From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Not a Creature Was Stirring

Jane Haddam

Start date: November 19, 2017

Finish date: December 14, 2017

Discussion: Buddy reads

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What Members Thought

Nov 21, 2015 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top-50-read-next-fiction

"Not a Creature was Stirring", is the very first in Jane Haddam's long-running Gregor Demarkian series, which I read when first published in 1990 and it remains one of my favourites. When we meet Gregor Demarkian he is a fifty five year old man, retired after twenty years at the FBI. His beloved wife, Elizabeth, is dead - Demarkian had retired mainly to care for her - and now he is a man without purpose. He has returned to his childhood Armenian ethnic neighbourhood in Philadelphia and this plac ...more

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Dec 10, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I am absolutely delighted to see that Jane Haddam has finally arrived on kindle! This novel, "Not a Creature was Stirring", is the very first in her long-running Gregor Demarkian series, which I read when first published in 1990 and it remains one of my favourites. When we meet Gregor Demarkian he is a fifty five year old man, retired after twenty years at the FBI. His beloved wife, Elizabeth, is dead - Demarkian had retired mainly to care for her - and now he is a man without purpose. He has re ...more

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Jul 14, 2019 Ellen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: haddam, inspector-demarkian

Not a Creature Was Stirring (Gregor Demarkian, #1) by Jane Haddam.

This is the 1st book in the wonderful Gregor Demarkian series. These books may be read alone or in order. I chose to go back to the beginning after reading 10 Demarkian novels. This story reveals the roots of Demarkian's new chapter in his life after retiring from the FBI and the start of his relationship with a future significant person.

The Hannaford Siblings:
Bennis: successful author.
Ann Marie: frustrated spinster/caregiver.
Tedd ...more

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Dec 27, 2019 Julie Durnell rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

3.5 stars for the first in this series but was intrigued enough in the evolving character of Gregor Demarkian to continue with the next book. The Hannaford family were horrid people and some of the language used by the father was vulgar and offensive. I had almost figured out the culprit in the murders but considered the investigating by the local police as ineffectual at best.

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Dec 19, 2017 Leslie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: holiday, mysteries

I think that I have read this before though it didn't seem familiar to me. If so, it is not surprising that I guessed who the murderer was (based solely on personality, not clues) - I may have subconsciously remembered.

I love the Armenian-American background; as I grew up in a town with a lot of Armenians, many aspects of this background remind me of my hometown. ...more

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Dec 12, 2012 ChrisGA rated it really liked it · review of another edition

First in the series starring Gregor, a retired FBI agent, mourning the death of his wife from cancer. Lots of confusing characters in his Armenian-American neighborhood in Philadelphia but as the series continues, they begin to sort themselves out. This story has Gregor perk up and become invigorated while investigating the multiple deaths at the Hannaford mansion. The Hannafords are the epitome of disfunctional family with lots of hatred, jealousy, money problems, and moral defects that provide ...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-cosies, myst-set-andor-auth-usa, reviewed, vintage, series, myst-pi, myst-fems-project, holidays

1990, #1 Gregor Demarkian, ex-FBI Investigator, Philadelphia; multiple murder at Christmas amongst the rich'n'(extremely)peculiar Main Line Philly famous; cosy and somewhat (but not too) sweet, three-and-one-half stars.

Classic set-up, almost, a.la Christie, of a crazy rich family gathered most unwillingly at the Family Manse at Christmas so that their dying Mother can see them all for one last time. Unfortunately, it's not Mummy who dies off, although the first victim is one you totally know wi 1990, #1 Gregor Demarkian, ex-FBI Investigator, Philadelphia; multiple murder at Christmas amongst the rich'n'(extremely)peculiar Main Line Philly famous; cosy and somewhat (but not too) sweet, three-and-one-half stars.

Classic set-up, almost, a.la Christie, of a crazy rich family gathered most unwillingly at the Family Manse at Christmas so that their dying Mother can see them all for one last time. Unfortunately, it's not Mummy who dies off, although the first victim is one you totally know will be the victim – he's so completely unlikable and obnoxious. A small flaw in an otherwise well-plotted story, the classic lines aren't boring because Ms. Haddam has very acute psychological insights and yet manages to not bog the story down with psychologizing.

Almost everybody (except Mummy) hates everybody else, and all the characters are classic too: Daddy dearest, who runs the family business (worth gazillions) with an iron hand and paranoid delusions; sweet, baffled, very ill Mother, who loves all her children but is willing to ignore the, um, emotional problems they nearly all exhibit (including a very nasty murderer); eldest son, always in the shadow of his father, whose current exploits include insider trading; two younger – loser type – sons, each nearly completely at the end of his rope; a clueless youngest daughter; the astringent older daughter whom everyone is quite surprised to discover actually has brains (and is up to no good); the eldest daughter, repressed spinster, still living at home (she's the only one) and devotedly taking care of Mummy; and middle daughter Bennis, gorgeous, rich in her own right (she earned it), who seems to be the only one amongst them with any sense.

Peculiar trust funds, Daddy's ire, Mummy's fears, and each family member's bit of trouble, all are mixed nicely together and well-tied up at the end without becoming too predictable. Nicely done, although it no longer seems as sharp and edgy as it did in 1990. Not quite predictable which is a large plus, but also shows a good deal of what I consider to be a major flaw of the series – the soppily sentimental treatment of the ethnic (Armenian) neighborhood that Gregor grew up in and has now returned to live in after losing his wife and retiring from the FBI. Her writing of those bits is definitely funny, and the characters are extremely likable, but there's rather a bit too much of them in this first in series and, as I remember it, the amount of cuteness only increases in the next few books, alas. Since I'm now rereading them in sequence, I'll get to see if memory serves me well.
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