The Tartan Ringers

Lovejoy #10

by Jonathan Gash

Lovejoy Novel. Minor Creasing To Spine, Very Small Nick Bottom End. Sticker On Rear Cover, Overall Good.

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

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

John Grant is an English crime writer, who writes under the pen name Jonathan Gash. He is the author of the Lovejoy series of novels. He wrote the novel The Incomer under the pen name Graham Gaunt.

Grant is a doctor by training and worked as a general practitioner and pathologist. He served in the British Army and attained the rank of Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was head of bacteriology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the University of London between 1971 and 1988.

Grant won the John Creasey Award in 1977 for his first Lovejoy novel, The Judas Pair. He is also the author of a series of medical thrillers featuring the character Dr. Clare Burtonall.

Grant lives outside Colchester in Essex, the setting for many of his novels. He has also been published in Postscripts.

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this one because I was feeling like reading a "cozy mystery" and this book is part of a series that was adapted for TV in the 80s, which I used to watch a very, very long time ago.

The series followed the adventures of an antiques dealer who was not particularly honest and was always in trouble, but was deep down a generous soul and ended up uncovering forgers and criminals, all thanks to his knowledge of art history.

Incidentally, my daughter found this book in a resale shop and decided to buy it because the remembered that I had mentioned that series.

It was a good read, but the way I remember it, the main character was more likeable in the series than in the book and I also didn't enjoy the writing very much. Lots of slang and clearly dated. But it still deserves three stars because the mystery part is good and all the information about the antiques business, scams and forgeries is great.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovejoy must head to Scotland to clear his name and, as always, manages to sniff out antiques and romance numerous women along the way. It has been ten years since I read a Lovejoy book and I will not wait that long again. A twisty plot and some hilarious situations made this one of the best books in the series so far.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2013895.html[return][return]rather a nice story, Lovejoy being much more like the lovable rogue played by Ian McShane on TV than the duplicitous psychopath of the earlier books. Here he falls in with a Scottish landed family who have fallen on hard times, via a spell working in a circus, and sorts out their financial problems and dark long-held secrets. He also of course gets lots of intimate but not very explicitly described female companionship. (I think the word "breast" is used at one point, which is almost shocking.) It's a more pleasant read than many of the books, but also a bit less demanding.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The capers of a seedy antiques dealer in England. We learn many useful tips if you want to make two antique restored cabinets out of one, or get your odds and ends into a catalogued sale at a gentleman's mansion, for instance.

There is as always some mystery and connivance going on, but the gypsyish Lovejoy has a good heart and his cheery, chatty asides to the reader make us well disposed towards him and his friends, even if they are con artists.

[Ellen Oberkotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series. This one is a fun one, Lovejoy finding all sorts of troubles and stirring them up until they converge on him. Of course, he comes out safe but broke at the end.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read, written and set in the early 1980's so dated in a lot of ways. The story of antiques dealing rogue Lovejoy who's viewpoint it's told from. Shortly after this was written the Lovejoy character became a popular TV series. The shows were slightly toned down from the books, and Tinker became posh! He isn't posh here.

My main problem with the book was that we, the readers, were not there for the climactic auction, because Lovejoy had scarpered, again. He does a lot of scarpering. Plenty happens to keep you engaged; there are murders, thefts, boozing, cons, car chases, lusting, drunken sex, a circus and the fortune (or lack of it) of an unexpected highland laird. Maybe too many character in the plot and the circus convoy for total comprehensibility but who really cares? It's a good ride!

And this book is not PC in any way, get over it!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Lovejoy is in the highlands seeking the rare and the beautiful -- and looking for antiques as well

"Maybe it's because he's so good with fakes and women and so bad with taxes, but Lovejoy's antiques business is always getting him into trouble with the law. This time it starts with a bureau that he ordered from Scotland. It's supposed to be a fake but then the truck driver is killed and the bureau turns out to have been real, so Lovejoy sets out for Scotland to find out what's going on. Soon he's mixed up with the McGunn clan and their beautiful leader, the wheelchair-bound Miss Elaine -- and he's pulling off the biggest scam of his career."
~~back cover
Another galloping mystery, with Lovejoy on the hop from the law, the traveling circus, assorted antiques bad guys, and several ladies (as usual). But it's a good plot, and all's well that ends well.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting change of direction from Jonathan Gash as Lovejoy goes in search of a suspected killer rather than the book involving a scam. The plot involves revolves around fake furniture coming South in a lorry from Scotland. The furniture in this case is genuine and the lorry driver murdered. Lovejoy makes his way to the Highlands where he comes across the McNish clan who are turning out the fake furniture. Lovejoy goes under cover as he finds the truth while still keeping that roguish charm including some very funny one liners. As with his other books Gash just manages to tie the loose ends together with the plot involving numerous villains ending at the Edinburgh Festival.

[Jerstyn Morehay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully ungainly Lovejoy adventure, taking us from a roadside death to a carnival fairground battle to the title "paper job" mega-auction sale of the entire millennial artifactual -- and indeed "arti-fictional" -- legacy of an ancient Highlands estate. This is a fun one, but prepare to be confused as the cast of characters grow, allegiances shift, and perplexing events mount. Sifting fact from fiction, or sussing fakes from the genuine articles, is of course a Lovejoy specialty as the antiques game continues to be a deadly one, and who is ultimately playing who will ultimately be up to the reader to decide, even if he or she gets lost in the dizzying complexities of the plot.

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this in a second-hand book store. Lovejoy was on form as usual, winding his way up the country to bonny Scotland. As ever, the plot twists all over the place like the North Coast 500, but all joins up seamlessly in the end.
As ever, it's impossible to read this without Ian McShane popping into your head and winkingly breaking the fourth wall in every aside. Great fun!

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodgy antiques dealer Lovejoy once more finds himself getting involved in murder and mayhem revolving around antiques. yet another acquaintance of his is murdered. this time he travels to Scotland with a circus and then helps an impoverished highland family raise some money so they can hang onto the ancestral home. as usual there are lots of interesting snippets about antiques and their value, and also of course how to carry out various forgeries etc. Also as usual, every woman lovejoy meets throws herself at him, he has a level of success with women that makes james Bond look like a mere beginner by comparison. this is one of the most amusing of the series i have read so far, Lovejoy never fails to entertain.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid I found this book to be somewhat on the boring side and I found myself skipping over quite a bit towards the end. I didn't find this book as interesting antique-wise as previous entries nor did I enjoy the mystery part of it either.