Private Lives

by J.G. Harlond

England, 1942. While reluctant wartime detective Bob Robbins is enjoying a few days’ holiday on the North Devon coast he becomes involved in a shooting incident on a derelict farm. An elderly farmer lies injured, and then disappears. A young man is found shot in the chest. Bob reports the incident to the local police force, but they are so over-stretched with extra duties he finds himself in charge of the case. In urgent need of assistance, Bob requests the help of the young police recruit Laurie Oliver. They take rooms at ‘Peony Villas’, an unusual sort of guest house run by an ex-West End diva, where a troupe of London actors are in residence, and where Bob soon finds himself involved in yet another peculiar mystery.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2020

About the author

Secret agents, skulduggery, sea voyages, magic, and romance...

Award-winning author J.G. Harlond (Jane) writes page-turning historical crime novels weaving fictional characters into real events. She is currently working on the Doomsong historical fantasy series.
Originally from the English West Country, Jane has travelled widely and is now settled in her Spanish husband's home province, Andalucía, Spain.

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free electronic copy of this historical British novel from Netgalley, J.G.Harlond, and publisher Lucero on May 15, 2020. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Harlond writes a tense, tight tale with personable protagonists and an inviting background in southwestern England in late summer, 1942. I am pleased to recommend this author to friends and family.

Our main copper in Private Lives is a visitor to the Atlantic coastal town of Bideford, North Devon, England. Edward J. "Bob" Robbins is a widower, his son serving active duty, and Bob is again a Detective in the Constabulary of Cornwall County, once retired but called back to duty when all the younger men went to war. He is taking a long-delayed break of about a week in the hopes of seeing interesting fauna with his new binoculars and resting his poor tired knees. He desperately needs to unwind and find perspective. Almost immediately he becomes embroiled, basically against his will, in an investigation of one murder, perhaps two, which he witnessed in part. The Bideford police, all of whom are also unfamiliar with Bideford and overworked, feel free to pass the investigation of the missing farmer over to Bob as they are stretched thin with the search for a missing two-year-old girl and, now, the murdered young farmer, shot in the barn of Hentree Farms while Bob was searching the vacant house for the unconscious farmer. Bob, in turn, calls upon Cornwall County to send up a young Constable he has been working with, Laurence Oliver, to assist him in finding the missing old farmer who was at one time being drug across a field at Hentree Farm by the later murdered young farmer, which he observed through his new binocs. Now the older victim, probably missing farmer J. Slattery of Ridgeway Farm, cannot be located nor has he been seen by anyone since last viewed by Detective Robbins.

#1 Peony Villas is the overnight accommodation recommended by the Bideford police desk sergeant. Bob is housed there along with a troupe of stage artists and the tempting, well-preserved landlady, whose name is perhaps Jessamyn Flowers. Bob and later Laurie enjoy the occasional company of these lovely women and the excellent cooking of Mr. Potts, a WWI vet with emotional issues.

Private Lives is an excellent British police procedural, with three-dimensional characters and a wonderful view of time and place in SW England, 1942. Private Lives is the third in this series but is completely stand-alone. This author also has a trilogy, historical in nature, titled The Chosen Man. She is going on my must-read shelf and added to my 'seeking' list. I hope you enjoy her as much as I did.
Received May 15, 2020
pub date May 9, 2020
Published by Lucero
Reviewed on May 21, 2020, at Goodreads and NetGalley, AmazonSmiles, and BookBub. Not available for review at Barnes&Noble, Kobo, or GooglePlay.

[Grumpy Old Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb...

England, 1942. While reluctant wartime detective Bob Robbins is enjoying a few days’ holiday on the North Devon coast he becomes involved in a shooting incident on a derelict farm. An elderly farmer lies injured, and then disappears. A young man is found shot in the chest. Bob reports the incident to the local police force, but they are so over-stretched with extra duties he finds himself in charge of the case. In urgent need of assistance, Bob requests the help of the young police recruit Laurie Oliver. They take rooms at ‘Peony Villas’, an unusual sort of guest house run by an ex-West End diva, where a troupe of London actors are in residence, and where Bob soon finds himself involved in yet another peculiar mystery..


My review...

NB I will talking about plot points that may/may not be spoliers depending on your point of view. 

Bob is an old widower with dodgey knees, who talks to his dead wife. He is also a retired detective inspector, who has been pressed back into service due to manning issues arising from the war. Bob's on his holidays, birdwatching near Bideford, when he hears a shotgun. He walks up the hill to a local farm and sees a young farm hand dragging an injured possibly dead farmer. He gets told to clear off and does so, until he hears a pistol shot. Bob returns to the farm to find the young farm hand dead but no sign of the old farmer. Bob reports it to the local and very unco-operative police and ends up getting pressganged into taking on the investigation. He sends for his trusty young, educated side kick Laurie Oliver and settles in to his accomadation. He ends up staying at a sort of hotel where the guests are all travelling actors and singers. The neighbour is a grumpy curmudgeon and the chef is suffering from PTSD from the Great War. He may also be supplemtenting rations with something a little different! 

So it's a very good set-up. Plenty of potential suspects, conflict and comedy opportunities. The investigation iteslf centres around who will inherit the two farms that the missing farmer worked.

I can appreciate that we needed an insight into who would be the beneficiary if the old farmer was indeed dead. However, a problematic issue, for me,  was the vast family history trees involved in working out how several of the protaganists were connected. A case of "my next door neighbour's aunty's best friend was married to Bob's daughter" type of thing. I often had to read back over what I had already read to try and gain some clarity. This was exacerbated by the fact that at least three of the characters had another alias and one character had had additional three identities. I would recommend having a notepad and pencil at the ready.

In total there are three murders in the book. However at the end, unless I missed something  only one is really solved. We are given a potential perpetrator of the second murder but without any evidence that would convict and the third just seems to be left open ended.

These quibbles not withstanding, now we get onto what the author does well. She does great job of evoking the rural west country  during the war period. You can really feel yourself settling down in the pub drinking scrumpy because there is no beer left as the army lorries thunder through streets built for carthorses.

She also excels at painting a picture of a era where time stretched out rather than rushes by as today. It is a setting that is just as alien to us today as Star Wars is. 

The highlight with regards to mystery is not the whodunnit but the search for the missing (dead?) old farmer and why cant they find his corpse?

 The comedy elements are well played out too. Loved the cat wrangling cook. The rescuing of the Inspector from the farm privy on a motorbike was a favourite also.

There is a lovely relationship between senior, experienced, worldly wise D.I. and junior less experienced but better educated D.C. 

A gentle,  comedic, immersive mystery that plonks you firmly in the west country eighty years ago. Last of the summer wine meets Foyle

[Mystica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Robbins is a detective, but he is presently on holiday enjoying a short walking holiday in the countryside. Stumbling upon a shooting, one man dead, one man missing both of whom he actually saw he now finds himself embroiled in a peculiar mystery of linking pieces of an immense family puzzle.

I lost track of who was related to whom halfway through but I think in small country villages all over the world, everyone is interconnected by marriage going back generations. This village was no different. That was part of the charm of this story because history of clans seemed to be taken very seriously and accounted for various squabbles, ill feelings and stories never allowed to actually fade away - good or bad.

A classic mystery murder detective story this was a nice one set in a rural setting in wartime England.

[Sandra Leivesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, well researched murder mystery set in Devon in 1942. Bob Robbins is a semi-retired police officer who comes across a shooting whilst on a walking holiday and as the local force are busy he is asked to investigate.

I really enjoyed this book . The author paints a vivid picture of what life was like in a semi rural community during WW2. There is a big cast of characters but that didn't confuse me, and even if it had there's a list of who's who at the beginning of the book. The book is well written with nice touches of humour and paced just right.

I hope we get to read more about Bob Robbins and his sidekick, Laurie Oliver, in the future.

[Ruth Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retired detective Bob Robbins, who has been brought back from retirement to help out in his local station due to the war effort, manages to get a few days holiday on the south coast. However this is not to be, as he becomes embroiled in a local mystery where a farmer who has been shot, then disappears and the person who shot him, is himself fatally shot! Lots going on in the book, although for me it was a slow starter , however I really enjoyed it once into it and even though there are deaths, there are at times, some humourous passages in it ! A good old fashioned English murder mystery.
I read this book as an ARC for my bookclub.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent historical mystery, well plotted and engrossing.
I loved the vivid historical background, the great characters and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[ChillwithabookAWARD With · Rating 5 out of 5]

Private Lives by J G Harlond has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award
www.chillwithabook.com

