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Sergeant Beef #2
Case Without a Corpse
This is one of Sgt. Beef's most interesting and perplexing cases. It involves a murder, but one in which no body can be found. Young Rogers announces to Beef and others assembled in a local pub that he has committed a murderthen takes his own life. But where is the victim? How did it happen? "I always supposed," says Beef. "a murder case started with a corpse, and then you had to find out 'oo done it. This time we know 'oo's done it, but we can't find the corpse."
- GenresMystery
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
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44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 12, 2019
Full review at classicmystery.blog
July 22, 2022
This novel pits the simple, plodding honesty of Sgt. Beef against the modern methods of the professional Scotland Yard Inspector named Stute. The characters are not very subtle, but they are a relatively fun group to trek around the countryside with. The story is told from the perspective of Townsend who also chronicled the first Beef mystery. This is, first and foremost, a comedy. A tongue-in-cheek amusement that actually has a decent murder-mystery storyline as its frame. The humor is redundant and the plot is not a speeding bullet train. However, it is entertaining and it all turns out right in the end.
It all hinges on perspective, which is a truly witty and clever thing for Bruce to have done to the reader. The perspectives of Beef and Stute and a little misdirection.
Recommended for summer vacations and vintage mystery fans.
It all hinges on perspective, which is a truly witty and clever thing for Bruce to have done to the reader. The perspectives of Beef and Stute and a little misdirection.
Recommended for summer vacations and vintage mystery fans.
December 30, 2019
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
June 26, 2016
Penampilan kedua Sergeant Beef setelah penampilan memukaunya di Case for Three Detectives.
Cerita dibuka pada malam hari di sebuah "pub" di mana Beef sedang bermain "dart". Ketika itu seorang pemuda, Rogers, masuk ke "pub" dan mengaku telah membunuh seseorang. Baru saja Beef hendak mendekati sang pemuda, Rogers merogoh botol di sakunya dan langsung menenggak botol tersebut. Tak kurang beberapa detik Rogers ambruk terjatuh dan tergeletak di lantai "pub", saat Beef memeriksa tubuhnya, Rogers sudah meregang nyawa.
Seseorang baru saja mengaku telah melakukan pembunuhan dan orang itu sendiri sekarang telah mati bunuh diri. Masalahnya, Rogers tidak sempat mengatakan siapa yang telah ia bunuh!
Beef, patuh pada tugasnya sebagai polisi desa, segera memerintahkan bawahannya untuk mencari tahu korban pembunuhan Rogers dengan mencari apakah ada warga desa yang tidak berada di kediaman mereka (karena biasanya, pada jam2 tersebut, warga sudah kembali di kediaman mereka).
Esok harinya diketahui bahwa tidak ada warga yang hilang. Beef, sekali lagi, patuh pada protokol, segera memanggil Scotland Yard untuk menyelidiki kasus tak biasa ini. Adalah Inspector Stute, sosok detektif polisi teladan yang sangat metodologis dalam melakukan penyelidikan.
Saya lupa menyebutkan sebelumnya, narasi cerita kembali diambil dari sudut pandang Townsend. Teman Beef yang berprofesi sebagai "detective novelist" yang berperan sebagai "chronicler" dari kasus-kasus yang ditangani Beef.
Secara keseluruhan, buku kedua ini mengingatkan saya kembali pada buku pertama. Jika di buku pertama ceritanya adalah Sergeant Beef vs Tiga (parodi) Detektif amatir terkenal, buku kedua adalah Sergeant Beef vs (parodi) Detektif Polisi Scotland Yard.
Namun jika kata Scotland Yard mengingatkanmu pada Lestrade, saya jamin Inspector Stute berada pada level yang jauh lebih tinggi daripadanya. Menurut saya, Stute adalah parodi dari Inspector French (FW Crofts), menilai dari teknik penyelidikannya yang sangat mendetil dan begitu menyeluruh. Saya sendiri belum membaca novel2 Inspector French, tapi dari review2 yang telah saya baca, karakternya digambarkan seperti itu. Dan hal tersebut saya temukan pada diri Inspector Stute.
Bagian paling menarik dari buku ini adalah penyelidikan oleh Stute. Kesannya memang sangat police procedural, tapi tidak dibawakan secara jenuh. Sebelum melakukan penyelidikan Stute terlebih dahulu menyusun kemungkinan2. Seiring terkuaknya informasi baru, satu demi satu kemungkinan tereliminasi, hingga pada satu titik Stute merasa frustasi, namun muncul kembali... Well, tidak akan seru jika saya bahas semuanya di sini.. hehe
In the end, Sergeant Beef-lah yang (kembali) memecahkan kasus. Tapi saya pikir solusi dari/versi Beef kali ini tidak begitu semenakjubkan di buku pertama. Saya malah lebih suka pemecahan elegan dari Stute di pertengahan buku, tapi yah..
And that's what makes it worth only three stars! wait, no, three and a half!
Cerita dibuka pada malam hari di sebuah "pub" di mana Beef sedang bermain "dart". Ketika itu seorang pemuda, Rogers, masuk ke "pub" dan mengaku telah membunuh seseorang. Baru saja Beef hendak mendekati sang pemuda, Rogers merogoh botol di sakunya dan langsung menenggak botol tersebut. Tak kurang beberapa detik Rogers ambruk terjatuh dan tergeletak di lantai "pub", saat Beef memeriksa tubuhnya, Rogers sudah meregang nyawa.
Seseorang baru saja mengaku telah melakukan pembunuhan dan orang itu sendiri sekarang telah mati bunuh diri. Masalahnya, Rogers tidak sempat mengatakan siapa yang telah ia bunuh!
Beef, patuh pada tugasnya sebagai polisi desa, segera memerintahkan bawahannya untuk mencari tahu korban pembunuhan Rogers dengan mencari apakah ada warga desa yang tidak berada di kediaman mereka (karena biasanya, pada jam2 tersebut, warga sudah kembali di kediaman mereka).
Esok harinya diketahui bahwa tidak ada warga yang hilang. Beef, sekali lagi, patuh pada protokol, segera memanggil Scotland Yard untuk menyelidiki kasus tak biasa ini. Adalah Inspector Stute, sosok detektif polisi teladan yang sangat metodologis dalam melakukan penyelidikan.
Saya lupa menyebutkan sebelumnya, narasi cerita kembali diambil dari sudut pandang Townsend. Teman Beef yang berprofesi sebagai "detective novelist" yang berperan sebagai "chronicler" dari kasus-kasus yang ditangani Beef.
Secara keseluruhan, buku kedua ini mengingatkan saya kembali pada buku pertama. Jika di buku pertama ceritanya adalah Sergeant Beef vs Tiga (parodi) Detektif amatir terkenal, buku kedua adalah Sergeant Beef vs (parodi) Detektif Polisi Scotland Yard.
Namun jika kata Scotland Yard mengingatkanmu pada Lestrade, saya jamin Inspector Stute berada pada level yang jauh lebih tinggi daripadanya. Menurut saya, Stute adalah parodi dari Inspector French (FW Crofts), menilai dari teknik penyelidikannya yang sangat mendetil dan begitu menyeluruh. Saya sendiri belum membaca novel2 Inspector French, tapi dari review2 yang telah saya baca, karakternya digambarkan seperti itu. Dan hal tersebut saya temukan pada diri Inspector Stute.
Bagian paling menarik dari buku ini adalah penyelidikan oleh Stute. Kesannya memang sangat police procedural, tapi tidak dibawakan secara jenuh. Sebelum melakukan penyelidikan Stute terlebih dahulu menyusun kemungkinan2. Seiring terkuaknya informasi baru, satu demi satu kemungkinan tereliminasi, hingga pada satu titik Stute merasa frustasi, namun muncul kembali... Well, tidak akan seru jika saya bahas semuanya di sini.. hehe
In the end, Sergeant Beef-lah yang (kembali) memecahkan kasus. Tapi saya pikir solusi dari/versi Beef kali ini tidak begitu semenakjubkan di buku pertama. Saya malah lebih suka pemecahan elegan dari Stute di pertengahan buku, tapi yah..
And that's what makes it worth only three stars! wait, no, three and a half!
August 19, 2024
More enjoyable than the first case. More here: https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpr...
August 7, 2024
Sergeant Beef beats the Yard at their own game.
I loved the first book in this series ("Case for Three Detectives") in which a rough diamond country copper solves a tricky murder case right under the noses of three brilliant amateur detectives. All three are hilarious spoofs of fictional detectives who would have been known to all mystery fans in 1937 when it appeared. A spoof is tricky, but IMHO the author pulls it off beautifully.
Now the series continues, with the same narrator. Townsend is a London gentleman with a private income. He's a strange bedfellow for Sergeant Beef, a countryman who likes a glass of beer and a game of darts in the local pub. But Townsend's book about Beef's triumph in the Thurston murder case has caught the reading public's imagination. Now the Odd Couple are permanently linked, with Beef shining as the canny country bumpkin and Townsend playing Watson to his Sherlock Holmes.
