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Inspector Quantrill #4
The QUIET ROAD TO DEATH
Called in to investigate the bloody murder of Angela Arrowsmith, Inspector Doug Quantrill is joined by an ambitious policewoman, Detective Sergeant Hilary Lloyd
190 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Sheila Radley
24 books3 followersSheila Mary Robinson was born and brought up in rural Northamptonshire, one of the fortunate means-tested generation whose further education was free. She went from her village school via high school to London University, where she read history.
She served for nine years as an education officer in the Women’s Royal Air Force, then worked variously as a teacher, a clerk in a shoe factory, a civil servant and in advertising. In the 1960s she opted out of conventional work and joined her partner in running a Norfolk village store and post office, where she began writing fiction in her spare time. Her first books, written as Hester Rowan, were three romantic novels; she then took to crime, and wrote 10 crime novels as Sheila Radley.
She served for nine years as an education officer in the Women’s Royal Air Force, then worked variously as a teacher, a clerk in a shoe factory, a civil servant and in advertising. In the 1960s she opted out of conventional work and joined her partner in running a Norfolk village store and post office, where she began writing fiction in her spare time. Her first books, written as Hester Rowan, were three romantic novels; she then took to crime, and wrote 10 crime novels as Sheila Radley.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 19, 2021
Quantrill investigation of a murder is going nowhere because they can't identify the victim that was found without her head on a layby. A new sergeant arrives to replace the promoted Martin Tait and she's female so that makes a couple of the men uncomfortable. A threatening message is found in the same village as the murder, but in the end seems unrelated.
I really liked this one. The battle of the sex is not too much though some sexual harassment could be argued (especially with Martin's attitude) it does date the story, but it's not so far in the past that I don't remember some of this... when I did a secretarial course in the early 90s, I was told that doing the coffee was MY JOB and I shouldn't fight over it, have to say I didn't drink coffee at the time and frustrated a lot of my bosses over forgetting it every day (and it wasn't because I didn't want to do it, it just wasn't part of my routine... I haven't been in charge of coffee in years so things have changed and I don't think it has anything to do with not being a receptionist anymore either). Oops that turned into a rant, the book does show the reality that was though even though it was sexist and unjust... it was.
There's two events that I found upsetting, but the second one made Quantrill realize what had happened so it has a reason to be and the first one starts the story. Let's just say those were hard for an animal lover, but not gratuitous since they impelled the story.
SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
I was totally wrong in who did it because I thought it was too simple... Still makes sense.
I really liked this one. The battle of the sex is not too much though some sexual harassment could be argued (especially with Martin's attitude) it does date the story, but it's not so far in the past that I don't remember some of this... when I did a secretarial course in the early 90s, I was told that doing the coffee was MY JOB and I shouldn't fight over it, have to say I didn't drink coffee at the time and frustrated a lot of my bosses over forgetting it every day (and it wasn't because I didn't want to do it, it just wasn't part of my routine... I haven't been in charge of coffee in years so things have changed and I don't think it has anything to do with not being a receptionist anymore either). Oops that turned into a rant, the book does show the reality that was though even though it was sexist and unjust... it was.
There's two events that I found upsetting, but the second one made Quantrill realize what had happened so it has a reason to be and the first one starts the story. Let's just say those were hard for an animal lover, but not gratuitous since they impelled the story.
SPOILER
END OF SPOILER
I was totally wrong in who did it because I thought it was too simple... Still makes sense.
October 7, 2018
"It's a quiet morning in the town of Breckham Market. Brian Finch, a new postal-service recruit, is learning his route, wealthy businessman Ross Arrowsmith is jogging, and Ross's sister-in-law, Angela Arrowsmith, is thinking about getting out of bed.
"Angela's been sleeping alone, which is not particularly to her liking. But what can you do when your most recent paramour fails to please and your rather boring husband is off visiting his mother? You pet your Siamese cat and dream of better times to come.
"Angela wouldn't rest quite so well if she knew that before the morning is over her cat will be decapitated and 'Your Turn Next' will be painted in large red letters on her door.
"The decapitation is of special interest to Detective Chief Inspector Douglas Quantrill, who for the past two months has been investigating the decapitation murder of a still-unidentified young woman. Such things don't happen in a quiet town like Breckham Market -- and Doug Quantrill is determined that the Breckham Market crime wave will be stopped.
"Quantrill would welcome help, but when it comes in the form of Detective Sergeant Hilary Lloyd, he's not so sure he's pleased. Quantrill has waited a year for the replacement for his old partner, Martin Tait, and a woman is the last thing he had in mind. Attractive and ambitious, Hilary Lloyd knows that if she shows any emotion on the job, she'll be considered unprofessional. If she hides her feelings, Quantrill will say she's unfeminine. It's a no-win situation that Hilary Lloyd must overcome both for her self-esteem and for her career.
"Wary and on their guard, Quantrill and Hilary Lloyd begin the long search that will lead them to the murderer and to a better understanding of each other."
~~front & back flaps
Another excellent excursion into the unhappy lives of people married to the wrong partners, of mothers too indulgent of their sons, and wonderful glimpses of the town itself, and its less suspicious inhabitants.
"Angela's been sleeping alone, which is not particularly to her liking. But what can you do when your most recent paramour fails to please and your rather boring husband is off visiting his mother? You pet your Siamese cat and dream of better times to come.
"Angela wouldn't rest quite so well if she knew that before the morning is over her cat will be decapitated and 'Your Turn Next' will be painted in large red letters on her door.
"The decapitation is of special interest to Detective Chief Inspector Douglas Quantrill, who for the past two months has been investigating the decapitation murder of a still-unidentified young woman. Such things don't happen in a quiet town like Breckham Market -- and Doug Quantrill is determined that the Breckham Market crime wave will be stopped.