[Réal Laplaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Private Lives: A Bob Robbins Home Front Mystery, by J.G. Harlond, is a classic crime investigatory novel that holds you to the very last page. Set in the early 40's as World War II rages just beyond the English Channel, detective Bob Robbins is vacationing in rural England when he witnesses something that starts a dissonance ringing in his investigatory mind. Robbins, an old-school detective and nearly of retirement age, is reluctant to take up the scent of a possible murder case, but when he is informed that his vacation is necessarily cut short to pursue the matter, he sets out, hound-dog style, picking up the tiny, yet irreconcilable factors that leads him deep into the murky pit of a small town's past and present, and the vortex of familial power plays - any one of whom could have had a hand in the disappearance of one man and the shooting of another. J.G. Harlond provides a rich and illustrious backdrop, one that pulls the reader onto the stage of how life was lived back in the 40's; with attention to detail and colorful language, she paints a canvas that makes the reader feel like they are right there in the charm and pastoral simplicity of an age that seems so distant, and yet, is barely eight decades earlier, a time when there were no digital devices, no internet, where people met over tea and related information face-to-face, and where a crime was investigated by pulling on the strings, one at a time, following the small clues, and where intelligence and assessment were king. This is a well-paced, well-written story, and to be honest, throughout the book, I desperately tried to figure out WHO DID IT, who committed the deed - and to that end, I challenge anyone reading this book to figure it out. I didn't - and that makes this a true crime mystery to the end. (This review is based on an Advance Review Copy of the book).

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
WWII, 1942 on the North Devon coast finds Bob Robbins on a few days off from his police job. He reluctantly gets involved in the murder and disappearance of a wounded farmer. A new young police recruit, Laurie Oliver, joins him and they both take rooms at Peony Villas, where they meet the attractive owner and her strange actor guests. The case proves to be a difficult, frustrating one.
It's a good mystery with a true feeling of wartime England. The only thing I found a bit upsetting was the part about the skeletal tied-up dog and the starving pigs, although some of the scenes of being chased by the hungry hogs were amusing.
There seem to be some strange suspicious meats provided by the cook at Peony Villas, who collects kittens and puppies!? There are some unanswered questions regarding that and other events, but it's pretty easy to figure out what's what. I enjoyed the book and definitely recommend it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1942 Bideford Due to the war DS Edgar (Bob) Robbins has been brought out of retirement to once again join the police force. While on holiday, walking a coastal path he hears shots and notices an incident, involving two men. The elder man looking injured but his help is not welcome. Then later while investigating at the Hentree Farm he hears a pistol shot and discovers the body of the young man. Soon due to local police shortages, Robbins is seconded to the area and is in charge of the investigations. He recruits his constable Laurie Oliver to help. While on the case he is staying at the Peony Villas, where he is sure that there is a mystery to be solved there.
An enjoyable historical well-written mystery with a couple of likeable main characters.
A NetGalley Book

[Jacqui Huntley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comfortable 1940s war-time detective story st in north Devon. A village where murder has occurred and every one apparently knows everyone's business but says nuffin. Everyone also seems to be inter-related with family feuds going back donkeys. Nice policing of the old sort and an interesting set of characters. Semi-retired DS Bob Robbins has his holiday interrupted when he hears shots and sees an apparent shooting. Local police are overwhelmed and he is drafted in, reluctantly, to take over the case; not always helped by the local police naturally. Some nice red herrings and a quirky but believable set of protagonists - village life to a T - and a good feeling for the times. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Sandra Vdplaats · Rating 5 out of 5]

heerlijk ouderwetse whodunnit!
Deel II van een serie. Speelt zich af tijdens de zomer van 1942 in Devon/UK. De delen kunnen geheel zelfstandig van elkaar gelezen worden.

Een oudere politieman is getuige van een schietincident waarbij een jonge man komt te overlijden. Hij en zijn rechterhand Laurie Oliver worden al snel ingezet om te achterhalen wat er precies gebeurd is.

Gedetailleerd en humorvol geeft Harlond verslag van wat en met wie Bobbins in aanraking komt, op zoek naar de waarheid. Zo ontmoeten we een illuster theatergezelschap in huize Flowers, en welk geheim draagt Lavinia met zich mee?

Een fantastische mix tussen Lord Peter Wimsey (D. Sayer), Foyle's War & the Land Girls.

Ik hoop toch echt op nog meer delen. Heerlijk ouderwetse cosy mystery.

[Joan Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Bob Robbins series, as the likeable, bumbling detective solves a mysterious death in rural Devon. Readers need to keep their wits about them in a plot that twists and turns its way through a cast of entertaining characters. Intriguing and humorous, it will keep you reading until the last page. Hope JG Harlond has more mysteries up her sleeve for Detective Sergeant Bob to solve.

[Kathryn Garner · Rating 2 out of 5]

A murder mystery set during World War 2.Lots of interesting characters,twists and turns.A retired detective and his young sidekick work hard to solve it.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Private lives by J.G. Harland.
This is a Bob Robbins home front mystery. A good read with some good characters. Bit slow. But a good read. 3*.