On the basis of his success, Beef's superiors have moved him from his previous village post and put him in charge of the small town of Braxham. Townsend has come to visit, curious to see how Beef will deal with the greater responsibility. They meet at the pub for drinks and darts and (of course) there's a murder. Solving a murder when the corpse can't be found is tricky, but doable. Solving a murder when no one knows who's been murdered is, well, murder.
Still, Beef must act after a hot-tempered young man barges into the pub and announces that he's committed a murder. Before he can tell them WHO he murdered, he commits suicide. It's admirable that he's so remorseful about his misdeed, but it leaves Sergeant Beef up the creek with no paddle and no corpse.
There are various complications in the form of a Bad Girl who's dunning the young man for money and a Good Girl he wants to marry. Then there's that mysterious foreigner lurking around. To Townsend's astonishment, Beef calls in the London police almost immediately, claiming that their scientific methods and greater experience are necessary to solve the crime. It's a strange claim coming from Sergeant Beef, who's usually confident about his own abilities, even if few people share his opinion.
Detective-Inspector Stute is clearly appalled by Beef's incompetence. To Stute, the sergeant's country slowness is almost as criminal as murder and definitely more irritating. Stute lauches an energetic investigation into the dead man's background. Several key figures are missing and they must be traced, dead or alive. Clues must be followed up on two continents and the latest scientific forensic techniques brought to bear on the case. Beef is openly awed by the Inspector's drive and the resources at his command, while Townsend is sorry to see his old friend's limitations cruelly exposed by the supercilious London detective.
Of course, we all know how it's going to end. Sergeant Beef isn't the hero of the series for nothing. While the London man amazes everyone with his brilliance, Beef calmly worries away at the problem like a dog gnawing on a bone. As he says, his strong point is his knowledge of the local characters. He can't even pronounce "psychology" but he's used to observing the natures of those in his jurisdiction and when one of them acts in an atypical way, he wants to know why.
I'm loving this series, which is well-written and filled with sly humor and sturdy common sense. If the first book was a take-off on absurd amateur detectives, this one is a satire on snooty big-city types. It's always a mistake to underestimate others, even if they lack education and social skills. I'm indebted to BLCC editor Martin Edwards for introducing me to this long-forgotten writer. This series is great reading and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next one.
I loved the first book in this series ("Case for Three Detectives") in which a rough diamond country copper solves a tricky murder case right under the noses of three brilliant amateur detectives. All three are hilarious spoofs of fictional detectives who would have been known to all mystery fans in 1937 when it appeared. A spoof is tricky, but IMHO the author pulls it off beautifully.
Now the series continues, with the same narrator. Townsend is a London gentleman with a private income. He's a strange bedfellow for Sergeant Beef, a countryman who likes a glass of beer and a game of darts in the local pub. But Townsend's book about Beef's triumph in the Thurston murder case has caught the reading public's imagination. Now the Odd Couple are permanently linked, with Beef shining as the canny country bumpkin and Townsend playing Watson to his Sherlock Holmes.
On the basis of his success, Beef's superiors have moved him from his previous village post and put him in charge of the small town of Braxham. Townsend has come to visit, curious to see how Beef will deal with the greater responsibility. They meet at the pub for drinks and darts and (of course) there's a murder. Solving a murder when the corpse can't be found is tricky, but doable. Solving a murder when no one knows who's been murdered is, well, murder.
Still, Beef must act after a hot-tempered young man barges into the pub and announces that he's committed a murder. Before he can tell them WHO he murdered, he commits suicide. It's admirable that he's so remorseful about his misdeed, but it leaves Sergeant Beef up the creek with no paddle and no corpse.
There are various complications in the form of a Bad Girl who's dunning the young man for money and a Good Girl he wants to marry. Then there's that mysterious foreigner lurking around. To Townsend's astonishment, Beef calls in the London police almost immediately, claiming that their scientific methods and greater experience are necessary to solve the crime. It's a strange claim coming from Sergeant Beef, who's usually confident about his own abilities, even if few people share his opinion.
Detective-Inspector Stute is clearly appalled by Beef's incompetence. To Stute, the sergeant's country slowness is almost as criminal as murder and definitely more irritating. Stute lauches an energetic investigation into the dead man's background. Several key figures are missing and they must be traced, dead or alive. Clues must be followed up on two continents and the latest scientific forensic techniques brought to bear on the case. Beef is openly awed by the Inspector's drive and the resources at his command, while Townsend is sorry to see his old friend's limitations cruelly exposed by the supercilious London detective.
Of course, we all know how it's going to end. Sergeant Beef isn't the hero of the series for nothing. While the London man amazes everyone with his brilliance, Beef calmly worries away at the problem like a dog gnawing on a bone. As he says, his strong point is his knowledge of the local characters. He can't even pronounce "psychology" but he's used to observing the natures of those in his jurisdiction and when one of them acts in an atypical way, he wants to know why.
I'm loving this series, which is well-written and filled with sly humor and sturdy common sense. If the first book was a take-off on absurd amateur detectives, this one is a satire on snooty big-city types. It's always a mistake to underestimate others, even if they lack education and social skills. I'm indebted to BLCC editor Martin Edwards for introducing me to this long-forgotten writer. This series is great reading and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next one.
March 27, 2018
The narrator is in a pub with his friend, Sergeant Beef, when a local man, Alan Rogers, storms in, declares dramatically that he's just committed a murder - and then poisons himself on the spot by drinking cyanide. So Sergeant Beef finds himself with a confessed murder - but without an identity for the victim, nor even a corpse. He painstakingly starts an investigation, but is soon supplanted by the modern Inspector Stute, sent down from Scotland Yard. Before long, the clues, suspects and motives start to accumulate : why did young Rogers have lunch with Mr. Fairfax, an occasional visitor to the village? What was his relationship with the blonde he was seen taking to the station? And was he up to no good during his frequent travels to South America as a ship steward?
The narrator follows gamely along, even joining Inspector Stute and Sergeant Beef on an impromptu trip to Paris. Full of admiration for the tireless Inspector Stute, he nevertheless has to admit that Sergeant Beef's low-tech methods have some merit as well...
This mystery is a good puzzle, and it's funny as well, because the reader can sense that Sergeant Beef will yet be able to show the condescending Inspector Stute and his proteges a trick or two...
The narrator follows gamely along, even joining Inspector Stute and Sergeant Beef on an impromptu trip to Paris. Full of admiration for the tireless Inspector Stute, he nevertheless has to admit that Sergeant Beef's low-tech methods have some merit as well...
This mystery is a good puzzle, and it's funny as well, because the reader can sense that Sergeant Beef will yet be able to show the condescending Inspector Stute and his proteges a trick or two...
February 1, 2021
I'm not sure I'm really the target reader for Leo Bruce's Sergeant Beef stories. This is the second book I've read and I don't want to get the joke of a country bumpkin sergeant who jolly appearance underlies in ability to beat Scotland Yard's finest to solve the unsolvable. It's a one book joke that is taken too far. The story had promise dealing with a murder without a body and mysterious suicide of the killer known only as "Rogers". With Beef baffled, Scotland Yard send Detective Inspector Stoute and the case involves into an interesting tale until the finale with everyone baffled Beef finds a solution, really? Not convincing crime fiction.
February 7, 2022
The second in the Sergeant Beef series is nowhere near as innovative nor is it as satisfying or successful as its highly-regarded predecessor.
It contrasts the meticulous, yet flawed and ultimately unsuccessful, procedure of detectives such as Inspector French, here represented by Stute of Scotland Yard, with the methodology of the determined Beef-who actually works in a way similar to Christie's Miss Marple.
Unfortunately the central idea here is too clever, so clever that most of the solution is fairly transparent to the seasoned GAD reader.
However, I found the whole affair amusing, if slightly over-prolonged in the telling.
3.75 stars.
It contrasts the meticulous, yet flawed and ultimately unsuccessful, procedure of detectives such as Inspector French, here represented by Stute of Scotland Yard, with the methodology of the determined Beef-who actually works in a way similar to Christie's Miss Marple.
Unfortunately the central idea here is too clever, so clever that most of the solution is fairly transparent to the seasoned GAD reader.
However, I found the whole affair amusing, if slightly over-prolonged in the telling.
3.75 stars.
November 26, 2019
Another charming mystery novel. Here we see Beef, in his slow ponderous unsystematic way, solve the case when Scotland Yard, with its efficiency, system, order, fails.
August 16, 2024
Considerando che il trucco è sempre lo stesso, il risultato di questa indagine è un po’ più scontato della precedente. Il linguaggio è meno ironico, la presa in giro meno brillante: invece di tre investigatori eccellenti qui si combatte contro il metodo professionale di Scotland Yard. Rimane comunque una lettura piacevole, con un finale insospettabile…. o quasi!
November 7, 2015
Quando il sergente Beef fa il suo ingresso in scena c'è sempre da divertirsi. Indimenticabile.
Want to read
February 3, 2019Synopsis: Sgt. Beef learns of a murder in which there's no body. The murderer killed himself before talking. First published 1937.
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