Death of a Warrior Queen

Benjamin Jurnet #6

by S.T. Haymon

Detective-Inspector Benjamin Jurnet takes his love, Miriam, on a drive to Lanthrop, a quaint English village with a lovely strip of beach along the sea. It is to be something of a holiday, even though Jurnet--once a copper, always a copper--does plan to stop by the dig where an archaeologist has complained that someone is tampering with the relics of Queen Boadicea. Jurnet and Miriam find a retreat made for lovers, but pleasure abruptly turns back to business when a brown, leathery arm, ending in a hand flexed like a beckoning claw, rears out of the sand like an accusation. The arm is attached to a body that is decidedly dead. In his ensuing investigation, Jurnet discovers that life in scenic Lanthrop is not as idyllic as it appears. A murder, a probably suicide, and a herd of pedigree goats with their throats slashed all prove that there throats slashed all prove that there is far more buried in the picturesque village than an archaeological treasure. As his work separates him from Miriam yet again, Jurnet must confront the intricacies of love and desire. For love sometimes leads to murder, and it is only by probing the mysteries of the human heart -- including his own -- that Jurnet can find the solutions in this powerful and deeply satisfying novel of detection.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime

218 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

"One of the purest lyric voices in the mystery field" New York Times Book Review

Sylvia Theresa Haymon was born in Norwich, and is best known for her eight crime fiction novels featuring the character Inspector Ben Jurnet. Haymon also wrote two non-fiction books for children, as well as two memoirs of her childhood in East Anglia.

The Ben Jurnet series enjoyed success in both the UK and the US during Haymon’s lifetime: Ritual Murder (1982) won the prestigious CWA Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association. Stately Homicide (1984), a skilful variation on the country house mystery, was praised by the New York Times as a 'brilliantly crafted novel of detection...stylish serious fiction', and favourably compared to the work of Dorothy L. Sayers.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Detective-Inspector Ben Jurnet is overjoyed that the love of his life, Miriam, has returned to England after a year spent in Israel. He's not sure exactly where the relationship stands, but he knows he just wants to be with her. When he gets an invitation to examine an archaeological dig in the Lanthrop area in order to give advice about how best to protect any finds, he decides to turn it into a picnic holiday with Miriam. After a brief stop at the archaeological site, the venture to a lovely strop of beach along the sea. There's even a handy little hide-away in the dunes for lovers to get reacquainted.

All is going well--in fact, even better than Jurnet expected--until their activities unearth a brown, leathery hand attached to a very dead body. Jurnet is hastily turned from ardent lover to cop on a job and his task is to find out who wanted Annie Chance dead. All indications were that she had packed everything she owned and planned to leave town (leaving her adult, but somewhat backward son behind) and some say she was leaving with traveling sales rep. Her suitcase is missing and there's no sign of the sales rep. Annie wasn't the most pleasant of women--so there are a few suspects in the village as well, including her son who may have gotten tired of her blows, both verbal and physical. Annie's isn't the only death in Lanthrop--but Jurnet will have to determine if an auto accident, an apparent suicide, a death from AIDS, and/or the slaughter of a herd of goats have anything to do with Annie's murder.

I have to say that I was disappointed with this one. I had read the first five Haymon mysteries in the late 80s/early 90s and found Ben Jurnet to be an interesting detective. The mystery plots were all solid--nothing extraordinary, but they were well-plotted and were good for a day's read. Reading the sixth installment about thirty years later, Jurnet is still an interesting and well-drawn character, but I wasn't all that keen on the plot. I found the motive for murder to be rather bizarre and, well, tawdry [explaining would be a MAJOR spoiler]. And, yes, murders are often tawdry in real life, but I don't generally want my fiction experiences to leave me feeling so icky.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of the review. Thank you.

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Jurnet is taking his girlfriend to the beach for a picnic. Miriam has been in Israel for the last year and Ben feels as though he is in heaven now she is home. Unfortunately the picnic results in the discovery of a body half buried in the sand dunes but even murder cannot destroy Ben’s joy in the reunion. But this looks like being one of the most confusing cases of his career and it will be many months before it is solved.

There is also an archaeological dig in the area which is searching for Boudicca and buried treasure which is interested the locals. The murder mystery is complex and exposes the best and the worst of human nature. I enjoyed reading it though I didn’t think it was quite as good as some of the others in the series. The murderer is far from obvious and I found I could not quite believe in the motive when everything was explained. I did think in general that the characters were well done and I find Ben and his police colleagues convincing – especially his love/hate relationship with the Superintendent.

This is an entertaining series which can be read in any order and I like the Norfolk background which the author brings vividly to life. If you like your crime stories in the classic mould then try S T Haymon’s Ben Jurnet series.