"Quantrill would welcome help, but when it comes in the form of Detective Sergeant Hilary Lloyd, he's not so sure he's pleased. Quantrill has waited a year for the replacement for his old partner, Martin Tait, and a woman is the last thing he had in mind. Attractive and ambitious, Hilary Lloyd knows that if she shows any emotion on the job, she'll be considered unprofessional. If she hides her feelings, Quantrill will say she's unfeminine. It's a no-win situation that Hilary Lloyd must overcome both for her self-esteem and for her career.
"Wary and on their guard, Quantrill and Hilary Lloyd begin the long search that will lead them to the murderer and to a better understanding of each other."
~~front & back flaps
Another excellent excursion into the unhappy lives of people married to the wrong partners, of mothers too indulgent of their sons, and wonderful glimpses of the town itself, and its less suspicious inhabitants.
December 8, 2013
Things are getting a bit gruesome in the village of Breckham Market. First, a young woman's body is found in a quiet lay-by just outside of town. The police have not been able to identify her because the murderer decapitated her and removed the head. Then someone leaves a vicious message on Angela Arrowsmith's doorstep--her own Siamese cat, decapitated as well, and the words "Your Turn Next" spray painted on the door. While Chief Inspector Douglas Quantrill and his new Detective Sergeant Hilary Lord are trying to track down clues in the murder and the mutilation of the cat, someone is planning another death--and soon Angela joins the tally of victims. Did she know something about the first woman's death? Is that why Angela had to die? Or has someone taken advantage of the circumstances to focus suspicions elsewhere? After all, maybe Angela's husband Simon has finally realized that he'd gotten a raw deal in the marriage market. Or maybe her brother is tired of being her galley slave. Perhaps her brother-in-law can't stand having the family name dragged through the mud...one more time. Or...there are those shady connections from her barmaid days. It all makes for an interesting investigation as Quantrill tries to get used to his first female second-in-command.
Written in 1983, The Quiet Road to Death by Sheila Radley gives us a glimpse of what it was like for the male detective branch to take on female detectives. They'd gotten used to women in uniform, but there is still a "boys club" feel to the detective service. Quantrill wavers between feeling that Lord will be a distraction for the men to thinking that her charms might well soften up male suspects. He's obviously trying hard to work through his rather chauvinistic views and by the end of the novel they have struck an uneasy balance. There will definitely be some further growing pains for this working relationship in any future novels.
The mystery itself is generally okay. There aren't a great number of suspects, so it doesn't take much to figure out whodunnit and I'm a little hesitant about the motive...but it ultimately works. I will have to say that Angela is a thoroughly unlikeable wench and I didn't shed any tears over her death. Poor Simon really was being railroaded. The most interesting part of this story is watching the integration of Hilary Lord into the detective team--understanding how groundbreaking that was for women in the police force as late as the early '80s. Not a knock-out mystery, but I will definitely be trying more to see how the relationship develops. Three stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Written in 1983, The Quiet Road to Death by Sheila Radley gives us a glimpse of what it was like for the male detective branch to take on female detectives. They'd gotten used to women in uniform, but there is still a "boys club" feel to the detective service. Quantrill wavers between feeling that Lord will be a distraction for the men to thinking that her charms might well soften up male suspects. He's obviously trying hard to work through his rather chauvinistic views and by the end of the novel they have struck an uneasy balance. There will definitely be some further growing pains for this working relationship in any future novels.
The mystery itself is generally okay. There aren't a great number of suspects, so it doesn't take much to figure out whodunnit and I'm a little hesitant about the motive...but it ultimately works. I will have to say that Angela is a thoroughly unlikeable wench and I didn't shed any tears over her death. Poor Simon really was being railroaded. The most interesting part of this story is watching the integration of Hilary Lord into the detective team--understanding how groundbreaking that was for women in the police force as late as the early '80s. Not a knock-out mystery, but I will definitely be trying more to see how the relationship develops. Three stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
January 7, 2013
Chief Inspector Douglas Quantrill and his team have been working tirelessly to try and discover the identity of a headless body found in a layby. They are not getting on very well at all and it looks as though the case will be handed over to the Regional Crime Squad in the person of Detective Inspector Martin Tait who used to work for DCI Quantrill. Now Quantrill has a new DS – Hilary Lloyd – allocated to him and he has some doubts about working with a woman.
This is a complex crime novel with several strands and some excellent clues which make it possible for the observant reader – not me in this case – to work out who did it and why. Someone else will meet their death before the headless body is identified and there is plenty of painstaking detective work carried out by all the police officers concerned. I particularly liked the way the uneasy relationship between Quantrill, Tait and Lloyd is portrayed.
I found this book an interesting and enjoyable read. Anyone who likes their crime novels set in a small town or village will enjoy this series which is set in Suffolk. The series can be read in any order.
This is a complex crime novel with several strands and some excellent clues which make it possible for the observant reader – not me in this case – to work out who did it and why. Someone else will meet their death before the headless body is identified and there is plenty of painstaking detective work carried out by all the police officers concerned. I particularly liked the way the uneasy relationship between Quantrill, Tait and Lloyd is portrayed.
I found this book an interesting and enjoyable read. Anyone who likes their crime novels set in a small town or village will enjoy this series which is set in Suffolk. The series can be read in any order.
July 21, 2011
Published in 1984 but old-fashioned in style and feel (that's not a bad thing). A trashy, ambitious woman, a besotted young husband, family tensions, animal mutilation, and a new female detective on a small-town police force.
November 27, 2007
Not half bad for a random, stray mystery novel. It's a short whodunnit that reads like an episode of long-lost CSI: Rural England.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews