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Andrew Basnett #8
Choice of Evils
Expecting nothing more than a quiet holiday in the sleepy seaside town of Gallmouth, England, Andrew Basnett is first surprised to meet his nephew, Peter Dilly, quite by chance, and then both pleased and annoyed to find himself drawn into the activities of the town's first arts festival.
It's pleasant to be invited for dinner at the home of successful novelist Simon Amory, but not so pleasant when Amory's sister-in-law is found shot to death in Amory's summer house, and Basnett's nephew is both the last person to have seen her alive and the first to see her dead.
When a second woman of Amory's acquaintance is also found dead, the rather prickly writer would seem to be a prime suspect but Basnett has other ideas.
No one is better than E. X. Ferrars, undisputed past mistress of the domestic British mystery, at uncovering the personal torments that lie beneath the surface of tranquil small-town life, and one is better at unraveling the complex relationships and motivations that so often lead to unexpected violence.
It's pleasant to be invited for dinner at the home of successful novelist Simon Amory, but not so pleasant when Amory's sister-in-law is found shot to death in Amory's summer house, and Basnett's nephew is both the last person to have seen her alive and the first to see her dead.
When a second woman of Amory's acquaintance is also found dead, the rather prickly writer would seem to be a prime suspect but Basnett has other ideas.
No one is better than E. X. Ferrars, undisputed past mistress of the domestic British mystery, at uncovering the personal torments that lie beneath the surface of tranquil small-town life, and one is better at unraveling the complex relationships and motivations that so often lead to unexpected violence.
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Elizabeth Ferrars
91 books28 followersAka E.X. Ferrars.
Born Morna Doris McTaggart in Rangoon, Burma of a Scottish father and an Irish-German mother, she grew up in England where she moved at age six. She attended Bedales school and then took a diploma in journalism at London University.
Her first two novels, 'Turn Single' (1932) and 'Broken Music' (1934), came out under her own name, Morna McTaggart. In the early 1930s she married her first husband but she left him, moved to Belsize Park in London and lived with Dr Robert Brown, a lecturer in botany at Bedford College in 1942. She eventually divorced her first husband in October 1945 and married Dr, later Professor, Brown.
It was in 1940 that her first crime novel 'Give a Corpse a Bad Name' was published under the pseudonymn that she had adopted, Elizabeth (sometimes Elizabeth X. - particularly in the USA) Ferrars, the Ferrars her mother's maiden name. This novel featured her young detective Toby Dyke, who was to feature in four other of her novels.
When her husband was offered a post at Cornell University in the USA, the couple moved there but remained only a year before returning to Britain. They travelled with her husband's work, on one occasion visiting Adelaide when he was a visiting professor at the University of South Australia, and later moved to Edinburgh where her husband was appointed Regius Professor of Botany and they lived in the city until 1977 when, on her husband's retirement, they moved to Blewsbury in Oxfordshire where they lived until her sudden death in 1995.
She continued to write a crime novel almost every year and in 1953 she was a founding member of the Crime Writers' Association of which she later became chairperson in 1977.
As well as her short series of works featuring Toby Dyke, she wrote a series featuring retired botanist Andrew Basnett and another series featuring a semi-estranged married couple, Virginia and Felix Freer. All in all she wrote over seventy novels, her final one 'A Thief in the Night' being published posthumously.
Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor described her as having "a sound enough grasp of motives and human relations and a due regard for probability and technique, but whose people and plot are so standard".
Gerry Wolstenholme
November 2010
Born Morna Doris McTaggart in Rangoon, Burma of a Scottish father and an Irish-German mother, she grew up in England where she moved at age six. She attended Bedales school and then took a diploma in journalism at London University.
Her first two novels, 'Turn Single' (1932) and 'Broken Music' (1934), came out under her own name, Morna McTaggart. In the early 1930s she married her first husband but she left him, moved to Belsize Park in London and lived with Dr Robert Brown, a lecturer in botany at Bedford College in 1942. She eventually divorced her first husband in October 1945 and married Dr, later Professor, Brown.
It was in 1940 that her first crime novel 'Give a Corpse a Bad Name' was published under the pseudonymn that she had adopted, Elizabeth (sometimes Elizabeth X. - particularly in the USA) Ferrars, the Ferrars her mother's maiden name. This novel featured her young detective Toby Dyke, who was to feature in four other of her novels.
When her husband was offered a post at Cornell University in the USA, the couple moved there but remained only a year before returning to Britain. They travelled with her husband's work, on one occasion visiting Adelaide when he was a visiting professor at the University of South Australia, and later moved to Edinburgh where her husband was appointed Regius Professor of Botany and they lived in the city until 1977 when, on her husband's retirement, they moved to Blewsbury in Oxfordshire where they lived until her sudden death in 1995.
She continued to write a crime novel almost every year and in 1953 she was a founding member of the Crime Writers' Association of which she later became chairperson in 1977.
As well as her short series of works featuring Toby Dyke, she wrote a series featuring retired botanist Andrew Basnett and another series featuring a semi-estranged married couple, Virginia and Felix Freer. All in all she wrote over seventy novels, her final one 'A Thief in the Night' being published posthumously.
Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor described her as having "a sound enough grasp of motives and human relations and a due regard for probability and technique, but whose people and plot are so standard".
Gerry Wolstenholme
November 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 28, 2026
3.25 stars? A somewhat so-so end to a stellar series!
May 4, 2013
Choice of Evils by E. X. Ferrars is one of those nice cozy little academic mysteries that I love so much. In this case, the academic is retired botany professor Andrew Basnett--who just has a knack for getting mixed up in matters of murder. In his eighth outing, Professor Basnett has finally wrapped up his biography of Robert Hooke (a project that he's been working on for quite some time) and he decides to treat himself to a holiday in the seaside village of Gallmouth. Basnett and his late wife had taken several pleasant trips to the quiet village and he returned there periodically when he felt in need of a rest.
While there, he meets up with his nephew, Peter Dilly. Peter is a successful author of science fiction stories and has been invited to participate in Gallworth's first-ever arts festival and speak on a panel of authors. Simon Amory, another successful novelist who lives in Gallworth, is hosting Peter during the festival weekend and invites Basnett to dinner when he learns that his guest's uncle is staying in the village as well. At dinner Peter and Andrew are introduced to Mina Todhunter, a children's author who will join Simon and Peter on the panel, Simon's sister-in-law Rachel Rayne, and Edward Clarke, the chair of the festival committee.
After dinner, they all head to the local theater for the panel discussion and beforehand Simon Amory is confronted by Magda Braile, obviously an old flame and the star of the festival's production of The Duchess of Malfi. There is much tension in the air, but the panel discussion is successful and the evening seems to have gone well. The only odd note is that Rachel disappears from the gathering afterward and is later spied by Peter sneaking out of the summer house on Amory's grounds (the summer house serves as Amory's work area for his writing).
The next day Rachel seeks advice from both Mina Todhunter and the professor, but neither of them give her much attention. Before the day is over, Rachel is discovered shot to death in the summerhouse....and things look a bit black for Andrew's nephew. Peter was the last one to see Rachel alive and he's also the one who discovers her body. He immediately calls on his uncle to come and lend support because after all, Andrew's "had experience with this sort of thing. [He's] helped the police before. There was that affair of the dinner where the man got poisoned with cyanide, and the time the QC man got blown up by a bomb."
Andrew does get interested (and not just on his nephew's behalf) and soon he's discovering a web of bigamy, blackmail, lies, and fraud...and another murder is committed. This time the victim is Magda. But where exactly does the finger of accusation point? To Amory who may not have claim to his wife's property after all? To Desmond Nicholl, the husband of Magda Braile, who may have had reason to kill his wife? Or to someone else?
This was a reread for me. It had been long enough since I read it the first time that while I met certain passages and scenes with quick recognition, I still was sure enough of the ground to spot the culprit right away. The Professor Basnett mysteries comfortable cozies that satisfy the mystery reader without a lot of blood and gore or psychological thrills and tension. Believable characters and an interesting twist on the blackmail scheme make for a good solid three star reread. It's possible I would have given it four stars the first time 'round--but for some inexplicable reason I don't have a record of my initial reaction (not even the star rating that I normally would have).
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks!
While there, he meets up with his nephew, Peter Dilly. Peter is a successful author of science fiction stories and has been invited to participate in Gallworth's first-ever arts festival and speak on a panel of authors. Simon Amory, another successful novelist who lives in Gallworth, is hosting Peter during the festival weekend and invites Basnett to dinner when he learns that his guest's uncle is staying in the village as well. At dinner Peter and Andrew are introduced to Mina Todhunter, a children's author who will join Simon and Peter on the panel, Simon's sister-in-law Rachel Rayne, and Edward Clarke, the chair of the festival committee.
After dinner, they all head to the local theater for the panel discussion and beforehand Simon Amory is confronted by Magda Braile, obviously an old flame and the star of the festival's production of The Duchess of Malfi. There is much tension in the air, but the panel discussion is successful and the evening seems to have gone well. The only odd note is that Rachel disappears from the gathering afterward and is later spied by Peter sneaking out of the summer house on Amory's grounds (the summer house serves as Amory's work area for his writing).
The next day Rachel seeks advice from both Mina Todhunter and the professor, but neither of them give her much attention. Before the day is over, Rachel is discovered shot to death in the summerhouse....and things look a bit black for Andrew's nephew. Peter was the last one to see Rachel alive and he's also the one who discovers her body. He immediately calls on his uncle to come and lend support because after all, Andrew's "had experience with this sort of thing. [He's] helped the police before. There was that affair of the dinner where the man got poisoned with cyanide, and the time the QC man got blown up by a bomb."
Andrew does get interested (and not just on his nephew's behalf) and soon he's discovering a web of bigamy, blackmail, lies, and fraud...and another murder is committed. This time the victim is Magda. But where exactly does the finger of accusation point? To Amory who may not have claim to his wife's property after all? To Desmond Nicholl, the husband of Magda Braile, who may have had reason to kill his wife? Or to someone else?
This was a reread for me. It had been long enough since I read it the first time that while I met certain passages and scenes with quick recognition, I still was sure enough of the ground to spot the culprit right away. The Professor Basnett mysteries comfortable cozies that satisfy the mystery reader without a lot of blood and gore or psychological thrills and tension. Believable characters and an interesting twist on the blackmail scheme make for a good solid three star reread. It's possible I would have given it four stars the first time 'round--but for some inexplicable reason I don't have a record of my initial reaction (not even the star rating that I normally would have).
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks!
August 24, 2018
Retired professor Andrew Basnett just wants a few quiet days by the sea, so he goes to Gallmouth, where he and his late wife had vacationed. Much to his surprise, he finds that his nephew Peter, a science fiction writer, is there for the first Arts Festival. Through Peter, he reluctantly finds himself involved with some other festival partipants, including thorny, successful author Simon Amory. When widowed Amory's sister-in-law is found murdered--by Peter--Basnett becomes involved in the investigation since the officer in charge conveniently knows another police officer Basnett helped in the past.
October 4, 2017
Really lovely, cozy setting--a charming, British seaside town at the end of summer winding down its tourist season with a cute, little arts festival, where local authors give a book talk, the local theater puts on a performance, etc. Afternoon tea with an ocean view in the uncrowded lounge of your hotel, a walk along the scenic cliffs, and an easy stroll down the boardwalk shopping lane, where you buy a piece of good cheese to have with breakfast tomorrow, then browse the cute, little local bookshop next door--only to run into your charming nephew, who is now a best-selling scific author speaking at the arts festival tonight. I mean, seriously--could there be a cozier setting than this?! ♥
I sought out a Elizabeth Ferrars mystery novel because she's said to be the author closest to Agatha Christie in terms of plotting style and millieu. But the mystery, while overall satisfyingly rich in conception, is a little clunky in its telling/unraveling. Likewise, some of the writing is a little robotic, and almost devoid of art (very different from Agatha, however unadorned her writing could be, by choice)--though there's nothing terrible in Ferrars's writing style like you sometimes find in some mass appeal thrillers or YA novels of today. Just... a little overly staid at times.
Still, I enjoyed following her eldery professor hero, Andrew Basnett, around in this lovely, little town, as he both explored it and investigated the murder mystery. It felt like *I'd* gone on a little holiday too!
I sought out a Elizabeth Ferrars mystery novel because she's said to be the author closest to Agatha Christie in terms of plotting style and millieu. But the mystery, while overall satisfyingly rich in conception, is a little clunky in its telling/unraveling. Likewise, some of the writing is a little robotic, and almost devoid of art (very different from Agatha, however unadorned her writing could be, by choice)--though there's nothing terrible in Ferrars's writing style like you sometimes find in some mass appeal thrillers or YA novels of today. Just... a little overly staid at times.
Still, I enjoyed following her eldery professor hero, Andrew Basnett, around in this lovely, little town, as he both explored it and investigated the murder mystery. It felt like *I'd* gone on a little holiday too!
March 6, 2026
An overall charming and engaging series comes to a close with not a lot of fanfare. No major "... aaaannnnd scene!" closure to be had, and given the series's recurring theses (life happens, mini-vacation murders happen, old age happens) it's probably most appropriate that book 8 just does what it does without any additional heraldry.
While the plot specifics have already dimmed in my memory for this one (treachery amongst authors and actors), what will stick with me most for this one is the uncle/nephew relationship between Andrew and Peter. For a series that wears its cozy/Christie affiliation proudly on its jacket flaps, the series has always been most interesting to me for its cantankerous second heart that always beats in the background. And as it relates to Andrew/Peter, it's interesting to observe Andrew doubting Peter's genuine motives. As the series concludes, I'm most thankful for jagged edges like these and it's equally imperfect protagonist who never preferred to be congratulated for anything other than he was, a certain human being who was a certain kind of botanist who had a certain "luck" for being around murders that ultimately made sense to him first.
While the plot specifics have already dimmed in my memory for this one (treachery amongst authors and actors), what will stick with me most for this one is the uncle/nephew relationship between Andrew and Peter. For a series that wears its cozy/Christie affiliation proudly on its jacket flaps, the series has always been most interesting to me for its cantankerous second heart that always beats in the background. And as it relates to Andrew/Peter, it's interesting to observe Andrew doubting Peter's genuine motives. As the series concludes, I'm most thankful for jagged edges like these and it's equally imperfect protagonist who never preferred to be congratulated for anything other than he was, a certain human being who was a certain kind of botanist who had a certain "luck" for being around murders that ultimately made sense to him first.
September 26, 2024
A choice of excellent books
I have read several of Ferrars’ books and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. The characters are well developed and the plot moves along at the right pace. All ij all, very good writing. Had I not read other Ferrars books, I would have given this five stars. Since the author has consistently provided a choice of excellent books, I cannot help but compare. I would say that “A choice of Evils” is slightly less than excellent, maybe because of the somewhat predictable resolution of the case.
I have read several of Ferrars’ books and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. The characters are well developed and the plot moves along at the right pace. All ij all, very good writing. Had I not read other Ferrars books, I would have given this five stars. Since the author has consistently provided a choice of excellent books, I cannot help but compare. I would say that “A choice of Evils” is slightly less than excellent, maybe because of the somewhat predictable resolution of the case.
March 4, 2024
Excellent story.
This book is part of the Andrew Basnett series. Professor Basnett, a retired widower, decides to take a holiday. On that holiday he runs in to his nephew. His nephew is there as a speaker for a festival. Peter invites his uncle to attend. And so it begins. The characters are introduced and the story is complicated and intriguing filled with murder, blackmail, bigamy and suicide.
This book is part of the Andrew Basnett series. Professor Basnett, a retired widower, decides to take a holiday. On that holiday he runs in to his nephew. His nephew is there as a speaker for a festival. Peter invites his uncle to attend. And so it begins. The characters are introduced and the story is complicated and intriguing filled with murder, blackmail, bigamy and suicide.
July 26, 2025
I enjoy this author
Nothing too demanding about his books. Easy reads. No grim and gory stuff. Works well when bored with life…or life is too grim to be faced…see the current administration in Washington.
Nothing too demanding about his books. Easy reads. No grim and gory stuff. Works well when bored with life…or life is too grim to be faced…see the current administration in Washington.
February 23, 2021
Not as fun as other mysteries in the series, but still pretty good!
September 10, 2025
4 stars for sheer enjoyment of the series. As soft-spoken and pleasant as murder will ever be.
January 20, 2026
I like this series and the main character but was very disappointed with this book. It was more of a short story than an novel and the author didn't tell you ahead of time.
January 6, 2011
I am really enjoying this series. I can't believe that I never found these before and I'm so glad to have a new series to read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews