From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Sirens Sang of Murder

Sarah Caudwell

Start date: May 14, 2022

Finish date: June 5, 2022

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Third in this popular series.
[close] Third in this popular 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

What Members Thought

Apr 10, 2022 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the third Sarah Caudwell mystery, featuring Professor Hilary Tamar and all the young barristers from Lincoln Inn. I know that the real mystery of this series is whether Prof Hilary Tamar is male or female - personally, from the first novel I saw Hilary as female and the central character has remained that way to me. However, should you see them as male, then that is obviously your perogative.

This series is a delight and this third book revolves around the character of Michael Cantrip who This is the third Sarah Caudwell mystery, featuring Professor Hilary Tamar and all the young barristers from Lincoln Inn. I know that the real mystery of this series is whether Prof Hilary Tamar is male or female - personally, from the first novel I saw Hilary as female and the central character has remained that way to me. However, should you see them as male, then that is obviously your perogative.

This series is a delight and this third book revolves around the character of Michael Cantrip who ventures to Jersey, where he is asked to advise on 'the Daffodil Settlement.' You may feel that mysteries involving law firms, accountants, tax settlements and trustees might be dull, but you could not be more wrong. This is a delight. Cantrip is gleeful at being in Jersey when he should be attending Court in London - even more so as his mischievious uncle, Colonel Hereward Cantrip, will be visiting and his colleagues - Julia, Ragwort and Selena - will need to amuse him in his absence.

Cantrip is a sweet and charming character. Having discovered the delights of the Telex (remember those?) he delights in sending endless messages to Julia, which are read by virtually everyone in the office before they find their way to the correct recipient. While in Jersey, Cantrip finds that one of those involved with the Trust, the Countess Gabriella, is afraid she is being spied on and he determines to be her protector. Meanwhile, a member of the judiciary, Judge Arthur Welladay, (or, as Cantrip terms him, 'Welliboots') appears on the scene to confuse things still more. Before long, everyone is chasing everyone else and members of the Trust seem to be dying before their time. Enter Professor Tamar to help solve the case and bring peace back to the Chambers, so our characters can again retreat to their favourite wine bar and put the world to rights. Sadly, there is only more of these books for me to read but I am SO glad I found this series and thank the members of my Reading the Detectives group who brought them to my attention. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 10, 2020 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-mystery, award-winner, british-mystery, mystery, silver-age-mystery, mount-tbr-2020

I say, Larwood, is this tax-planning business really as exciting as these Daffodil characters seem to think or do they just make believe it is to make life more interesting? I mean, if I'd known it was all about does and secret documents and biffing chaps in false beards, I wouldn't have minded going in for it myself.... (Michael Cantrip--by telex, p. 47)

This is the third in a quartet of fun, witty, twisty mysteries that Caudwell wrote about Hilary Tamar, law scholar and sometime amateur sleuth, I say, Larwood, is this tax-planning business really as exciting as these Daffodil characters seem to think or do they just make believe it is to make life more interesting? I mean, if I'd known it was all about does and secret documents and biffing chaps in false beards, I wouldn't have minded going in for it myself.... (Michael Cantrip--by telex, p. 47)

This is the third in a quartet of fun, witty, twisty mysteries that Caudwell wrote about Hilary Tamar, law scholar and sometime amateur sleuth, and a group of junior barristers who have an uncanny knack for landing themselves in the middle of murder and mayhem. Our most recent adventure opens with Michael Cantrip and Larwood knee-deep in concocting a novel loosely-based (ahem) on themselves and the doings in their law office. Cantrip is immediately taken off to the Channel Islands ostensibly to advise on a tax case [though, if the Daffodil Settlement folk wanted really good tax advice, why didn't they ask Larwood, a more notable authority on the subject?].

The Channel Islands served (maybe still serve?) as tax havens for folks such as those who set up the Daffodil Settlement. A settlement (or other such conveyances) properly set up could protect people living in heavily taxed countries from being bothered by such pesky details like income tax or death duties or such. Part of the idea was to hide the identities of the real owners and beneficiaries so the Inland Revenue spies...er officials couldn't figure them out. But, generally speaking, the administrators of such things were supposed to know. Key word supposed.

Apparently, now that the chief administrator of the Daffodil Settlement has died in a swimming accident, nobody knows identity of any of the important players. And a situation has arisen that makes it imperative to know--otherwise about 9 million pounds is going to be paid out to the named beneficiary (which was supposed be just pretend). Cantrip has been brought in to advise the remaining administrators on "what the heck do we do now?" But then another member of the little group falls off a cliff...and it begins to look like somebody is trying to make sure the trust is paid out in a certain way.

Cantrip gets a bit worried about the whole situation and begins sending telex messages to his colleagues back in London keeping them abreast of the situation. Things get very tense and Professor Tamar goes buzzing off to the island of Sark to prevent Cantrip from being the next contestant in the death stakes. Will our intrepid amateur detective be in time? Does Tamar know who is behind it all and why?

****Possible spoiler ahead. Read at your own risk***

I absolutely love Cantrip this time around (and am ready to forgive him for having a name that makes me want to call him Catnip). The telex updates that he sends to his fellow lawyers are hilarious and following his adventures as he tries to foil whatever nefarious plans "old Wellieboots" has up his sleeve is worth the price of admission. I am tempted to give this a full five stars based on that alone--but I have to deduct a star for the solution. I mean, yes, there's all that tax and settlement and who's the real beneficiary business floating around to create a nice bit of suspicion all round. But, honestly, when the real villain of the piece crawls out of the woodwork, it feels a bit cliche. I have to agree with Larwood that the old-fashioned motive rearing its head amongst the overall flow of the plot seemed just a bit out of place. I can't really cry foul though--Caudwell does strew the clues about and it should have been possible for me to identify the culprit. But I definitely wasn't thinking about that motive, so the clues didn't point where they should have. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 10, 2022 Carolien rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2022, english-mystery

I love this series for its combination of quirky characters, interesting plots and British comedy. In this instalment, Julia is surprised when Cantrip is approached to advise a group involved in a tax avoidance scheme. It turns out that the benefactor of a trust has died, but nobody can remember who the beneficiary was supposed to be. It then turns out that there has already been a suspicious death in the group and then a second member dies in unexplained circumstances. The action moves from Lon ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2022 Frances rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-series

I do love this unfortunately brief series of lighthearted mysteries centred on a group of young and clever lawyers and their friend, Professor Hilary Tamar of Oxford University. This one is focussed on tax-avoidance schemes, the complexities of which lead to all sorts of quasi-legal shenanigans and, in this case, murder! Caudwell, who apparently worked in the field of International tax planning (according to her bio) is having great fun gently mocking (and no doubt questioning the ethics of) thi ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 22, 2022 Sandy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, mystery-classic, rread-2022, audio-downloaded

I wish the author had lived longer and written more. This one was a romp, spoofing (I hope) tax avoidance laws. My opinion aligns with Old Wellyboots'. ...more

1 like · Like · see review