Heberdens Seat

Masters and Green #11

by Douglas Clark

Detective Superintendent Masters and Detective Inspector Green of Scotland Yard are stuck just outside a derelict country churchyard waiting for automobile repair when they decide to take a stroll and, of course, come upon a body. There is much to investigate in this locality as they discover that three other prominent men from the area have disappeared and that an outbreak of arson and a behind-the-scenes struggle to purchase the remote and redundant church may or may not have relevance. The investigation provides some fascinatingly baffling puzzles, but Masters and Green come through true to form.

Genres: Mystery

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Douglas Malcolm Jackson Clark was a British author.

He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Detective Superintendent Masters and Detective Inspector Green of Scotland Yard are stuck just outside a derelict country churchyard waiting for automobile repair when they decide to take a stroll and, of course, come upon a body. There is much to investigate in this locality as they discover that three other prominent men from the area have disappeared and that an outbreak of arson and a behind-the-scenes struggle to purchase the remote and redundant church may or may not have relevance. The investigation provides some fascinatingly baffling puzzles, but Masters and Green come through true to form."
~~back cover

I do love those old fashioned mysteries! The style is different, the pace is different, and the plot always thickens and then becomes crystal clear: why didn't I see that?! The three deaths and the five arsons seem tantalizingly intertwined, but how? Who died first? And why is the third corpse glued into a tomb in the church? It all becomes clear in the end, of course, but it's lots of fun getting there.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. Three suspicious deaths dealt with by the Scotland Yard team which discovers a corpse on the way back from another investigation.

The plot was more suited to a long short story/ novella as it did not have a great deal of substance.The method of bringing about death in two instances was novel.

The perpetrators and motives were not difficult to fathom but this reader's credulity was a bit stretched by the choice of location and some of the coincidences.

[Cynthia Grove · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed response to this story. Intellectually it is adequately structured and makes a satisfying read. The events of the story slightly beggar belief and the characters, beyond the main four of Masters, Green, Berger and Reed, are a little caricature-ish. Some aspects of the story are decidedly dated.
Nonetheless, on this my second read, I still enjoyed the book and was fully engaged throughout.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the eleventh book in the Masters & Green mystery series by Clark--and one of the last two that I've been able to get hold of. I still need to find three more to have read all of them. In this outing, Detective Superintendent Masters, Detective Inspector Green, and Detective Sergeants Reed & Berger are heading back to London after sorting out a case of murder, theft, and thuggery in Middlesborough. They opt to take the scenic route rather than the motorway and wind up taking in much more of the scenery than planned when the car gives up the ghost right near a remote church with handy cemetery for burying the car if it is beyond help. While Reed and Berger head to the nearest village in search of assistance, Masters and Green take a tour of the redundant (no longer operational) church and make a nasty discovery: a dead body in a well.

Once the local force arrive, their DCI, Webb, asks the Scotland Yard team for assistance. It seems there has been both a rash of disappearances (of local men) and outbreaks of arson and Webb suspects a link though he has no real proof. And when the body is identified as one of the missing men, he's sure he needs help from Masters and company. Everything seems to revolve around the interest two of the missing men took in the church--a church that was being put up for sale. Is there something of value in or near the church that's worth killing for? Has someone been using the church as a meeting place--someone who doesn't want to see the property sold? And what do the five fires have to do with anything? And--as with most of Clark's mysteries--there is an unusual method of murder employed in two of the deaths and if Masters can't figure out how it was done, then the case will go unsolved.

This has been a pretty difficult 2-3 weeks. I've gotten a bit behind on writing up reviews and I'm not going to have a whole lot to say beyond giving the plots and a brief reaction for a while. 😞 What I can tell you is that Clark has once again delivered a nifty police procedural with a murder method that isn't your typical, run-of-the-mill poisoning. Yes--two of the men were poisoned, but how? And with what? The autopsies don't show anything. How can you prove poisoning if the analysis doesn't show it happened? Clark will tell us. I always enjoy his unusual murder methods, because I learn something new without info dumps. Masters explains everything, but in a way that is very interesting. Full marks for method...and for keeping me in the dark. I should have known who did it--but I missed it.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the way home from a case, Superintendent George Masters and his Scotland Yard team suffer an automobile breakdown in a remote rural location. While walking by an abandoned church, they discover a body that has been dropped down a well.

The body turns out to be one of three people who have recently gone missing in that area. Some strange cases of arson have also been reported. Local authorities ask Masters to stay and help with this unusual crime wave. The team quickly starts putting the pieces together, and as usual, they wrap everything up within several days.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the way back home Detective Superintendent Masters’ car breaks down just outside a derelict church in Lincolnshire. While waiting for help he wanders around the churchyard and discovers a body in a well. He and his team are invited to investigate. But they discover that in recent times in the area, three men have gone missing and there have been five fires.
An interesting well-written crime story
Originally published in 1979

[Evonne Hutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure logic and deduction does it again as the team from Scotland Yard finds a body down a well.
Well written as always

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had it's ups and downs. Too much Green of course, and lots of repetition and padding, but when it comes down to the bones of the case, Masters makes this a good read.

[John Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Good plot

[Charles Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars - somewhere between 'okay' and 'liked it'.

The case concerns murders in and close to a church. The first body is accidentally discovered by Masters and his team. There are also cases of arson. This feels like a book written with less enthusiasm than usual for the author. It seemed to me that the characters had less life in them than in earlier books.

Pedantic Note
The author has promoted Berger from constable to sergeant and has forgotten that Berger is meant to be a non-smoker. Has spending time with all the other smokers caused him to take up the habit?

[Barry Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Detective Chief Superintendent Masters and his team of Chief Inspector Green and Sergeants Reed and Berger are returning from a case in Middlesbrough when their car breaks down. Whilst waiting for assistance from the local constabulary Masters and Green go for a walk round a disused church yard and find a body in a well. When the local police appear they are asked to report it officially at the local police headquarters and from there they are asked to assist with the investigation into two missing men one which they located in the well and a spate of fires.