A bone and a hank of hair

Carolus Deene #10

by Leo Bruce

Book by Bruce, Leo

Genres: Mystery, Crime, British Literature

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Pseudonym for Rupert Croft-Cooke.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Gentleman Detective Carolus Deene is called to investigate the disappearance of Mrs. Rathbone, and perhaps the second Mrs. Rathbone, and the third. With little more than the title clues to aid him, Deene tracks a man who seems to have a habit of murdering his wives -- a man on the order of John Reginald Christie or Wives-in-the-Bath Smith. Bizarre, richly comic and sometimes sinister characters lead him to a remote region of East Kent, to London and to an art colony in Cornwall on the way to a surprising conclusion."
~~back cover

Another elegant mystery that pulls the reader into suspecting exactly what the author wants them to suspect: here's another wispy, dreary little man. Atmosphere, stories recounted by neighbors and former acquaintances all point to that conclusion: meek little Brigham Rathbone's a serial wife killer.

"' There isn't the smallest doubt,' said the tall woman in black, 'that my cousin has been murdered.'
'And the corpse?'
'Destroyed. Obliterated. Buried. Burnt. Anyhow, beyond discovery.'
'Perhaps you know the identity of the murdered?' asked Carolus Deene innocently.
'Of course I do. It was her husband. He has completely disappeared.'"

And the plot thickens from there. A delicious, keep-the-reader-guessing foray into the labyrinth minds and secret passions of seemingly ordinary people. What's not to love?

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading mysteries is one of my passions and Leo Bruce is partly responsible for this. His books are witty, sparse, and always, always interesting. They are never gory nor are they "cozy" and safe. I just reread "A Bone and a Hank of Hair" for the umpteenth time and fell in love with it all over again.
Carolous Deene, the gentlemen detective in his tales, is hired to discover whether a man has murdered his wife. He begins his search for the truth and is confronted with more than he bargained for. There are always a lot of laughs in these books but they remain great examples of a classic mystery.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leo Bruce is vastly under-rated as a British mystery writer.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I was not in the mood for this, the second Carolus Deene detective novel I have read. I love the Sergeant Beef series with its metafictional approach but the schoolmaster-detective here did not appeal.

Rather in the Inspector French manner, Deene whizzes around the English landscape during the Christmas holidays in pursuit of the truth about a missing woman or, possibly, three missing women. There is much speculation and lots of references to real life multiple killers, endless interviews and much sardonic humour, but unfortunately I worked most of it out before Deene graciously condescended to unravel the complex strands of the life of Brigham Rathbone for the benefit of Scotland Yard.

I can fully understand the author’s attitude to the police- he was one of many gay men caught by them in the 1950s crackdown when they should have been hunting down real criminals -but Deene loftily keeping them at arms-length ultimately was tiresome.

3.5 stars. Certainly worth a punt at the current reduced price.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A fun, old school detective mystery

[Calum Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

B-

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Deene is called to investigate the disappearance of Mrs. Rathbone, and perhaps the second and third Mrs. Rathbone too.

[Catherine Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy these slow unravelings of Leo Bruce but not as much as the Sergeant Beef series. This one was a good one for the fall evenings. The attitude to prostitutes was a bit off-putting.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carolus Deene is asked to either find a missing woman or find her killer. The woman's cousins is sure that her husband has killed her, but he seems to have no motive. The book was pretty good, but the cover gave too much away. It also was pretty obvious what was going to happen next.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...