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Lucy Trimble #1
Death of a Sunday Writer
Lucy Trimble Brenner, a middle-aged librarian, unexpectedly inherits a Toronto detective agency and finds her first case to be an investigation into the suspicious death of David Trimble, the distant relative who left the agency to her in his will
231 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Eric Wright
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Eric Wright was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is the award-winning author of seventeen crime novels, including his first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the Crime Writer's Association's John Creasey Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award. His memoir, Always Give a Penny to a Blind Man, about growing up poor in working-class London, was published in 1999.
Eric Wright was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is the award-winning author of seventeen crime novels, including his first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the Crime Writer's Association's John Creasey Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award. His memoir, Always Give a Penny to a Blind Man, about growing up poor in working-class London, was published in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 8, 2018
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...While it was interesting to read a novel set in my City (Toronto, not the fictional Longbourough), this sleepy mystery did not do it for me. I did learn way more about betting on the horses that I wanted to but Lucy is not much of a sleuth.
February 9, 2020
I enjoyed this light read.
May 11, 2014
#1 in the Lucy Trimble Brenner series. Lock your credulity away while reading this series debut and enjoy yourself. Lucy, a middle-aged woman with grown children, is stifled by her husband. She leaves him and in a town half-way to Toronto opens a marginal bed and breakfast and obtains a part-time job as a librarian. After two years, she is notified of the death of a cousin unseen for 20 years. She is the sole heir and travels to Toronto to wrap up the miniscule estate. Part of the estate is a failing private eye business that she thinks she could profitably run since she wouldn't be distracted by the horse racing and gambling scene that were the ruin of her cousin. She fumbles her way into the business and somehow makes contacts and obtains business in hilarious fashion. Recommended.
Lucy Trimble Brenner, middle-aged part-time librarian, has sought refuge from a crumbling marriage by establishing a bed-and-breakfast in the sleepy northern Ontario town of Longborough. When a distant relative suddenly bequeaths her his ailing Toronto detective agency, Lucy soon enough finds reasons to suspect that David Trimble's death, despite appearances, may not have been natural or accidental at all. Throwing caution aside, she begins to investigate Trimble's operations and comes into contact with the raffish world of horse racing and its fringe characters, some quaint, others sinister. When finally brought to light, Trimble's journals prove to be part fact, part fiction, and it becomes progressively more difficult to determine whether or not their hints of danger are false or all too real. Meanwhile, to earn a living Lucy takes on as her first client a man who wants her to tail his agoraphobic wife on her occasional mysterious forays into Toronto's nightlife. And seasoned investigator Jack Brighton hires her to locate the missing legatee to a handsome fortune left him by his English mother, a case that leads to a squalid rural farmhouse and a fifty-year-old mystery.
Lucy Trimble Brenner, middle-aged part-time librarian, has sought refuge from a crumbling marriage by establishing a bed-and-breakfast in the sleepy northern Ontario town of Longborough. When a distant relative suddenly bequeaths her his ailing Toronto detective agency, Lucy soon enough finds reasons to suspect that David Trimble's death, despite appearances, may not have been natural or accidental at all. Throwing caution aside, she begins to investigate Trimble's operations and comes into contact with the raffish world of horse racing and its fringe characters, some quaint, others sinister. When finally brought to light, Trimble's journals prove to be part fact, part fiction, and it becomes progressively more difficult to determine whether or not their hints of danger are false or all too real. Meanwhile, to earn a living Lucy takes on as her first client a man who wants her to tail his agoraphobic wife on her occasional mysterious forays into Toronto's nightlife. And seasoned investigator Jack Brighton hires her to locate the missing legatee to a handsome fortune left him by his English mother, a case that leads to a squalid rural farmhouse and a fifty-year-old mystery.
could-not-finish
March 8, 2017Wow. Two in a couple days that I just couldn't make myself finish.
