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Inspector Sloan #7
Parting Breath
ISBN 9781504010658 was also used on the Kindle version of this ebook.
The college dons at the University of Calleshire fully expected trouble when the students planned to shake their ivory tower with a sit-in at Almstone Hall. But no one expected the very peculiar theft from a dormitory room...or the very dead body in the college quadrangle. For Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan, the ivied halls hid a host of clues - from the words whispered with the dying man's parting breath to what a madrigal singer saw. So it was only a matter of time until he uncovered the murderer hidden in the groves o academe...but could he do it before death became another victim's alma mater?
The college dons at the University of Calleshire fully expected trouble when the students planned to shake their ivory tower with a sit-in at Almstone Hall. But no one expected the very peculiar theft from a dormitory room...or the very dead body in the college quadrangle. For Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan, the ivied halls hid a host of clues - from the words whispered with the dying man's parting breath to what a madrigal singer saw. So it was only a matter of time until he uncovered the murderer hidden in the groves o academe...but could he do it before death became another victim's alma mater?
192 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 1977
138 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Aird
68 books194 followers Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, known professionally as Catherine Aird, was an English novelist. She was the author of more than twenty crime fiction novels and several collections of short stories. Her witty, literate, and deftly plotted novels straddle the "cozy" and "police procedural" genres and are somewhat similar in flavour to those of Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham, M.C. Beaton, Margaret Yorke, and Pauline Bell. Aird was inducted into the prestigious Detection Club in 1981, and is a recipient of the 2015 Cartier Diamond Dagger award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
June 28, 2020
I enjoyed the quirky clever humor. An example: "He looks like Charles the Second but firmer."
Updated 6/27/20: I was just clearing out some emails and discovered that I had emailed some quotes from this book to myself for safekeeping! Here they are:
Gave me pause for thought: "It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive."
Tickled my funny bone: "Bones and Stones" otherwise known as: "The University Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology."
New to me: "Verballing" otherwise known as: putting words into someone else's mouth.
Updated 6/27/20: I was just clearing out some emails and discovered that I had emailed some quotes from this book to myself for safekeeping! Here they are:
Gave me pause for thought: "It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive."
Tickled my funny bone: "Bones and Stones" otherwise known as: "The University Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology."
New to me: "Verballing" otherwise known as: putting words into someone else's mouth.
May 7, 2015
A sit-in is planned at the University of Calleshire but some of the students have no wish to take part and boycott it. The police are aware of the situation but only become involved when one of the students is found murdered, though he is not involved in the sit-in. Sloan and Crosby are sent to investigate and find that there is no apparent motive and plenty of suspects but at least all the rebellious students had been locked in one building and are therefore not involved.
As ever with this entertaining series the book is well plotted and there are plenty of touches of humour as well as some marvellous characters; the irascible Superintendent Leeyes who always wants progress to have been made yesterday and who is full of half digested bits of knowledge from the various evening classes he has attended; DC Crosby who is the despair of the whole station but who actually does come up with some good ideas from time to time and Sloan who does his best not to let Crosby upset too many people and to keep Superintendent Leeyes happy.
This series does not need to be read in order and each book can be read as a standalone novel. I have read all the series more than once and they do bear re-reading. Some readers may find them too light and lacking in violence and gritty reality but you still find human nature in all its aspects - good as well as bad.
As ever with this entertaining series the book is well plotted and there are plenty of touches of humour as well as some marvellous characters; the irascible Superintendent Leeyes who always wants progress to have been made yesterday and who is full of half digested bits of knowledge from the various evening classes he has attended; DC Crosby who is the despair of the whole station but who actually does come up with some good ideas from time to time and Sloan who does his best not to let Crosby upset too many people and to keep Superintendent Leeyes happy.
This series does not need to be read in order and each book can be read as a standalone novel. I have read all the series more than once and they do bear re-reading. Some readers may find them too light and lacking in violence and gritty reality but you still find human nature in all its aspects - good as well as bad.
