The Masters of the House

by Robert Barnard

Life is not quite what it seems to be at the Heenan house on Claverly Row where two children have become the masters of the house . . . World-renowned mystery writer Robert Barnard, acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic, returns to one of his most powerful themes - the extraordinary inner strength of children in times of crisis. When Ellen Heenan dies tragically during childbirth, leaving behind four children and an out-of-work husband, concerned friends and neighbors expect that the family will endure great hardship. What they don't know is that the two older children, thirteen-year-old Matthew and his sister Annie, will take control of their house, their siblings, and their father. As soon as the bereaved Mr. Heenan returns from his wife's hospital deathbed, Annie and Matthew realize that their lives as carefree children have come to an abrupt and premature end. Dad isn't just mourning. He's insane, muttering about "sin" and "punishment," and retreating to a little upstairs bedroom, hardly ever to emerge. If the authorities discover Mr. Heenan's true condition, the children will be separated and taken into "care." Anything is preferable, so instead of playing with their classmates after school, Annie and Matthew learn to cook and clean and watch out for the little ones. And they learn how to lie. The charade can't continue forever, and soon the townspeople begin to wonder why Mr. Heenan never visits his usual haunts. But the real trouble starts when Annie and Matthew find a body in their backyard. Now the police will discover the true situation at the house - unless the children can dispose of the bloodied corpse. Gripping and poignant, The Masters of the House affirms Robert Barnard's extraordinary and versatile talent. It is vintage Barnard from beginning to shocking end.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Aka Bernard Bastable.

Robert Barnard (born 23 November 1936) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.

Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and at Balliol College in Oxford. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He has gone on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories.

Barnard has said that his favourite crime writer is Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie.

Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement.

Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard has published one standalone novel and three alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age.

Barnard lived with his wife Louise in Yorkshire.

Series:
* Perry Trethowan
* Charlie Peace

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, engrossing read.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was a little, I don't know the word, hokey, I guess. I didn't think I would even finish it. I'm glad I did though! Turned out to be a pretty decent read. A little unbelievable behavior now and then from kids but a nice little puzzle and view into human nature.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect from this book. I hadn't read this author before and it was also written more than 25 years ago! (Like I wasn't sure if there was child abuse, incest, etc.) It's pretty PG - after a woman dies in childbirth, the husband is pretty much just comatose. The two oldest kids of the four (I think Matthew and Annie are 12 and 13) decide they don't want to be separated from their father, home or each other so they pretend their dad is okay and handle the food shopping, school drop-offs and keeping up a front to the community. Then they discover a dead body in their backyard- the woman, Carmen O'Keefe, has been spying on them and they have figured out that she and their father had an affair. But they can't call the police about it because they will be discovered. So they drive to a sheep pasture and bury the woman, all the while not knowing who killed her.

Everything happens fairly quickly in this short book (less than 220 pages). The dead woman's mother in law comes in and makes herself the adult in charge, calling herself Auntie Connie, which is a relief to the two kids (who had previously allowed themselves one "free" night each week, where they can go be a kid). Their father is finally seen and treated by a psychologist, although he's so far gone that they get him back and his only improvement from hospital is that he can make rugs.

It turns out that Auntie Connie killed Carmen; she confesses to Matthew at the end when she's very ill. Back then, she was so upset that Carmen was treating her husband Rob so poorly (Annie's and Matthew's father is not her only affair in the small village). Not to mention she'd learned that Carmen had killed her very own mother to collect an insurance payout. Carmen attacked Connie and she used the kitchen knife that Matthew had left outside to stab her daughter-in-law. She thought that taking care of the Heenan kids would be almost like her penance. She also tells all four children at the end that she was a very lucky woman - "[God] only allowed me one child of my own. But then, late on, he gave me four more. And what a joy you've been."

I'm glad I read this, and the little peeks into the future are interesting because you don't know what happens to bring all four kids, now all grown, back to Calverley Row.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since Barnard's death in later 2013, I have been revisiting his remarkable output and frankly discovering nuances that now in retrospect seem prescient in view of the hateful and rapid dementia that ultimately claimed his life.

Masters of the House spins a vivid and heartfelt account of a family trying to cope with a desperate emergency and the resulting social pressures. Barnard starts his tale by engaging our curiosity over how long the children will be able to avoid their fears of going into 'care', but then despite a few well-placed flash forward scenes which reassure us all went well, far more sinister events reveals greater threats to their security. Even so, from the children's viewpoint and of that era everything they do at the time makes sense.

But through today's eyes, this plot also reveals the assumed horrors associated with mental illness ...stigma that has haunted society for far too long and which we are just now beginning to break down in order to re-configure more appropriate, sensitive and sensible responses both practical and personal.

So while MofH stands up well as a fascinating and hugely entertaining tale of mystery, (and entertainment was Barnard's self-proclaimed Prime Directive) which leads into avenues of coping and discovery, I also now suspect the final sentence reveals a deeper and more visceral fear which I hope such a mentally agile and versatile author had been spared at his own end.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting crime novel which begins with the death of Eileen Heenan. However, the plot go far beyond her family trying to deal with her death. The effects of her death on her family are the main focus of the book. Her husband loses his sanity, leaving the day-to-day chores of caring for the family and the home, as well as their ill father, to the two eldest children, Annie and Matthew (11 and 13). They know that if the authorities find out that their father is incapacitated, the children will be removed from the home and put into government care. They do a good job of keeping the truth from the priest, their mother's friends,a and their father's drinking buddies. It's going smoothly until a woman named Carmen turns up. Having been in a relationship with the children's father, she becomes suspicious when he disappears from sight. One night the children find her dead body in their back yard. Again, they have an important decision to make. the novel's twists and turns are all plausible and the characters feel like real people. I read this novel quickly 'cos I wanted to know what would happen. I was totally invested in the story.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Barnard is very good at getting inside the minds of youngsters. In this case, it's Matthew and Annie Heenan, whose mother has died in childbirth and whose father is going out of his mind with grief and guilt. Although the two siblings don't quite understand what's going on with their father, they do know that they are at risk of being taken into care, so they shoulder the burden of caring for their younger siblings, the household, and the finances. These are two very clever but believable children, and the reader will be rooting for them throughout, especially when they have to decide what to do with the body they have found in their back garden.

[Melissa Snider · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a cheap mystery thriller and a low-commitment read. As a Catholic girl with a big dysfunctional family, I found a couple of moments to relate to.

[Peter Macinnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I approached this book with a few doubts. The premise didn't grab me at first, but it turned into a most excellent read, cleverly conceived and defyly written. I suspected correctly who done it, but I remained unsure for a major part of the book. This is one to read again, in a few years.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read - interesting perspective on how far children will go to keep their family together.

[Wendy]

bot

[Kyuzana]

best

[Mizloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better than average mystery, well-plotted and with compelling characters. A quick read with a final sentence worth working up to.