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White Nights by Ann Cleeves (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 29 posts · 12 views
By Susan · 29 posts · 12 views
last updated Sep 04, 2025 12:17PM
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White Nights - SPOILER Thread - (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
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By Susan · 17 posts · 12 views
last updated Aug 24, 2025 11:29PM
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What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread
By Judy · 4475 posts · 483 views
last updated May 21, 2019 12:15PM
What Members Thought
Published in 1958, this is the first in a series of mysteries, set in the seaside town of Flaxborough. The book opens with an oddly amusing account of a funeral; the funeral of respectable town councillor, Harold Carobleat, to be precise. Later, when Mr Carobleat’s neighbour, Marcus Gwill, dies in mysterious circumstances, D.I. Purbright is called in to investigate.
Why are a group of respectable, older men, suddenly under threat? A businessman, the owner of the local newspaper, a solicitor, a d ...more
Why are a group of respectable, older men, suddenly under threat? A businessman, the owner of the local newspaper, a solicitor, a d ...more
3.5 stars - fun and funny, with very personable, dry-witted police detectives Purbright and his sidekick Sgt. Love. Good premise, skewers the hypocrisy of a small seaside town’s “leading citizens” with a clever criminal conspiracy, but dragged in the middle, I found myself skimming to find out whodunnit to whom - never a good sign! But being a huge fan of Christopher Fowler’s Peculiar Crimes Unit, I am very willing to be patient with the first in a series which promises much enjoyment, and give
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A clever mystery.
A decent whodunit and delightful Miss Marple-wannabe (move over nosy Agatha Raisin) first published in 1958, was a great find in Audible. As someone in GR commented that this book though centred on the mystery-solving capabilities of DI Purbright, but like in Miss Marple stories, the real stars are the Flaxborough denizens.
The narration by Simon Shepherd was top notch!
My Rating - 4/5
The narration by Simon Shepherd was top notch!
My Rating - 4/5
My copy is a HB, G.P. Putnam's Sons, First American edition 1967.
Beneath an electrical tower, a man is found dead, electrocuted, his mouth full of marshmallows. He's fully dressed, but wearing bedroom slippers, and he did not fall from the tower. How did he get there? Why were 2 - no, make that 3 - of his friends and business associates with him in his house just minutes before he died? What's behind the unusual advertisements that are weekly printed in his local paper? Why, the day after his de ...more
Beneath an electrical tower, a man is found dead, electrocuted, his mouth full of marshmallows. He's fully dressed, but wearing bedroom slippers, and he did not fall from the tower. How did he get there? Why were 2 - no, make that 3 - of his friends and business associates with him in his house just minutes before he died? What's behind the unusual advertisements that are weekly printed in his local paper? Why, the day after his de ...more
Aug 11, 2008
Jenn Estepp
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
libraries-are-great,
sleuths-and-gumshoes
I went on quite the Flaxborough binge a (gulp) decade or so, when I first discovered them. Unfortunately, they were pretty hard to come by at that point and my acquisition of the series was pretty scattershot, although this is one that I read. Fortunately, they are being re-issued as e-books and I took the opportunity to re-visit this one and am super excited that I'll be able to, at some point in the near future, binge on others in the series that I could never find.
But about Coffin ... this i ...more
But about Coffin ... this i ...more
A really entertaining and humorous mystery. Funny and interesting characters and a sound plot make this book really enjoyable.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Farrago and Netgalley
Recommended.
Many thanks to Farrago and Netgalley
Note: I received a digital review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
I simply could not finish this story. It was so very boring to me. I own the TV series DVD entitled 'Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle' which is based on this series and enjoy watching it. But I didn't enjoy reading about the characters.
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Found this to be rather slow and wordy. Plot was good but took ages of repetition. I would read another by this author but wouldn't be in a hurry.
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Mar 09, 2016
Miss M
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
crime_classic-and-ga
Feb 28, 2017
Karen M
marked it as wish-list-series
Mar 10, 2019
Lillian
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-vintage-golden-age,
read-in-2019
Dec 12, 2018
Kajehas
marked it as to-read
Nov 18, 2020
Rachel Burke
marked it as want-to-buy
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classic-mystery-recommended
Feb 04, 2024
Dayana
marked it as to-read