I got to page 60-something, but I stopped when I began to skim the last few pages. I don't buy Lucy, too many inconsistencies, for my liking. A repressed, middle-aged woman with only one sexual relationship (and that with an abusive husband whom she has run away from) has her first "affair" and the very first time the guy leaves the lights on (the first time, ever, for her) and she's exhilarated. She is a mystery novel fanatic and librarian (she's read every mystery in the entire Kingston Library) and when her cousin dies, leaving her a P.I. firm, she just starts working a case. And she doesn't even seem to think about licenses. Uh-huh. I assume, at some point, it'll come up and she'll be surprised or confused or somesuch.
And her first client is, without question, some variation of stalker who is hiring her to do the stalking. It's obvious and the mystery novel expert has no clue.
Other issues, too, all in this first bit. No crime, though, in this mystery. Not yet. And I'm never going to find out if there will be one.
I got to page 60-something, but I stopped when I began to skim the last few pages. I don't buy Lucy, too many inconsistencies, for my liking. A repressed, middle-aged woman with only one sexual relationship (and that with an abusive husband whom she has run away from) has her first "affair" and the very first time the guy leaves the lights on (the first time, ever, for her) and she's exhilarated. She is a mystery novel fanatic and librarian (she's read every mystery in the entire Kingston Library) and when her cousin dies, leaving her a P.I. firm, she just starts working a case. And she doesn't even seem to think about licenses. Uh-huh. I assume, at some point, it'll come up and she'll be surprised or confused or somesuch.
And her first client is, without question, some variation of stalker who is hiring her to do the stalking. It's obvious and the mystery novel expert has no clue.
Other issues, too, all in this first bit. No crime, though, in this mystery. Not yet. And I'm never going to find out if there will be one.
December 28, 2009
First novel of this writer and the cover leads you to believe this will be a series starring Lucy Trimble Brenner - a middle age part time librian just ending a bad marriage. Her cousin dies and she inherits his private dective agency. This excites her and she investigates 3 "crimes" - her cousins death was it natural or was he 'bumped off?' She finds notes about a horse race that was fixed by doping 2 horses. And she follows a women to find out what she does on her day away from her husband. Kind of clever but some how not too satisfying.
October 7, 2016
I was slow to warm to the main character but by the end I was totally engaged. Lucy Trimble has recently left her domineering husband and moved away from Kingston. She inherits a detective agency in Toronto from her cousin. Her journey from abused wife to private investigator is interesting and just convoluted enough to be very entertaining.
December 11, 2016
mystery series set in Toronto, CA
Lucy is about 50 years old recently left her control-freak husband of 20+ years and took over her deceased cousin's PI business.
She's pretty likable. Gets interesting lovers too easily I think. But otherwise a fairly good group of characters.
Death of a Sunday writer 1996
Death on the Rocks 1999
Lucy is about 50 years old recently left her control-freak husband of 20+ years and took over her deceased cousin's PI business.
She's pretty likable. Gets interesting lovers too easily I think. But otherwise a fairly good group of characters.
Death of a Sunday writer 1996
Death on the Rocks 1999
November 26, 2013
This was a very enjoyable read. It reminded me slightly of some of the early Liza Codys. I don't understand the low ratings as it is a quirky, smartly written subtle sort of mystery. I plan to check out the other Lucy Trimble and then start on his longer award-winning series.
Want to Read
July 3, 200806/29/08 purchase at library booksale room
August 12, 2008
Very entertaining mystery. Lucy Trimble stumbles onto a detective agency, a legacy from a distant relative.
September 13, 2010
Canadian.
March 19, 2013
BORING!
My gosh, so much of the beginning of the book is drama entirely in the head of the protagonist. I thought the cover looked intriguing, but this is no Dick Francis book!
My gosh, so much of the beginning of the book is drama entirely in the head of the protagonist. I thought the cover looked intriguing, but this is no Dick Francis book!
May 28, 2016
Librarian turned detective! A fun read although a bit far fetched.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews