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Slight Mourning (Inspector Sloan, #6)

Catherine Aird

Start date: August 15, 2023

Finish date: September 6, 2023

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in the Inspector Sloan series.
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What Members Thought

Jul 05, 2022 Lady Wesley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened, aud-plus, fave-narrators, mystery-golden-age-or-similar, 2022-faves

Review of the audiobook narrated by Derek Perkins.

3.5 stars rounded up. I quite enjoyed this mystery, which technically is post-Golden Age (1975) but is written in a similar style. Inspector Sloan is nice but a bit drab. That was okay, though, because the rest of the cast of characters were not drab. It's a country-house mystery set in a small town in the fictional county of Calleshire -- nothing special but very nice. Sloan solved the mystery while I was still floundering, and I actually like t ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 08, 2023 Susan rated it really liked it

I am really enjoying this series and this is a traditional village mystery, with some humour between the characters to lighten the general mood.

Twelve people attend a dinner party at Strontfield Park and, afterwards, the host drives home an elderly guest and crashes his car on the way home. Drugs are found in his system, opening a tentative murder enquiry, but nothing is definite. Enter the long suffering Detective Inspector Sloan and Detective Constable Crosby to try to unravel the motive. For ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction-uk, crime-fiction

The sixth installment of Inspector Sloan's adventures finds our hero and his faithful sidekick Crosby investigating the death of one Bill Fent, who died in a car crash. You'd think that would be the purview of the Traffic officers, but in this case, Bill had been found to have had a massive dose of barbituates in his system. Doing some research, Sloan and Crosby figure it could only have been administered at an earlier dinner party -- but there were 11 guests around the table. Which one did it? ...more

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Dec 13, 2015 Jenn Estepp rated it liked it

Shelves: sleuths-and-gumshoes, kindling

So far, this is my least favorite in the series. I just had a terrible time getting into it and didn't find the mystery very compelling and the various characters kind of a blur. And the digitization of the series has some quirks that were far more noticeable - or maybe because I wasn't feeling very invested, so they were more annoying. I'm still game for reading others (at the very least, the other two I bought when they were on sale last month), but I hope they'll be better. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2023 Susan in NC rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, tbr-with-gr-groups, audiobook

I love this traditional police procedural series - set in 1960s-70s in the mythical rural county of Calleshire, we follow the investigations of the dogged DI Sloan, his rather goofy and incompetent DC Crosby, and their obnoxious, know-it-all, pessimistic boss, Supt. Leeyes. (He takes a lot of night classes, and instills bits and pieces from psychology to sociology, into his one-sided rants, er, discussions of the case with Sloan, creating much of the sly commentary on the state of things in post I love this traditional police procedural series - set in 1960s-70s in the mythical rural county of Calleshire, we follow the investigations of the dogged DI Sloan, his rather goofy and incompetent DC Crosby, and their obnoxious, know-it-all, pessimistic boss, Supt. Leeyes. (He takes a lot of night classes, and instills bits and pieces from psychology to sociology, into his one-sided rants, er, discussions of the case with Sloan, creating much of the sly commentary on the state of things in post-war England at the time).

This time, a local pillar of the community, Bill Fent, has been killed in a road accident. He and his wife had been hosting a dinner party of 12 to welcome the village doctor’s new wife, and Fent drives home an elderly guest. The driver of the other car is hanging on in the local hospital, was either driver drunk? Snarky pathologist Dr. Dabbe is surprised to discover not excessive alcohol in Fent’s system, but enough barbiturates to kill a horse. Who poisoned Fent, and how, in what is now a case of murder? Two, once the other driver dies of his injuries. Three, once…well, no spoilers!

As always, we follow Sloan and Crosby on their rounds of questioning the dinner party guests, and get to eavesdrop on conversations between the suspects, always a great opportunity to pick up local gossip, and what the parties are carefully NOT telling the police.

With so many guests attending the party, I expected to struggle keeping them straight- especially as I listened to most of it as an audiobook. But this series has a delightful narrator, relaying perfectly Leeyes obnoxious social and policing commentary, Sloan’s respectful attempts to follow his super’s twisted reasoning while not laughing or throwing up his hands (he’s a better man than I!), and Crosby’s rather simple contributions to the case (he may be getting better - Sloan always wishes for a sharper, more professional partner, but always gets Crosby, who is young and needs training, and drives very fast!)

Interesting, exciting resolution, pretty much fair play with many clues that were out in the open, but a few we as readers did not know. Overall, pretty fair, keeping me guessing until the end. I look forward to the next mystery!

...more

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May 06, 2015 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing

I first read this Sloan and Crosby mystery many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it and I enjoyed re-reading it too. A magistrate is killed in a car crash - what appears to be a tragic accident. But when a post mortem reveals poison the police have to investigate. Several people could have a reason to wish the victim dead trying to find out how the poison was administered is going to tax the investigative powers of the police especially as the victim was host to a dinner party hours before he di ...more

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Sep 01, 2023 Jan C rated it really liked it

Shelves: england, gr-group-read, 2023

Enjoyable read.

I didn't catch the murderer.

But I do like her stories. ...more

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Aug 07, 2023 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: catherine-aird

I enjoyed this episode with Inspector Sloan and his subordinate Constable Crosby. It is the humour between these two and their Superintendent Leeyes, that puts a light-hearted slant on the misery of any murders that occur within their district.
This book begins with a man who has just been the host of a dinner party finding he has to drive one of the guests home. Having delivered the guest, he has a car crash on his way home. Due to this accident his body is taken to the police mortuary where whe ...more

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Aug 28, 2023 Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-series

I like this series-a bit dated but an interesting set of mysteries, a likeable sleuth pair (police) and minimal violence. Doesn't really need to be read in order, but I'm doing so as part of a group read. ...more

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