March 8, 2008
really, 3.5 stars
During a student-run sit in at a local university, a young student is found dying in the quad. His final words were heard by another student, but no one could figure out what he meant. Sloan is on hand to investigate, but it's an uphill battle with too many suspects and no apparent motive. Plus he's got his mind on the new baby expected at his home.
This one didn't end as abruptly as the others, which was good. Recommended for those who like police procedurals & British series mysteries.
During a student-run sit in at a local university, a young student is found dying in the quad. His final words were heard by another student, but no one could figure out what he meant. Sloan is on hand to investigate, but it's an uphill battle with too many suspects and no apparent motive. Plus he's got his mind on the new baby expected at his home.
This one didn't end as abruptly as the others, which was good. Recommended for those who like police procedurals & British series mysteries.
November 7, 2016
A few humorous moments and I quite like Inspector Sloan and Crosby but for the most part I found this book slow and tedious to plow through.
October 19, 2020
This is some old fashioned, sexist, snide, Tory shite, but what can I say, I can't resist a college detective story.
March 26, 2018
Description: Murder in the Quadrangle: The college dons at the University of Calleshire fully expected trouble when the students planned to shake their ivory tower with a sit-in at Almstone Hall. But no one expected the very peculiar theft from a dormitory room...or the very dead body in the college quadrangle. For Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan, the ivied halls hid a host of clues - from the words whispered with the dying man's parting breath to what a madrigal singer saw. So it was only a matter of time until he uncovered the murderer hidden in the groves o academe...but could he do it before death became another victim's alma mater? August 4, 2019
Really closer to 4 stars, not so much for the mystery itself, but for the character development. Sloan keeps day-dreaming about what rugby position his soon to be born child will have on a team (which makes him seem much more human), and Crosby seems to be coming along in his skill-set. Allusions to such a variety of culture--they range from Catch-22 to Alice in Wonderland to A Hard Day's Night and even Jane Austen. Aird is very well-read and keeps readers on their toes. The plot-line, while perhaps timely when it was written for the "Red" influence and the unmarked graves in Poland still seemed to be a bit contrived around the university/sit-in/fencing themes. Still an enjoyable read for summer time.
December 3, 2016
When an undergraduate is found dead at the local university, the police find themselves in an unusual milieu, with various, possibly esoteric motives.
August 30, 2024
When I started this book, I despaired a bit because it is set at a university. Now I have read both good and not quite so good mysteries set at a university. Some are funny (the Peter Shandy series by Charlotte MacLeod and Death in an Ivory Tower by Maria Hudgins) and some just think they are too clever (The Players Come Again by Amanda Cross). And for the most part, I don't think they are written very realistically (Death in an Ivory Tower and The Mark Twain Murders by Edith Skom).
That last line, about realism, could be said about this mystery. Inspector Sloan is well written, Det. Constable Crosby, who works with Sloan is a bit less, and Superintendent Leeyes is suspiciously written straight for laughs. But the faculty and students seem to be sometimes on target and other times, way off the mark. But then this is a British tale and as I have never attended or worked at a British institution, especially in the 1970s — when this tale was first published — who am I to judge, much.
Nevertheless, Catherine Aird has created these characters and they seem quite settled into the atmosphere of the University of Calleshire when the book opens. Classes are once again beginning after summer break with the administration focused on an upcoming sit-in by the students, and staff has begun operations to keep the upcoming event contained somewhat. In the midst of that setting there is a break in of a student's room and another student murdered in the college quad. Ins. Sloan and Det. Constable Crosby are assigned to investigate both. But it is mighty strange because the items taken from the one student's room are discovered a short distance from the body. And the only clue seems to be some grains of wheat found in both students' rooms.
Its a puzzler alright. But Sloan and Crosby keep digging and if they can just winnow the important clues from the chaff of what they gave learned, they just might find the guilty. This is a very clever story with plenty of red herrings. And that is the part that makes this, indeed, a good and fun read.
That last line, about realism, could be said about this mystery. Inspector Sloan is well written, Det. Constable Crosby, who works with Sloan is a bit less, and Superintendent Leeyes is suspiciously written straight for laughs. But the faculty and students seem to be sometimes on target and other times, way off the mark. But then this is a British tale and as I have never attended or worked at a British institution, especially in the 1970s — when this tale was first published — who am I to judge, much.
Nevertheless, Catherine Aird has created these characters and they seem quite settled into the atmosphere of the University of Calleshire when the book opens. Classes are once again beginning after summer break with the administration focused on an upcoming sit-in by the students, and staff has begun operations to keep the upcoming event contained somewhat. In the midst of that setting there is a break in of a student's room and another student murdered in the college quad. Ins. Sloan and Det. Constable Crosby are assigned to investigate both. But it is mighty strange because the items taken from the one student's room are discovered a short distance from the body. And the only clue seems to be some grains of wheat found in both students' rooms.
Its a puzzler alright. But Sloan and Crosby keep digging and if they can just winnow the important clues from the chaff of what they gave learned, they just might find the guilty. This is a very clever story with plenty of red herrings. And that is the part that makes this, indeed, a good and fun read.
August 2, 2020
Set in a university during the time of sit-ins and streakers. All the Establishment viewpoints are brightly voiced in the narration. The nasty plotters behind the idealists have chosen, as an issue, the expulsion of one of their nasty number. But with all the sit-in members crowded into the Admin building, how can the murder that day have been committed by one of the organizers?
Even though the political nasties all seem to be alibied, Inspector Sloan finds himself tracking from location to location where the murder victim might have hidden something damaging, in the wake of a searcher who doesn't care that the police know of his searches. Without doubt, something bigger than a campus protest movement is going on.
Read 2 times
Even though the political nasties all seem to be alibied, Inspector Sloan finds himself tracking from location to location where the murder victim might have hidden something damaging, in the wake of a searcher who doesn't care that the police know of his searches. Without doubt, something bigger than a campus protest movement is going on.
Read 2 times
October 31, 2022
2.5 STARS | I wanted to like this as much as I've liked others of Aird's books, but the beginning with its countless characters put me off it from the get-go and I never fully recovered. None of the characters were likable and the whole academic setting was confusing and thick with dust.
Aird's normally sly wit escaped me in this book. Which is a shame, because the crimes themselves revolved around interesting motives and and clues. It's the only thing that kept me reading although I felt tortured doing it.
I look forward to another of her books that I will enjoy more.
Aird's normally sly wit escaped me in this book. Which is a shame, because the crimes themselves revolved around interesting motives and and clues. It's the only thing that kept me reading although I felt tortured doing it.
I look forward to another of her books that I will enjoy more.
December 19, 2023
I love the DC Sloan series for the classic mysteries and DC Sloan's sense of cynical humour. In this instalment set at the University of Calleshire a strange break-in is followed by the murder of a student. DC Sloan has to put up with a student sit-in and various eccentric academics as he tries to solve the mystery. Highly recommend this series.
December 13, 2019
Good Aird, though a little beyond her usual comfort zone. Overcomplicated, but involving. Another great cover for this edition.
July 11, 2022
Disappointing.
Rather slow and tedious.
Rather slow and tedious.
August 6, 2019
A bit muddled with many activities at the beginning and loads of people, but when the murder occurs it really feels odd. But upon just over halfway through things start clicking along.
The crime is very much of its time.
The crime is very much of its time.
July 14, 2019
Probably the harshest thing I could say about this mystery is that I have a hard time believing that a real-life criminal could invent such a complicated plot, especially on short notice, or that a detective could piece it all together based on the fragmented clues he has to work with. But you really have to love a detective novel where the conversations are so liberally sprinkled with references to Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Alice in Wonderland, Trollope, Wordsworth, et al. I can't help thinking that this series would adapt very well into television scripts, with the amount of bantering dialogue that forms a large part of each book (I can only imagine how it would sound with British accents and the particularly dry inflection of wit that the Brits are past master of).
Constable Crosby, though still his cheerfully oblivious self, seems to have gained slightly in capability in this entry (I guess it's about time by book seven); in previous books I don't think I'd have trusted him with the task of searching a room!
Constable Crosby, though still his cheerfully oblivious self, seems to have gained slightly in capability in this entry (I guess it's about time by book seven); in previous books I don't think I'd have trusted him with the task of searching a room!
November 1, 2012
I'm new to the Inspector Sloan series and my previous reviews have mentioned that I thought they were well written, but lacked enough character development to become a favorite. This edition, too, is primarily plot-driven and the plot is intricate and interesting. Slowly but surely, Inspector Sloan and Constable Crosby are becoming more developed characters, so I'd say this was the best of the series so far.
August 1, 2016
#7 in the Detective Inspector Sloan of the Berebury (somewhere in England)Police Department mystery series. A student at the local University of Calleshire is found murdered while a student sit in protest is going on. Sloan has to work his way through a number of possibilities and overlapping possibilities to find his murderer.
Interesting cast of university characters both in the faculty and students as well as Sloan's boss.
Interesting cast of university characters both in the faculty and students as well as Sloan's boss.
March 23, 2020
My only complaint about Catherine Aird is that she has a tendency to introduce too many new characters. This time she outdid herself, and it detracted from my enjoyment of the book. There were 19 characters introduced in the first 10 pages!
I do like Sloan and Crosby, though, and even the superintendent is growing on me. I'll definitely read the next one in the series.
I do like Sloan and Crosby, though, and even the superintendent is growing on me. I'll definitely read the next one in the series.
June 16, 2024
I really enjoyed this one. A truly ingenious plot twist had me guessing right up to the very end. A student is murdered and his last words provide a mystifying clue that the police must solve to catch a truly evil criminal.
CMB
CMB
March 3, 2021
More Tedium
Each of the books in this series grows more and more tedious. Too many characters, too much descriptive narration and too little getting to the point of the story until the last couple of chapters. I shall part company with Sloan and Crosby now.
Each of the books in this series grows more and more tedious. Too many characters, too much descriptive narration and too little getting to the point of the story until the last couple of chapters. I shall part company with Sloan and Crosby now.
February 2, 2016
Ending seemed contrived. This author has far too much coughing and throat clearing by characters to suit my taste. This story added sneezing to the mix. Calling all ENTs.
May 27, 2024
MY RATING GUIDE: 3 Stars. I am enjoying this Character-Driven, Police Procedural series and its dry humor. PARTING BREATH deals with a murder (and student protests) occurring inside a University. I prefer the earlier books in this series but I hadn’t solved the case before the end which was appreciated. The interactions between the main character Sloan and his sidekick Crosby were still enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= THIS ONE WAS OKAY (but not memorable); 3.5= I enjoyed this; 4= I liked it a lot; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).
Quotes ~
> “There’s some funny folk about even without looking in the mirror,” muttered Crosby into Sloan’s right ear.
> “Here at the University you weren’t just a name, but a name and a subject. That, he supposed, was one stage better than being a name and a number - as in the Army and the Police - and Prison … or a name and a disease, as in hospital, which was worse”. Sloan.
Comments ~
1) PARTING BREATH is bk 7 in Catherine Aird’s Calleshire Mysteries. This particular title reminded me of a Sally Wright mystery (and not a favorite in that series, either) which also dealt with a murder in a University. Too many details pertaining to academia slowed down the reading IMO.
2) PARTING BREATH was published in 1977 and set in “present day” (1977). The story itself, has held up well over time with just technology differences obvious.
3) PARTING BREATH could be read as a Standalone mystery easily enough but I prefer beginning with bk1, enjoying the character development and relationships that unfolds over time. Plus, IMO, the earlier books are more interesting. ;)
4) I recommend this series to readers who enjoy British Mysteries, Classic Mysteries (Sayers, Allingham, Marsh, Sally Wright), certain Cozy Mysteries, Clean fiction, Police Procedural series, Character Driven series.
READER CAUTION ~
No intimacy scenes, strong language usage or graphic descriptions of murder.
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= THIS ONE WAS OKAY (but not memorable); 3.5= I enjoyed this; 4= I liked it a lot; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).
Quotes ~
> “There’s some funny folk about even without looking in the mirror,” muttered Crosby into Sloan’s right ear.
> “Here at the University you weren’t just a name, but a name and a subject. That, he supposed, was one stage better than being a name and a number - as in the Army and the Police - and Prison … or a name and a disease, as in hospital, which was worse”. Sloan.
Comments ~
1) PARTING BREATH is bk 7 in Catherine Aird’s Calleshire Mysteries. This particular title reminded me of a Sally Wright mystery (and not a favorite in that series, either) which also dealt with a murder in a University. Too many details pertaining to academia slowed down the reading IMO.
2) PARTING BREATH was published in 1977 and set in “present day” (1977). The story itself, has held up well over time with just technology differences obvious.
3) PARTING BREATH could be read as a Standalone mystery easily enough but I prefer beginning with bk1, enjoying the character development and relationships that unfolds over time. Plus, IMO, the earlier books are more interesting. ;)
4) I recommend this series to readers who enjoy British Mysteries, Classic Mysteries (Sayers, Allingham, Marsh, Sally Wright), certain Cozy Mysteries, Clean fiction, Police Procedural series, Character Driven series.
READER CAUTION ~
No intimacy scenes, strong language usage or graphic descriptions of murder.
November 3, 2023
This entry in the long-running series was enjoyable as always, but a bit confusing.
Several suspects among students and professors at the University of Calleshire. There’s a sit-in serving as background for this murder mystery, which muddies things a bit - a student refuses to take part in the demonstration, then is found dead in the quad. I didn’t get all the hints about the expelled student whom the students were demonstrating to get readmitted, but references to Belfast made me wonder…these books were for a UK audience in the early 70s, I believe, so I’m sure I missed a lot! Several sly references to Judge’s Rules and previous student demonstrations made it clear the local coppers, and older people like the ex-army Porter at one of the colleges, were not thrilled with the more enlightened approach to demonstrations!
I found this very entertaining, though, seeing the behind-the-scenes discussions at the university, and the dated references to sit-ins and campus demonstrations, and efforts by administrators and local police to deal respectfully with student activists. Political correctness has been the norm for decades, it seems, so reading a book from the 1970s is interesting!
Several suspects among students and professors at the University of Calleshire. There’s a sit-in serving as background for this murder mystery, which muddies things a bit - a student refuses to take part in the demonstration, then is found dead in the quad. I didn’t get all the hints about the expelled student whom the students were demonstrating to get readmitted, but references to Belfast made me wonder…these books were for a UK audience in the early 70s, I believe, so I’m sure I missed a lot! Several sly references to Judge’s Rules and previous student demonstrations made it clear the local coppers, and older people like the ex-army Porter at one of the colleges, were not thrilled with the more enlightened approach to demonstrations!
I found this very entertaining, though, seeing the behind-the-scenes discussions at the university, and the dated references to sit-ins and campus demonstrations, and efforts by administrators and local police to deal respectfully with student activists. Political correctness has been the norm for decades, it seems, so reading a book from the 1970s is interesting!
September 30, 2022
This was my least favourite Aird so far. The murder took a long time to occur, and I wasn't a fan of any of the characters introduced. The ultimate motive for the murder came out of the blue, and in fact I was so befuddled by the ending that after finishing the book, the next day when I was picking something to read I thought to myself, "Okay, time to see what happened with Parting Breath" and then I realised I already had...
I didn't really understand/recall why I did like the explanation for the dying words though, that was clever. Also Sloan looking forward to his baby and his concern for his wife was touching.
I didn't really understand/recall why I did like the explanation for the dying words though, that was clever. Also Sloan looking forward to his baby and his concern for his wife was touching.
