The Parlor PI's discussion
The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, ch. 1-7
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Where is everyone at with Codicil? Ready for the next section or wait a bit?
Ready for the next section!Sorry I didn't jump on earlier. Thanks for the character list. I was getting confused with all the Evelyns LOL
There are 2 mysteries here. The murder and the stolen painting. Do you think these crimes were committed by the same person?
Tina wrote: "I can jump in on this title early - mid Feb. if you all are resuming discussion. Anyone hear from PugMom? Hope she's okay!!"I'm here! Alive and well but very tired! We got a new puppy and his name is Ralphie (middle name TBD). He is wearing us out with his puppy antics and I haven't had much time to get on my computer to chat. I'm at work now so I have a free moment without a puppy trying to eat my hair LOL
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Mark Pghfan wrote: "I am into the next section, so ready when you are. I will need to pick up the past on this as I just got the Jessica Fletcher book from the library."I have the MSW! Can't wait to start it!
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PugMom wrote: "Tina wrote: "I can jump in on this title early - mid Feb. if you all are resuming discussion. Anyone hear from PugMom? Hope she's okay!!"
I'm here! Alive and well but very tired! We got a new pupp..."
Aww, Welcome Ralphie! FYI...chew toy, good boy. Hair, not so much! LOL Happy Everything, Ralphie!!
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I have the MSW! Can't wait ..."
No rush on MSW, PI's. Glad we're all here in the New Year!
'21, get ready for us!
Yes, lots of Evelyns in the group PugMom Nicole! 2 mysteries so far....will there be more??? Time will tell, loll! I, for one, have been devouring mysteries set in this time period. I'm even reading (for the first time) the Mapp and Lucia novels, which aren't mysteries but the village banter and hierarchy amuses me to no end! ;-)
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Mark Pghfan wrote: "I'm a bit more than half through and we seem to have solved the first mystery. Or have we?"Exactly, lol!
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Wow! Just started it and was immediately pulled back to a kinder, gentler time and place. I so love the gentlemen's club backdrop. I'd have loved to have visited one.
Anyway, this protag reminds me a bit of Lord Wimsey and Campion. Both stars of British mystery TV series. Current Miss Scarlet series may give us a sense of a visit to the era. If not, I encourage you to find and watch The Alienist from season 1 throughout 2. Much grittier but you PI's can handle it.
Anyone in The Parlor see The Alienist? Va, Va-- One of the male protags is quite the dish. And of course, he is with a life partner so I don't stand a chance. LOL Enjoy the reads of the season, PI's.
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Never read any Wodehouse and as this is a Wodehouse-ish mystery, I'm getting a nice intro to that sort of storytelling, style.
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I will, Pghfan. Wodehouse does sound like something a PI would love. Thanks!
Hi Guys, forgive the intrusion, but once in a while I check on old (albeit young in years) friends, and the recommendation of Wodehouse made it irresistible. I am a Wodehouse fanatic. Have all the Jeeves and Wooster books (8) as well as the omnibus, a tome of 34 shorts. Re-read them whenever I am in need of an upper. It always works.Who is the author you compared to Wodehouse? I would love to try him. Again, sorry to but in. You all seem to have found a happy home and like minded "interests".
Many happy discussions and as Wolfe says, I wish you well!
Thank you, Nicole!You unleashed a tsunami of info !!! I'll be busy happily digging out.
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Should we read a Wodehouse down the road? I've never read any of his books!
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Never read one either, Nicole.
I went to Amazon, found the book and had a look inside. The difference as I see it, is that Fitzsimmons tries very hard to be Wodehouse on steroids. He uses every word in his vocabulary and then some, painting a picture of the action, the characters involved, the interior furnishings, the history of characters not yet met, all in one paragraph, sometimes in one sentence. Jeeves and Bertie are actually gentlemen of few words, well placed, which for some reason makes the dialog hilarious. This book seems to be Fitzsimmons first in that genre. Authors have to find themselves. He may relax and actually become Wodehouse 2
Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
Carnaby - steward of the Juniper Gentleman's Club
Anthony Boisjoly (Anty) - our protagonist
Sebastian Canterfell - recently deceased
Evelyn Fairfax Canterfell (Fiddles) - Sebastian's nephew and Anty's school friend
Inspector Ivor Wittersham - Anty's train companion
Evelyn Harold Canterfell (Hal) - Sebastian's son and Fiddles' cousin
Evelyn Clarence Canterfell - family patriarch/the major
Halliwell Canterfell - Sebastian's brother and Fiddles' father, MP
Constable Hugh "Hug" Pennybun - local law enforcement
Lydde - butler
Rupert Vickers - current footman and former valet to Anty's father
Dottie and Jules - former sous-chef and upstairs maid who were in love
Micheline - Jules' fiance
Laetitia - Sebatian's widow and Hal's mother
Rosalind Pierpont - Laetitia's cousin and an American
Dorothea Lively - cook
Luna - maid
Early synopsis - Anty receives a request from his friend Fiddles to hurry to his country home, Canterfell Hall, to help investigate the locked-room murder of his Uncle Sebastian. While working on this he comes across another seemingly locked-room mystery when a painting disappears from a wall in full view of a room full of people! Sebastian was planning on selling gobs of land to a development firm which causes and uproar in the village. There's also the fact that the major's will states that only direct descendants named after him may inherit, hence the two cousins named Evelyn. Everyone seems to have an alibi for Sebastian's murder, and no one saw who took the painting. Did I miss anything? Any thoughts?