Mrs. Malory and Any Man's Death

Mrs. Malory Mysteries #19

by Hazel Holt

The village of Mere Barton would be a different place without local busybody Annie Roberts. Standing only five feet tall, the tireless retired nurse organizes and oversees all local activity with military precision.

When Sheila Malory gets roped into Annie's latest project, a compilation of the village's history, she has a feeling it will lead to trouble. But the project is cut short when Annie is found dead from a nasty case of mushroom poisoning--and Mrs. Malory seems to be the only one who finds the death suspicious. Because of her nosy nature, Annie had discovered some dark secrets about her fellow villagers. Secrets someone might kill to keep quiet.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Crime, British Literature

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Hazel Holt is a British novelist. She studied at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, and then Newnham College, Cambridge. She went on to work at the International African Institute in London, where she became acquainted with the novelist Barbara Pym, whose biography she later wrote. She also finished one of Pym's novels after Pym died.

Holt wrote her first novel in her sixties, and is a leading crime novelist. She is best known for her "Sheila Malory" series. Her son is the novelist Tom Holt.

Reviews

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Roberts is a bully though no one seems willing to stand up against her including Sheila Malory. As a result Sheila dins herself persuaded to compile a history of the village in which Annie has lived all her life. Then Annie dies unexpectedly and Sheila wonders if the death was quite as much of an accident as it appears. After all, Annie prided herself on her ability to identify edible fungi.

The problem nags at Sheila all the time she is collecting old photographs and reminiscences from the villagers and she gradually starts to wonder what sort of a hold Annie had over her fellow villagers - especially as everyone seems much more relaxed since her death.

This is an enjoyable mystery which shows how people can exercise power over others and how dangerous that power can be - not only to its victims but to the person who exercises the power as well. Sheila as ever is an interesting character who manages to acquire snippets of information in order to put together the whole picture. This is the nineteenth book in the series though the books can be read in any order.

[GeraniumCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The usual rather gentle mystery from Hazel Holt - their merits are in the character of their amateur detective, Sheila Malory, who can't help investigating suspicious deaths even while wondering whether she should pry into people's secrets. Sheila's domestic life with her dog and cat, and her observations about life are as important as her investigations, and this series makes M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin look gritty!

[Falina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice relaxing British mystery.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've read all of those that are available and each one was a fun read. I'll say it again as I've said before I love the endings. Most of the time there is a dilemma as to how she will handle the perpetrator's future. This series is civilized and "quiet". They're full of interesting characters - some very colorful. And most of them are not as they seem which makes it so much more fun.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 19th installment of one my favorite cozy mystery series, Mrs Malory series by Hazel Holt. These are perfect books to read on cold winter evenings with a hot cup of cocoa by my reading chair and my purring cat on my lap.

I love Mrs Malory all the residents of the little English village she lives in and this one involves a busy body who sticks her nose into someone else's business once to often!

[Debbie Mcclelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book!

I felt as if I was right there in the village, in the parsonage, at the seaside! Ms Holt paints a very clear picture with her words and, as always, the story is well plotted. She keeps her characters true throughout all the books; its like running into an old friend at the pharmacy!

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheila Malory is pleased to hear that her old school friend Rachel is returning from Scotland to live with her sister Phyllis in the nearby village of Mere Barton, but she is less than happy when the resident village busybody, Annie Roberts, ropes her into the creation of a history of the village. Still, when Annie suddenly dies, from poisoned mushrooms even though she had always prided herself on knowing her fungi, Sheila is upset, if only because that puts even more of a burden on her to finish Annie’s final project. But subsequent events have Sheila wondering if the death was as innocent as it seems…. The “Mrs. Malory” series reached its 19th volume with this book, and unlike most of the previous novels it is set away from Sheila’s beloved Taviscombe, albeit only a few miles away. There is a fair amount of chatter about all the in-comers to the village, as most of the original inhabitants have moved away long ago and properties have been bought up by retiring Londoners and others from outside the area; this is actually considered a problem in some English towns, although I don’t know if it’s quite as dramatic as is suggested here! In any event, another cozy read, perfect for stormy summer days when the thunderstorms can provide an auditory accompaniment to the drama of the tale; recommended.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hazel Holt is a cross between Miss Read and Agatha Christie. Her forte is small-town English life viewed from a somewhat nostalgic point of view, with a mild-mannered murder thrown in for interest! The one here, death by poisonous mushroom, is not ever even officially a murder, but the series heroine, Sheila Malory, thinks something fishy is going on and so she keeps snooping until she finds something! The hardest thing to swallow in the whole book is why people would readily expose their former lives and shortcomings to Sheila, but allowed themselves to be exploited by the dear deceased in order to avoid having those same misdeeds come to light! To me, that's the real mystery! None of the "sins" were enough to commit murder for, except the actual one and this is dealt with in a most un-Christie-like manner! The good Dame would never have gone the cheap route! However, if you just want to relax for a few hours with endless cups of tea, good homemade cake and the pets underfoot, then this is a soothing read that will entertain you but not insult your intelligence.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Mrs. Sheila Malory story is a look into small town life as you would like it to be…. Not perfect, but lots of good people – and a few challenges as well. Mrs. Mallory, a “certain age” woman with a grown son and granddaughter, is still very active. She is an expert on the Victorian period and writes critiques on published material as well as articles on her own. An acquaintance in a nearby village, Annie Roberts, pressures her into doing some editing in a history of a nearby village. When the leader dies the main work on the volume falls on Sheila. Along with writing the history, Sheila also finds herself involved in the death of Ms. Roberts as well. A nice comfortable read – part mystery and part small town life.

[Lorraine Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad

[John Vanek · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot moved a bit slowly for my taste, and the female characters came across as gossips and rumormongers. Not my cup of tea.

[Joan Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

How soothing these cozies are without being overly sentimental. This one focuses on the death of a bossy village woman who controls the villagers by letting them know she has the goods on them.

[Windy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit like a midsomers murders story with everything happening in one village but no police involvement because no one suspects any crime has been committed

[Suzi]

I really savored this book. It is like a visit to my small town and my youth to read Mrs. Mallory. Great mystery and lots of character study. Dogs, cats, horses, food, books and aging relatives.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one. Good characters. Comfortable murder mystery. Lots of twists.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2009 is the publication date of this amateur sleuth tale but it feels much earlier as I would have expected to see use of the internet. The tale is set in a West Country village with all older characters, few of whom are original village dwellers. Sadly the feel is somewhat homogenous although efforts are made to focus on the vicar or others to establish them as suspects in the mystery.

A woman is foreseeably killed by use of the mushrooms and fungi she likes to pick and use for cooking. Or was it just an accident? I expect that the police would, just in case, check out who had been conducting net searches for poisonous fungi, ordering such books on line or withdrawing them from the library. But I don't notice any police activity during the tale, other than that we are told they look over the victim's house.

Our main character has come to live a solitary life in the village, and is roped into researching a book on the village history including photos. This provides her reason to go around talking to everyone, asking who knew what and so on. Other characters can't pass her in the street without spending ten minutes telling her about their relatives. So there is a great deal of conversation by a great many people about a great many more people. There is no action or peril whatsoever and while individuals have their own concerns, few are in any way concerned about anyone else or in the fate of the last few common grazing fields - oh, let them be built upon is an attitude we meet from supposedly responsible people. I'd turn them into a wildlife sanctuary but nobody proposes that - unrealistic.

Where the book is good, is in showing us a changing way of country life. The young people go off to somewhere exciting and profitable, only the odd one taking agriscience and farming. The older people who retire from cities to cottages don't want land or horses and don't want to smell silage or get stuck behind tractors. They want a Disney version of country life. The village shop can't survive on dry goods because everyone shops in supermarkets, so this one has chosen to specialise in deli and artisan products which incomers will enjoy.

I'm sure I read a similar story by Christie years ago, with a similar cast. I never once cared about anyone, including the sleuth, who doesn't get emotionally involved in her case. I've got another one or two of Hazel Holt's here, and I might like them better once I get into them as her writing style is clean and approachable. Try Ann Granger for livelier country mysteries - read the earlier ones such as A Season For Murder. They have real animals and strong quirky characters. The writing style is individual however and annoyed me more the further the series went.

[Mandolin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheila Malory respects but also resents the take-charge attitude of a local retired nurse, Annie Roberts. Small in size but big in personality (or bossiness), Annie essentially runs the village and controls the activities of its inhabitants. Even Sheila isn't immune to her domineering personality and finds herself involved in the writing of the village's history because she can't tell Annie "no." Before the project is even started, though, Annie dies of mushroom poisoning. Most people are willing to accept it as an accident, but Mrs. Malory isn't quite as sure. Her curiosity leads her to begin a subtle investigation of a list of people she finds among Annie's things. What did they have in common? As Sheila comes to discover, they each had some small shameful incident in their past and she used her knowledge of it to gain control over them. Most of the things are really not that important, but did any of them mean enough to give the victim a motive to try to silence Annie forever?

Although the Mrs. Malory series is your typical cozy mystery series, there is something about Hazel Holt's writing that imparts an intellectual feel to the books and makes them very enjoyable reading. She deftly handles a large cast of characters that are full-bodied and realistic. Analysis of their interactions, character traits and personalities are a major part of the book and, though understated and low key, it really adds depth to what would otherwise be a ho-hum mystery. Though not too complicated, her plots are always intricate enough to keep the reader guessing until the end. The solution to the mystery isn't an easy one, which is typical of Holt's work, but it does emphasize an important point: "We are told that you should love your neighbor...a hard thing to ask. Not all neighbors are lovable; some may be unpleasant, even wicked. Must we love them? And then, we may ask, who is my neighbor? The preacher John Dunne...provides one answer: 'No man is an island,' he says. 'I am involved in Mankind.' We are all connected to one another...look at each person you meet in your daily life - whatever your opinion of them may be - with a fresh eye, as first of all a fellow human being. Part, like you, of mankind...." I thought of the other words of Donne's sermon. "Any man's death diminishes me...And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls: it tolls for thee.". I enjoyed this book as I have its predecessors!

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, light English mystery,


Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a very strange feel to this novel. It's almost like it can't decide what it wants to be, a sort of cosy, chummy murder mystery like Midsommer Murders, or something more along the lines of a psychological murder mystery. I think that in the hands of an author who wrote more clearly, this is a mixture that could work well, but this is not that author. It took me until about chapter four to figure out who was narrating, and who said what frequently confused me.

The behaviour of the characters also didn't sit well with what we knew of them. Characters who had been blackmailed and had managed to keep their secrets from everyone but the blackmailer were suddenly blabbing about them to the investigating character, which shows an awful lot of trust, the reason for which is never explained.

I think the book just doesn't quite work.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie Roberts, retired district nurse, rules the little village where she's always lived. she persuades everyone to work on her projects, including a reluctant Sheila Malory, who finds herself working on the village history. When Annie dies after eating the fungi she is so proud of picking herself, everyone seems to relax--and Sheila gradually realizes that Annie has been holding their secrets over their heads. Perhaps someone was unhappy enough with her behavior to poison her mushrooms? Once Sheila realizes this, she feels impelled to go on looking. Annie wasn't a very nice woman, but no one deserves to be murdered.

[Maureen Vincent-Northam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any Man’s Death is a gentle whodunit with nicely drawn characters including Hazel Holt’s regular sleuth, Sheila Malory, who you can’t help liking.

Sheila is persuaded to help produce a book about the history of Mere Barton – a nearby village – by one of the village’s busybodies, Annie Roberts. When Annie is found dead and murder is suspected, there are plenty of likely candidates. What was the hold Annie had on so many people and does Sheila get at the truth or does a murderer go free? The solution to this story isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. I found this a pleasant read and it was nice to reacquaint myself with Hazel Holt’s main protagonist again.

[Sandy Weir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, now I am addicted to these very comfortable mysteries. Blood and gore are far from my sight and mind and things end up balancing out pretty well for everyone after a deductive inspection of concerns. OF special pleasure is the intuition our leading lady exhibits and her honesty (especially regarding her own foibles) and her great friendship with Rosemary! But... but I do worry a bit that Sheila is going to adopt every villain's dog, cat or horse and this makes her even more of a hero to me. Beautifully written.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant cozy mystery in a pleasant cozy mystery series. (This is about the 12th or so book). Mrs. Malory is a nice, comfortable woman (even if she does sometimes get pushed around by local village bullies) and someone it's nice and comfortable to spend time with. It's no wonder that so many village residents are happy to confide her secrets to her, which is how she so often puts two and two together and comes up with the right answer.

Just right for a snowy afternoon or two.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such fun. Perhaps the fact that Shelia (Mrs. Malory) is over the age of 50 and thus brings a different perspective to mysteries is what initially charmed me. But she also has an active mind and is all too human, something she doesn't deny or excuse. As you can see a quick read - a bit of a page turner.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hazel Holt is one of my favorite mystery writers. Her books are suitably cozy, yet stylish and literate. She always does a great job of capturing the English village atmosphere. This book has an unusual (but appropriate) ending.

[Virginia Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Malory is pressured by an unpleasant woman in a neighboring village to write a history of that town. The woman dies, and Mrs. Malory begins to think that she was murdered because she was blackmailing many of the villagers. But who among her victims committed the crime?

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Agatha Christiesque novel, but without a detective. All the cast are suspected in turn, and wait - is the death even a murder? The story is rather benign, which can be a nice change after a book full of evil doings.

The weak point of the book is also that it's not very intriguing.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of ethical decisions here; no real crimes, but all the more interesting for that.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enjoyable read.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to lie this series and it is still a gentle quick read, but I can only tolerate so much cozy