January 18, 2023
The seventh installment of this series sends Sloan and Crosby to the campus of the University of Calleshire where an undergraduate was found in the main quadrangle dying of a stab wound. Sloan has the victim's cryptic last words but not much else to go on. Soon, however, several more crimes send the investigation in an unusual direction. While in the background, a student sit in protesting the expulsion of a popular undergraduate adds tension. The circumstances and setting of this mystery are nicely developed, as one expects from Ms. Aird, and the view of changing student attitudes circa 1977 is interesting, but the investigation of the mystery isn't very compelling. That flaw combined with an ending that felt a bit rushed and a somewhat unsatisfying resolution led to me to reluctantly lower my rating by a star. Rest assured that Ms. Aird's dialogue and writing style are as good as ever.
November 9, 2023
This is the seventh in the Inspector Sloan series, first published in 1977. It revolves around a sit-in at a university and a murder in the quad which sees Inspector Sloan and DC Crosby struggling to negotiate a set of strange clues and a host of possible suspects among the academics and students.
Although this is a fairly gentle series, there is a sense of reality which is often not shown in many modern cosy series. People die, but they are mourned - there are regrets and loss and a real sense of morality. Sloan is a great character, a solid and comfortable man, about to become a father. He often bridles at Crosby, but generally is kind enough to accept when his younger colleague does something worthwhile.
I loved the university setting and, even if the student politics were of their time, this is a very enjoyable mystery. A series I will certainly continue.
Although this is a fairly gentle series, there is a sense of reality which is often not shown in many modern cosy series. People die, but they are mourned - there are regrets and loss and a real sense of morality. Sloan is a great character, a solid and comfortable man, about to become a father. He often bridles at Crosby, but generally is kind enough to accept when his younger colleague does something worthwhile.
I loved the university setting and, even if the student politics were of their time, this is a very enjoyable mystery. A series I will certainly continue.
December 19, 2024
Oh, this was a good one! Probably not 5 stars, but 4.5. This Sloan and Crosby adventure had more characters to interview, more paths to follow (the paths were an important part of the detection) and less evidence than any that I have read. (I have read the first 14 and 1 more.) I really don't know why I like these so much — part of it is the chemistry between Sloan and Crosby. Another factor of my returning to this series is the humanity of the characters and the artful and sincere way Aird handles them. Even Crosby, who could be the butt of jokes isn't. And the Chief Inspector, he of the night school classes, is funny but not an object of ridicule. Maybe I don't remember how each novel "happens," but I remember that a community is given peace again and their is kindness shown. Really like the setting and the puzzle in this one!
February 15, 2022
Well a lot of suspects to keep track of. Some elaborate plot twisting but slowly but surely I am becoming a fan of this series despite the dry cerebral Inspector C. D. Sloan. In this book, number 7 in the series he even has a life outside of his police work. Yes he has a wife and a child on the way. But don't get caught up with the emotion, there isn't much. Just sort of a statement of the facts, delivered very proper without a lot of hoopla, you know, in a British kind of way.
However, don't be fooled by my little sarcasms ...I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one and hoping to see the character of Inspector Sloan develop a little further ...no matter how slowly that may transpire ...he is a very private man.
However, don't be fooled by my little sarcasms ...I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one and hoping to see the character of Inspector Sloan develop a little further ...no matter how slowly that may transpire ...he is a very private man.
March 15, 2024
This is a good murder mystery with a cast of characters. Faculty, staff, and students at the University of Calleshire, England, were beginning a new term. Some students had organized a sit-in to demand reinstatement of a student being sent down after the previous term for bad behavior. On the night before the sit-in, a student's rooms were burgled, and on the first day of the sit-in, a dean was kidnapped and a student murdered. The Berebury constabulary already had been dreading calls from the college in regard to the sit-in, but then the dedicated and systematic Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan was called in to investigate murder. Henry Moleyns, found on a quad not far from where the dean was being held by another student, was alive just long enough to murmur some words.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews