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Death on the Riviera (Superintendent Meredith, #4)

John Bude,

Martin Edwards (Contributor)

Start date: August 1, 2023

Finish date: August 31, 2023

Discussion: Group Challenges

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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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What Members Thought

Sep 13, 2020 Anissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-borrowed-kindle-unlimited, 2020, mystery-suspense-crime, british-library-crime-classics, british-fiction-uk-ireland, summer-warm-getaway-mysteries

Another great mystery reissue by the British Library Crime Classics.

Detective Inspector Meredith accompanied by Acting-Sergent Freddy Strang are in the Riviera to track down a counterfeiter Tommy "Chalky" Cobbett. The police in Nice discovered counterfeit currency popping up with English tourists and it had Chalky's hallmarks. What unfolds for most of the book is a very engaging story surrounding the investigation of the counterfeit ring and trying to uncover the participants as the British and Another great mystery reissue by the British Library Crime Classics.

Detective Inspector Meredith accompanied by Acting-Sergent Freddy Strang are in the Riviera to track down a counterfeiter Tommy "Chalky" Cobbett. The police in Nice discovered counterfeit currency popping up with English tourists and it had Chalky's hallmarks. What unfolds for most of the book is a very engaging story surrounding the investigation of the counterfeit ring and trying to uncover the participants as the British and French police work the case. It was wonderful as a procedural and the characters were delightful. There's also a thread of the story of the inhabitants and goings-on at the Villa Paloma, home of Nesta Hdderwick. Nesta is a wealthy widow and living with her are her niece, Dilys, companion Miss Pilligrew and a couple of hangers-on, Paul Latour (self-proclaimed bohemian artist), Tony Shenton and Kitty Linden. There's also Bill Dillon, who initially meets Meredith and Strang at the outset on his way to the Riviera, he too comes to stay at Villa Paloma resulting in a bit of domestic upheaval.

This was a treat to puzzle out with the officers and their questions were my questions and they sometimes fell for red-herrings I did and other times asked the question that hadn't yet occurred to me. I was having so much fun with the counterfeit story that I forgot for a while that there's supposed to be a death/murder because of the title. Well, there's a great buildup to the counterfeit solution and then the death/murder takes place (around the 66% mark). I usually am annoyed by this circumstance but apparently if given another very engaging mystery to solve, I don't mind so much. The death/murder investigation is less intricate a plot but still enjoyable and that takes up the remainder of the book. The only criticism I had with this is that the gears shift so abruptly between the counterfeit ring and the death/murder that there is one thing left hanging. There's one character that is pivotal in the counterfeit ring that the story doesn't account for in the end. Everyone else involved is apprehended but (view spoiler) seems to have absconded and no one mentions pursuit of him again. I actually went back to reread because I thought I'd missed something. I hadn't. It's a weird omission in an otherwise tightly told story.

The characters were great whether I liked them or not and the plot tidy and well-paced. I couldn't have asked for much more in a mystery. I've read Bude's The Cheltenham Square Murder and as there are a few other Inspector Meredith mysteries in the BLCC collection, I look forward to more.

I almost forgot, this gave me two new crossword words: pip emma (for evening, afternoon i.e PM) and ack emma (for morning). Coming across this reminded me of Christie's Agatha Christie's "A Murder is Announced" where there are estranged siblings that had only been known as "Pip and Emma" which cause a wry eyebrow raises in the story but I completely didn't get while reading.

Recommended. ...more

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Nov 01, 2022 Michaela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-library-crime-classics, netgalley, english-mysteries, deutsch-german, france

Ich habe einige Krimis von John Bude (Pseudonym für Ernest Carpenter Elmore), dem Golden Age Autor, auf Englisch gelesen und war daher begeistert, als ich gesehen habe, dass es einige Bücher von ihm auf Deutsch gibt. Nachdem seine ersten Kriminalromane in seiner englischen Heimat spielen, ist dieses an der Französischen Riviera angesiedelt.
Inspector Meredith ermittelt diesmal zusammen mit dem jungen Sergeant Freddy Strang. Sie sind nicht nur Geldfälschern auf der Spur, sondern müssen auch bald i ...more

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Jul 17, 2023 Jill rated it liked it

Shelves: john-bude, jill-s-ninth-year-challenge

Superintendent Meredith and his sergeant Strang, are sent to France to find a currency forger, who has flooded the market with counterfeit banknotes. With the help of the local police, it is found that the counterfeiting centres around a villa belonging to a wealthy widow who seems to have taken various people to live there with her. One being a bogus artist and another a playboy type. We follow the investigation, which does unravel a well-organized gang who are responsible for the banknotes and ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Francine rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

Great mystery !

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Dec 24, 2019 Jane Glaister rated it it was ok

Inadequate

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Oct 06, 2016 Laura Hannaway rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-library-crime-classics

Enjoyable, but a bit more convoluted than previous instalments and the supporting characters weren't particularly likeable. All in all a good mystery, but I felt this was inferior to his earlier works. ...more

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Aug 02, 2023 Sandy rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, rread-2023, z2023-scenes-classic-crime

Good read with lots of up and downs in the investigation. The English and French detectives work well together, which is not always the case. The two plot lines do not intertwine with complete success.

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