What do you think?
Rate this book
Joe Sandilands #6
Tug of War
1926. The war-ravaged vineyards of France. In this masterpiece of suspense from CWA Historical Dagger Award–winner Barbara Cleverly, a nameless soldier plunges Scotland Yard inspector Joe Sandilands into a shifting world of deception, rage, and murder.…
A well-earned vacation takes a sharp detour when Sandilands is called to France, where a shell-shocked patient—a tragic casualty of war—is in the throes of a violent nightmare. Trying to determine the mystery man’s identity proves a difficult, internationally delicate several families are claiming the unknown soldier as their own.
But it is at a famed château, where the wine flows and disturbing secrets abound, that Sandilands meets a woman who takes his investigation in a chillingly different direction. Strong-willed and alluring Aline Houdart’s husband has been missing and presumed dead for nearly ten years. Her true motives are as elusive as the truth about a long-ago night…when a horrific crime was committed and lives changed forever. Now Sandilands, an ex-soldier himself, a man who has seen his share of bloodshed and sorrow, is waging his own battle for justice. It is a fight for his fallen comrades that will unmask a killer. Or bury the truth forever…
A well-earned vacation takes a sharp detour when Sandilands is called to France, where a shell-shocked patient—a tragic casualty of war—is in the throes of a violent nightmare. Trying to determine the mystery man’s identity proves a difficult, internationally delicate several families are claiming the unknown soldier as their own.
But it is at a famed château, where the wine flows and disturbing secrets abound, that Sandilands meets a woman who takes his investigation in a chillingly different direction. Strong-willed and alluring Aline Houdart’s husband has been missing and presumed dead for nearly ten years. Her true motives are as elusive as the truth about a long-ago night…when a horrific crime was committed and lives changed forever. Now Sandilands, an ex-soldier himself, a man who has seen his share of bloodshed and sorrow, is waging his own battle for justice. It is a fight for his fallen comrades that will unmask a killer. Or bury the truth forever…
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
17 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Cleverly
45 books230 followersBarbara Cleverly was born in the north of England and is a graduate of Durham University. A former teacher, she has spent her working life in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; she now lives in Cambridge. She has one son and five step-children.
Her Joe Sandilands series of books set against the background of the British Raj was inspired by the contents of a battered old tin trunk that she found in her attic. Out of it spilled two centuries of memories of a family – especially a great uncle who spent a lot of time in India – whose exploits and achievements marched in time with the flowering of the British Empire.
Her Joe Sandilands series of books set against the background of the British Raj was inspired by the contents of a battered old tin trunk that she found in her attic. Out of it spilled two centuries of memories of a family – especially a great uncle who spent a lot of time in India – whose exploits and achievements marched in time with the flowering of the British Empire.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
April 10, 2021
Tug of War by Barbara Cleverly is the sixth book in the Joe Sandilands mystery series, set in post-WWI France. Joe is ready for a well-deserved, long overdue vacation. He'll travel through France, see war memorials, revisit sites with personal wartime memories. He'll also fulfill a family obligation: deliver his 'honorary niece' Dorcas to her father in southern France.
Joe reluctantly agrees to an assignment piggybacked onto his vacation. A severely shell-shocked, mute prisoner of war is at a French clinic. Three different French families claim him, but he might be an Englishman. Joe must determine the man's identity if possible, or at least if he is from England.
As he would interview suspects in a murder case and weigh their statements, Joe interviews all who claim 'Thibaud' (the doctor's nickname). He cannot belong to all of them; who's lying, and why? (probably for a war pension). Joe and Dorcas stay at an estate in Champagne, eating and drinking very well. In the end, there is a murder mystery for Joe to solve, too.
The best part of this mystery is Dorcas, a feisty young 14-year-old. At first Joe tries to shelter her from grim reality; she surprises him as she boldly uncovers key clues. I hope she appears again in the series.
Fascinating historical anecdotes are interspersed with the fictional plot to vividly describe wartime and post-war atmosphere. Dorcas, enthralled with how colorful the French countryside is, feels its post-war recovery outpaces 'gray, dreary England'.
Joe reluctantly agrees to an assignment piggybacked onto his vacation. A severely shell-shocked, mute prisoner of war is at a French clinic. Three different French families claim him, but he might be an Englishman. Joe must determine the man's identity if possible, or at least if he is from England.
As he would interview suspects in a murder case and weigh their statements, Joe interviews all who claim 'Thibaud' (the doctor's nickname). He cannot belong to all of them; who's lying, and why? (probably for a war pension). Joe and Dorcas stay at an estate in Champagne, eating and drinking very well. In the end, there is a murder mystery for Joe to solve, too.
The best part of this mystery is Dorcas, a feisty young 14-year-old. At first Joe tries to shelter her from grim reality; she surprises him as she boldly uncovers key clues. I hope she appears again in the series.
Fascinating historical anecdotes are interspersed with the fictional plot to vividly describe wartime and post-war atmosphere. Dorcas, enthralled with how colorful the French countryside is, feels its post-war recovery outpaces 'gray, dreary England'.
July 20, 2011
I remain a fan of this series, but this particular entry disappointed a bit. First, I am not a big fan of the Precocious Young Person, especially the PYP as deus ex machina, and I'd have liked this book a whole lot more had Dorcas not been in it, or had she been given a much, much smaller role. Second, I thought the author really tried to have her cake and eat it too, with the ending. With regard to one of the major characters: is the person cruel, two-timing and a liar, or not? I know human beings are very complex and that Cleverly often gives her characters both good and bad traits. But, at the end of the day, despite the gray areas, she either approves of a character or she doesn't, and I think she forgave too much of one character, painted another rather too darkly, and had us take a third, hardly disinterested, character's word undeservedly at face value. In other words, I think she wrote herself into a corner with this one and had to force a "satisfying" ending. But, as I said, I'll still be in for the next ride with Joe Sandilands at the helm!
February 20, 2019
I am a huge fan of Barbara Cleverly books. One of my favorite series from Cleverly involves the main character of Joe Sandilands, a WWI veteran and Scotland Yard detective. I enjoy the historical settings and reading about this time period in history. The mysteries themselves are very intriguing and completely satisfying for my love of British mystery. Tug of War was a true to form and a great read.
August 13, 2007
TUG OF WAR (Licensed Investigator-France-1926) – VG
Cleverly, Barbara – 6th in series
Constable, 2006-Hardcover
*** Commander Joe Sandilands is planning to take his 14-year-old niece, Dorcas, to be reunited with her father in the South of France. However, his superior has asked that he stop in Reims. A former soldier, suffering from shell shock, residing at a local sanatorium, is being claimed as the husband of a wealthy owner of a champagne vineyard. The woman’s son claims his mother murdered her husband and sealed his body behind a wall. Another complication comes from four other people who also claim the soldier and the patient’s doctor who believes the soldier may be English rather than French. With the soldier’s considerable pension and well-being involved, it is important the right identity be made.
*** I am a huge fan of Cleverly’s books. She really knows how to set the stage and give the reader a sense of physical, emotional and political place. Along with Charles Todd and Anne Perry, she writes about the horror of WWI and its impact on those who fought and lived it. She creates strong, smart, interesting characters, particularly Sandilands and Dorcas, but all her characters have dimension with dialogue that has a natural flow. But the core of it all is a good, solid traditional mystery that kept me turning the pages in the non-stop read. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.
Cleverly, Barbara – 6th in series
Constable, 2006-Hardcover
*** Commander Joe Sandilands is planning to take his 14-year-old niece, Dorcas, to be reunited with her father in the South of France. However, his superior has asked that he stop in Reims. A former soldier, suffering from shell shock, residing at a local sanatorium, is being claimed as the husband of a wealthy owner of a champagne vineyard. The woman’s son claims his mother murdered her husband and sealed his body behind a wall. Another complication comes from four other people who also claim the soldier and the patient’s doctor who believes the soldier may be English rather than French. With the soldier’s considerable pension and well-being involved, it is important the right identity be made.
*** I am a huge fan of Cleverly’s books. She really knows how to set the stage and give the reader a sense of physical, emotional and political place. Along with Charles Todd and Anne Perry, she writes about the horror of WWI and its impact on those who fought and lived it. She creates strong, smart, interesting characters, particularly Sandilands and Dorcas, but all her characters have dimension with dialogue that has a natural flow. But the core of it all is a good, solid traditional mystery that kept me turning the pages in the non-stop read. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.
August 31, 2014
This really was a 4+ star -- but, alas, I don't know how to do that!
After my great disappointment with Sandilands #5, I'm happy to say that, although Joe is not back in India, this was a great read for several reasons.
First, Cleverly restored her amazing "sense of place" when she took Joe to France where he had fought in the war. Somehow, for me, the last novel lost that sense of place that it always had in India which is one of the reasons I read this author. The descriptions of France in relationship with the war and its aftermath were wonderful showing me that it isn't just India, but Cleverly's ability to make a place come alive which didn't happen in the last book.
Second, the pairing of Joe and the young Dorcas from the previous novel was brilliant. The author had sense to make this child an equal to her main character. He had certainly met his match. Short of finding Joe involved in a romance, it provided the amusement and insight needed to deepen the story. The playoff between the characters was wonderful. I hope we have more Dorcas to come.
I'm thrilled that I don't have to stop reading these wonderful novels.
After my great disappointment with Sandilands #5, I'm happy to say that, although Joe is not back in India, this was a great read for several reasons.
First, Cleverly restored her amazing "sense of place" when she took Joe to France where he had fought in the war. Somehow, for me, the last novel lost that sense of place that it always had in India which is one of the reasons I read this author. The descriptions of France in relationship with the war and its aftermath were wonderful showing me that it isn't just India, but Cleverly's ability to make a place come alive which didn't happen in the last book.
Second, the pairing of Joe and the young Dorcas from the previous novel was brilliant. The author had sense to make this child an equal to her main character. He had certainly met his match. Short of finding Joe involved in a romance, it provided the amusement and insight needed to deepen the story. The playoff between the characters was wonderful. I hope we have more Dorcas to come.
I'm thrilled that I don't have to stop reading these wonderful novels.
June 24, 2011
This mystery, set in France nine years after the close of the Great War, was atmospheric, full of wonderful characters and a wonderful puzzle to the last page. I don't know how I have missed Joe Sandilands all this time. He is a wonderful combination of the perspicacity of Christie detective and the dogged appeal of Daniel Craig's version of James Bond. And his niece Dorcas provided a marvelous albeit precocious foil for him to talk things over with between interviews. The plot revolves around a mysterious survivor of the war who suffers from an extreme case of shell shock added to amnesia, apparently. He sits inert in a mental hospital in Reims while four claimants fight over him. Who is he and to whom does he belong? This is important because France pays a healthy stipend to survivors' families for taking care of these walking dead. The French hope he's English, the English hope to straighten out the mystery. Enter Sandilands to interview all the claimants and separate fact from fiction. His solution is quite satisfactory.
May 22, 2015
TUG OF WAR, the sixth novel in Barbara Cleverly’s series of historical mysteries featuring Scotland Yard Commander Joe Sandilands, is a sheer delight. Rich in historical detail, meticulously drawn scenes, and fully realized characters, the story unfolds primarily in post-WWI France. While traveling on personal business in France, Sandilands is asked by the British War Office to look into the puzzle posed by a hospitalized veteran suffering from shell shock and amnesia whose identity is unknown.
There are numerous questions and complications, including the patient’s nationality: Is he French or British? There is also the matter of competing claims: No fewer than five families, spurred on by the prospect of a generous pension for the injured soldier, say he is their missing relative. Stir in an accusation of a long-ago murder, and the mystery quickens. Intricately plotted while refreshingly light on gratuitous blood and gore, TUG OF WAR is a captivating and immensely enjoyable read.
There are numerous questions and complications, including the patient’s nationality: Is he French or British? There is also the matter of competing claims: No fewer than five families, spurred on by the prospect of a generous pension for the injured soldier, say he is their missing relative. Stir in an accusation of a long-ago murder, and the mystery quickens. Intricately plotted while refreshingly light on gratuitous blood and gore, TUG OF WAR is a captivating and immensely enjoyable read.
October 3, 2017
This particular entry in the series was somewhat predictable and I knew how the resolution of the mystery was going to play out before the author had even laid out all the clues. Again, not my favorite time period historically (1920's) and I find it odd how the author keeps finding strange cases for the main character to solve that have nothing to do with his actual work as a policeman.
Still, these books read quickly and are well written and thus I plan to continue reading on even if they are getting somewhat ho-hum. They're a little tricky to get hold of without buying them, so if it's many months between this and the next, it will be just fine.
Still, these books read quickly and are well written and thus I plan to continue reading on even if they are getting somewhat ho-hum. They're a little tricky to get hold of without buying them, so if it's many months between this and the next, it will be just fine.
December 16, 2017
Absolutely fantastic sixth story in Barbara Cleverly's books featuring Joe Sandilands. Tug of War has Joe returning to post-WWI France to sort out the identity of an anonymous soldier and resolve a murder-mystery along the way.
September 23, 2017
Clever, well-constructed mystery with enough "twists" to keep me interested. The ending, while satisfying, could have been "fleshed out" a bit more!
November 4, 2020
Sandilands and the redoubtable smart and sassy Dorcas were to France. Joe to visit war memorials and pay tribute to fallen comrades and 'niece' Dorcas ~ having been unofficially adopted by Lydia, Joe's sister, as her oldest daughter ~ were to rejoin her family in Provence. Privy to such plans, Joe's boss 'asked' him to make a detour to Reims and verify the nationality of a late~release POW from a German camp suffering from what we now refer to as PTSD... speaking the 'King's English' in his nightmares but otherwise, mute... for there was also a tug of war among the 4 seemingly legitimate claimants of this nameless soldier owing to the publicity generated when his overzealous doctor put his image on the newspapers and most still grieving and/or in denial also those with dubious claims women thought him to be their MIA son, father, brother, husband or sweetheart. Dorcas proved to be a very good assistant detective to her Uncle Joe when she was not acting like a second Lydia. There were a lot to process here emotionally ~ the ability of the French people to rally during constant crises... their land, homes, crops, livelihood trampled and violently ravaged by war... their men (people) wasted. This part encapsulated Joe's pilgrimage... then there was his assignment that was also a mirror of mankind's baser inclinations ~ like greed and revenge yet there was also love... the true and undying kind. Another very good mystery~adventure... made poignant by stories of the ancient Greeks in the Battle of Salamis and the banned song of the Mutineers of Craonne during the Great War... their senseless deaths by the thousands when their own comrades had orders to execute them... and all empathized by the reader.
December 18, 2017
After reading 6 books in the Joe Sandilands series, I finally was able to unravel most of the mystery! Joe is asked to interview four French families who believe that an amnesia victim & former WWI soldier is a long-lost relative. The man is mute except recently when having a nightmare,he spoke in English. Now the French powers-that-be think he might be an English soldier, which would solve all their problems and send him off to England for them to deal with. That is what Joe is supposed to investigate, but it is very difficult and becomes more convoluted as he discusses the man's supposed background with all the various claimants. Finally, he comes to the Chateau de Sept Fontaines and meets Aline Houdart, and her teenage son, Georges. There ensues some plot thickenings as Joe has also brought along his 15 year-old honorary "niece," Dorcas Joliffe (see review of The Bee's Kiss.) Even though the tale is complex and takes many an unexpected turn, for once I was able to see ahead to what had actually happened 10 years previously! Still, it was touch and go to the very end!
Note: The first four books which take place in India reveal a markedly different and more intense Joe than do the later books set outside of India. Joe still seems only nominally attached to Scotland Yard and he takes more vacations than anyone!
Note: The first four books which take place in India reveal a markedly different and more intense Joe than do the later books set outside of India. Joe still seems only nominally attached to Scotland Yard and he takes more vacations than anyone!
July 16, 2024
Commander Joe Sandiland has a new assignment. He is in the London War Office; the year 1s 1926. He is being sent on a mission to France.
It seems a man of mystery has been found wandering around a railway station. No one knows who he is. It is thought he may be a late release from a German prison war camp for the mentally ill. An article has been placed in the French newspaper telling about this man, asking if anyone knows him. The trouble is that over a thousand families in France have claimed him! One of the reasons he is being claimed is that the man is owed over eight years of back pay, an incentive. Also, many women are trying to claim any man.
The claimants have been sifted down to four now. One is a war widow who says she is his mother. Second is a woman who says she had a relationship with the man and can identify marks on his body. Third is a whole family who says he is the missing son. Fourth is a war widow who owns a champagne estate. Joe is being brought in to help since the man screamed some words in English.
Joe and a French officer are to liaise on the case along with the asylum director to determine to whom this man belongs. This is a daunting case. Joe ends up visiting each of the four claimants, trying to come to a decision.
This ended up being an even better mystery than I hoped.
It seems a man of mystery has been found wandering around a railway station. No one knows who he is. It is thought he may be a late release from a German prison war camp for the mentally ill. An article has been placed in the French newspaper telling about this man, asking if anyone knows him. The trouble is that over a thousand families in France have claimed him! One of the reasons he is being claimed is that the man is owed over eight years of back pay, an incentive. Also, many women are trying to claim any man.
The claimants have been sifted down to four now. One is a war widow who says she is his mother. Second is a woman who says she had a relationship with the man and can identify marks on his body. Third is a whole family who says he is the missing son. Fourth is a war widow who owns a champagne estate. Joe is being brought in to help since the man screamed some words in English.
Joe and a French officer are to liaise on the case along with the asylum director to determine to whom this man belongs. This is a daunting case. Joe ends up visiting each of the four claimants, trying to come to a decision.
This ended up being an even better mystery than I hoped.
May 14, 2020
Another Covid lockdown read from my home collection. Loved the Sandilands books set in India but wondered if I’d like them once back in Europe. Have not read the first of the post-India titles but this one did not suffer from the gap. Joe is on vacation to France but is seconded to do a little investigating for the French government. Along for the ride is his foster niece, a precocious and worldly wise 16 year old who proves to be a great investigative partner for Joe. The story was surprisingly enjoyable but having read this right after finishing An Unmarked Grave I had a little trouble separating similar events in my mind. Really must mix up my period settings a little more.
May 10, 2019
And we get back Cleverly's sense of place which was what attract me in first place to this series. In this book Joe is in France, where he had fought, nine years after the WWI.
I also enjoyed Joe's niece Dorcas, whom we met in the previous book, and their relationship, in which both have something to offer.
The plot revolves around a soldier suffering from an extreme case of shell shock and amnesia and the claims from five differents families, all of them mainteining that he is a lost relative. The fact that there is a healthy pension for those who take care of him (if he is a French soldier) might have something to do with it.
The plot is intricate and captivating and I really enjoyed the story.
I also enjoyed Joe's niece Dorcas, whom we met in the previous book, and their relationship, in which both have something to offer.
The plot revolves around a soldier suffering from an extreme case of shell shock and amnesia and the claims from five differents families, all of them mainteining that he is a lost relative. The fact that there is a healthy pension for those who take care of him (if he is a French soldier) might have something to do with it.
The plot is intricate and captivating and I really enjoyed the story.
March 25, 2021
Joe is headed off on holiday, taking young Dorcas, his foster niece, to the Riviera to reunite her with her family. But then he is given an assignment to help the French authorities determine the identity of a mute former soldier — after his photo was published in the newspapers, no less than four families claimed him as a missing member. But during a nightmare he spoke — in English? So might he actually be English? This book provides a fascinating look at post-World War I France, as they rebuild. The characters are interesting and the plot imaginative, combining to make a book that is hard to put down. Recommended.
October 17, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Since Downton Abbey, I have become very fascinated with this era of history. This book fits right in. It is a search for the identity of a shell-shocked soldier several years after the completion of World War I. The search has been narrowed down to the families of four claimants. Commander Joe Sandilands (a key figure in Cleverly’s previous five books) is dispatched to assist in unraveling this mystery. The descriptions of France and the citizens who fought and lived during The Great War are very compelling.
December 4, 2020
A man is sitting in a mental hospital in France. No identification, no response to visitors or doctors. Four families are claiming him as long-lost lover or husband or son. In his occasional nightmares he uses English. Sandilands is sent to investigate. Is the man one of the English soldiers lost in battle or a French one?
Sandilands uncovers many things as well as just how perceptive and intelligent Dorcas is, who he is taking to the south of France to be with her father.
Sandilands uncovers many things as well as just how perceptive and intelligent Dorcas is, who he is taking to the south of France to be with her father.
March 20, 2017
My first Barbara Cleverly book, and first Joe Sandilands novel.
A very engrossing read, great historical background of the first world war, and a very complex mystery around the mysterious soldier in Reims.
I thought I understood the ending, but it left me a bit unsure. Despite that, I enjoyed the journey through France and Champagne.
I will move on to other books for sure.
A very engrossing read, great historical background of the first world war, and a very complex mystery around the mysterious soldier in Reims.
I thought I understood the ending, but it left me a bit unsure. Despite that, I enjoyed the journey through France and Champagne.
I will move on to other books for sure.
March 5, 2018
A very well-done story set just after WWI. The soldiers are back, but one woman claims that a man who is in a mental hospital is her missing-in-action husband. Joe Sandilands must discover the man's true identity to prevent more trouble. The clever way the story is woven made it almost un put-downable.
May 7, 2020
Joe Sandilands & niece Dorcas investigate the claims made by three ladies as to the identity of one Thibauld an apparent PTSD sufferer from the war fought on the hills of Champagne. Young Georges says he's not his father as Aileen insists. Then there's the missing Edward. Dorcas & Georges become close. A twisting plot with misdirection.
July 19, 2022
Trite show off of all the French she learned on her latest summer in Reims. Kind of compelling at the end but even then not compelling enough to give more than two. And the dynamic of not only bringing the niece along but having her play such a contributing character was lost on anyone who knows history.
March 19, 2024
I had not read a book in the Joe Sandilands series for quite a while, so it was very enjoyable to return to this protagonist. The book is not exactly a murder mystery, but it has a very compelling storyline as Joe attempts to determine the identity of a WWI soldier suffering from aphasia / shell shock. Recommend highly. Kristi & Abby Tabby
November 12, 2019
A great whodunit in an evocative setting in 1920s post-war France. I could picture the vineyards, wine cellars, ancient buildings in repair, and other settings with clarity. Characters are well drawn, and the story kept me interested to the end.
June 5, 2022
The author’s last name is apt, as this novel tells the story of a Scotland Yard inspector and his young niece as they sort out a tangle of competing claims by four families over a mute, shell-shocked and seemingly unidentified officer in a French clinic.
September 4, 2025
Yet another engrossing read from Cleverly
I have immensely enjoyed all the Sandilands books I have read to date, and this was no exception. It's different from the others, not a murder but a mystery of another sort. Highly recommended.
I have immensely enjoyed all the Sandilands books I have read to date, and this was no exception. It's different from the others, not a murder but a mystery of another sort. Highly recommended.
August 31, 2017
Slow in starting but good read as it once got going. A good Cleverly story. Good characters and development.
August 14, 2018
I like it enough to reread periodically.
July 28, 2019
Old soldiers, marital infidelity, an illegitimate child in tow, all make for an interesting tale around the survivors of the Great War. I much prefer the stories involving Commander Joe Sandilands.
October 9, 2020
This was a pretty good one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews