryside. Sadly, I am nearing the end of the series.
November 25, 2022
Lots of red herrings in this complicated case, all centered around a vain and egotistical man who laughed at the wrong time, to his detriment. You can count on Thanet and Lineham to follow every lead to the end, exposing all sorts of hidden stuff. But this time they didn’t come to the right conclusion on their own.
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December 30, 2023The publisher notes insist you don’t have to read this series in order, and I guess technically that’s right, but I’m glad I did. It’s true that the author doesn’t hearken back to previous books such that you feel left out or confused. So, you really can just read and enjoy this. But you gain good insights into the partnership of Inspector Thanet and his partner, Mike Lineham as well as the Thanet family.
Most people visit the fictional Sturrenden Vineyard to sample product and do the typical tourist-at-the-winery thing. The one time Inspector Thanet visited the place, it had everything to do with murder and nothing to do with tourism.
Someone savagely and brutally murdered Vineyard Owner Zak Randish. He toppled through a window, and there was blood and glass everywhere. But who would kill the guy? Thanet and Lineham unearth a group of people who could easily have killed him and loved it.
This is a slow but not boring British police procedural. Sometimes digging for clues is a one-door-at-a-time arduous process, but this author keeps it interesting. I didn’t guess at the end nor did I figure out the motivation early. This was a fun and engaging read. Looks like I have access to only three more books in the series. Darn. I’ll miss these people.
Most people visit the fictional Sturrenden Vineyard to sample product and do the typical tourist-at-the-winery thing. The one time Inspector Thanet visited the place, it had everything to do with murder and nothing to do with tourism.
Someone savagely and brutally murdered Vineyard Owner Zak Randish. He toppled through a window, and there was blood and glass everywhere. But who would kill the guy? Thanet and Lineham unearth a group of people who could easily have killed him and loved it.
This is a slow but not boring British police procedural. Sometimes digging for clues is a one-door-at-a-time arduous process, but this author keeps it interesting. I didn’t guess at the end nor did I figure out the motivation early. This was a fun and engaging read. Looks like I have access to only three more books in the series. Darn. I’ll miss these people.
February 16, 2024
I thought that in the US, this case would've been considered manslaughter and assault, but what do I know?
I categorized the suspects into three groups - those that I don't mind if they turn out to be the killer; those that I really, really don't want to be the killer; and those that don't really matter mainly because the book barely touches on them.
It actually surprised me that I figured out the connection before Thanet...long before Thanet. It seems obvious to me, considering how these books always follow the same patterns. Come on, he even found the . The only reason I did not "pick" the killer until the reveal was mainly because I did not want this person to be the killer.
SPOILERS
I would not be sad if one of these characters is the killer:
Those that probably don't matter one way or another:
Those that I really don't want to be the killer:
I categorized the suspects into three groups - those that I don't mind if they turn out to be the killer; those that I really, really don't want to be the killer; and those that don't really matter mainly because the book barely touches on them.
It actually surprised me that I figured out the connection before Thanet...long before Thanet. It seems obvious to me, considering how these books always follow the same patterns. Come on, he even found the . The only reason I did not "pick" the killer until the reveal was mainly because I did not want this person to be the killer.
SPOILERS
I would not be sad if one of these characters is the killer:
Those that probably don't matter one way or another:
Those that I really don't want to be the killer:
August 13, 2025
The death of a man in an English vineyard in the South Downs brings us to very attractive countryside. The people however are a mix, rural living and more sophisticated, good and sour.
When the body is found in an area covered with blood and glass, the immediate suspects should be checked for clothes and shoes that might be containing either, but somehow the police officer in charge manages to forget this on his visit to a house. This was written in 1983, I believe procedures would be much more rigorous now.
As always in crime stories at that time, we see that women and girls were treated badly and abused if men could get away with it.
This was an okay read, there is a background thread about a police officer's wife getting treatment for serious illness, which does make the cops more human.
When the body is found in an area covered with blood and glass, the immediate suspects should be checked for clothes and shoes that might be containing either, but somehow the police officer in charge manages to forget this on his visit to a house. This was written in 1983, I believe procedures would be much more rigorous now.
As always in crime stories at that time, we see that women and girls were treated badly and abused if men could get away with it.
This was an okay read, there is a background thread about a police officer's wife getting treatment for serious illness, which does make the cops more human.
April 14, 2018
These are nice little mysteries set in the 80's. The main inspector is a happily married man with two imperfect children. He spends long hours at work & therefore chooses to tell his wife about his cases so she feels part of it all. His partner is rather stiff & has a stiffer mother, then wife. They work well together & are very organized. There's no gratuitous violence, no sex, no cussing & that's a good thing. The author doesn't waste words or our time, she gets on with it. I like that each night the inspector goes home to his family, that they share their lives & struggles with the reader. It's what kept me reading all of them up to the final four. The final four had a serious price increase over the first 14 or so, why I don't know. I've sadly resolved not to read those as a result.
April 10, 2019
Zak Randish earned every enemy he had. Maybe he lasted as long as he did because he was so skilled at two things: winemaking and attracting the love of women. Finally, his very bloody corpse is discovered and Inspector Thanet is going to have to expose his misdeeds to find the killer. I enjoyed the psychological web woven by author Dorothy Simpson, and had a lot of sympathy for the suspects.
Read 2 times
Read 2 times
November 27, 2020
Complicated But Engrossing
This is another well written and enjoyable mystery by Dorothy Simpson. It's a bit more true to life than other mysteries she's written and I suspect that he draws heavily from her work as a marriage counselor in real life. I have it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because it introduces many characters all at once making it a challenge to remember how they relate to the murdered some maker.
This is another well written and enjoyable mystery by Dorothy Simpson. It's a bit more true to life than other mysteries she's written and I suspect that he draws heavily from her work as a marriage counselor in real life. I have it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because it introduces many characters all at once making it a challenge to remember how they relate to the murdered some maker.
March 7, 2019
I truly love this series. I like that the main character is flawed, his family is, and so are those around him. Life happens. I liked this book as the story deals with class, appearances, and how that reflects in murder and within inspector Thanet. Plot was well thought out, and the puzzle rang true.
September 6, 2019
Another good, quick read in the Inspector Thanet series.
In this one, a vineyard owner is found dead in the vineyard's laboratory. It looks as if he was attacked, but slipped and fell backwards through a glass window, shattering it and severing an artery.
I think this one was one of the better ones in the series.
In this one, a vineyard owner is found dead in the vineyard's laboratory. It looks as if he was attacked, but slipped and fell backwards through a glass window, shattering it and severing an artery.
I think this one was one of the better ones in the series.
April 18, 2024
The first Dorothy Simpson mystery for me. Found three of them, this one 1993 huddling together in a thrift store.
Author was an English-language writer of mystery novels, and a winner of a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain who died recently 2020 at the age of 87.
Well written and engaging. With a series team of two detectives.
Author was an English-language writer of mystery novels, and a winner of a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain who died recently 2020 at the age of 87.
Well written and engaging. With a series team of two detectives.
February 21, 2020
The motive was hidden for a good part of the story but the character of the murdered man was vile indeed. However, the identity of the murderer was a surprise. Well done if dated British police procedural.
October 11, 2020
I'm reading this series out of order, so it was a bit disconcerting that Thanet's children aged about `10 years since the last book I read, but this was still enjoyable. I like the characters and the story is well plotted and written.
February 27, 2021
This book is really elegantly written. I love how relatable and human the characters are. And the mystery here is pretty hard to sort out until the very end.
This is a great quick read. It stands fine alone, but works better as part of the series.
This is a great quick read. It stands fine alone, but works better as part of the series.
September 27, 2017
A good book in the Luke Thanet series, since I read it out of order the changes in his family wereun expected but it does not hurt the mystery.
November 19, 2017
Very good British police mystery about a murder in a winery. Lots of red herrings.
March 5, 2018
Fun afternoon read.
June 22, 2018
A strong story and character development as usual. If only the author hadn't shown her lack of understanding of anorexia in her descriptions of it.
December 21, 2018
In this book, we learn that Lineham is 34!!! Which means he was about 20 in the first book? How is that possible? It seems so young to be serving as Thanet's sergeant in murder cases...
January 30, 2020
Very well written, great twist on classic murder mysteries at the end and the response of the inspector to his own blindness.
September 7, 2020
True English Mystery
Love the characters in this series. Human and realistic circumstances as well as solutions. Curious habits of the English come through too
Love the characters in this series. Human and realistic circumstances as well as solutions. Curious habits of the English come through too
September 10, 2020
I actually worked this one out before the end. I am working my way through this series and it's interesting to see how the characters have grown and aged - that's part of its charm.
October 13, 2020
A perfectly fine book, but not much stuck in my mind. Sorry.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews