From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death of Jezebel

Christianna Brand

Start date: August 15, 2020

Finish date: September 9, 2020

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Members have enjoyed previous Christianna Brand books, so we are now reading the next in the Inspector Co…more
[close] Members have enjoyed previous Christianna Brand books, so we are now reading the next in the Inspector Cockrill series.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 468 topics — 9,046 comments total

Buddy reads

* White Nights by Ann Cleeves (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 29 posts · 12 views

last updated Sep 04, 2025 12:17PM

* White Nights - SPOILER Thread - (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 17 posts · 12 views

last updated Aug 24, 2025 11:29PM

showing 3 of 3 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 31, 2020 Susan in NC rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Mostly entertaining, but not a favorite author- this is her second book I’ve read, and it had the same problems (for me) as the other book, also read with the Reading the Detectives group.

Pros - like the other Inspector Cockrill book I read (The Crooked Wreath), Brand presents a knotty puzzle, concerning the murder of a nasty, self-centered woman, the Jezebel of the title, in front of an audience.

- lots of snarky humor, delivered by an intriguing, but generally brittle, unlikable cast of charact ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2021 Lady Wesley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened, mystery-golden-age-or-similar

This book is very difficult for me to rate. On one hand, it is a cracking-good puzzle, but on the other hand, the mostly unlikeable characters and the several false confessions left me a bit bored. And confused. Even now, I am still not sure who was really who.

I suspect that this is a book better read than listened to, although the narration by Derek Perkins was excellent. I wish now that I had highlights to go back and look at. I still don’t know how Inspector Cockerill figured it all out. Per ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It is a shame this book is so hard to find, as, if you enjoy Christianna Brand's crime novels this has a lot to offer. It is the fourth in the Inspector Cockrill mysteries ( following, “Heads You Lose” , “Green for Danger “ and “The Crooked Wreath” and also features Inspector Charlesworth (who first features in “Death in High Heels”) as well as other characters from previous novels.

The book centres around a pageant, during which revenge is taken for an earlier death. The young Johnny Wise, who w ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2025 Layton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a truly exceptional impossible crime novel, in that the perpetrator is rather uninteresting but the way they commit the crime left my jaw on the floor. Absolutely flabbergasted, a work of crime-writing genius.

Just like Green for Danger, I found myself enjoying Brand’s voice throughout this, feeling like I was chatting with a gossipy granny with a dark sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye.

An easy 5 stars.

2 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2011 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-fems-project, reviewed, vintage, myst-set-andor-auth-uk

A not-so-virtuous maiden gets herself killed in front of hundreds of spectators during a medieval play, and there’s no way it could have been done. Inspector Cockrill saw the death happen, and even he has his doubts. Nicely sparring tale of conflicting styles of policemen, showcasing Cockrill but also featuring Brand’s other Inspector, Charlesworth, who has more than met his match in Cockrill and comes off second best here.

Extremely intricate timetable plotting mixed with a very strong revenge t ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2023 Jenn Estepp rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: better-together, sleuths-and-gumshoes, kindling

Let’s say 3 1/2. It’s well-constructed and smart, and I like the Inspector. It’s just also essentially a locked room mystery, featuring numerous reconstructions and “how it could have happened” - neither of which is really my thing.

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2025 Gina Dalfonzo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A pretty good mystery on the whole, but the last part was rather convoluted and tricky. Fewer reenactments and fewer confessions would have made it snappier and easier to follow!

Like · see review

Mar 26, 2023 Laura Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-isles, mystery

I enjoyed the “locked room” puzzle, the rivalry between two detectives, and Brand’s style & humor. Critique: unbelievable coincidence results in eyewitness clue & tediously going over the crime scene repeatedly, yet not providing clear floorplan.

Like · see review