Patricia Moyes (1)Recensioni

Pudge needs better friends, man.

I suspected all along, but I was still disappointed on Susan's behalf.

The narrator of this book is "Pudge" Coombe-Peters who is a bit of an ass. He is involved in producing a film because much of the money has been raided by him. Things aren't going well and then the principal male star dies on the set. Later there is a second death and Pudge is worried enough to contact an acquaintance of his at Scotland Yard, Henry Tibbitt. Was it murder and, if so, who did it? I found this OK but I would rather have had more Henry and less Pudge.

'Henry Tibbett was not a man who looked like a great detective. In fact, as he would be the first to point out, he was not a great detective, but a conscientious and observant policeman, with an occasional flair for intuitive detection which he called "my nose".'

Originally published in 1959, this is a welcome re-issue of the first Inspector Tibbett mystery by Patricia Moyes. Accompanied by his wife Emmy and a motley group of fellow travellers, Tibbett finds himself in the isolated ski resort of Santa Chiara. He is not there by accident, as he is mixing business with pleasure, having been asked to sniff out a possible smuggling ring. When a dead body turns up, things take on a more serious urgency - and, as Tibbett tries to find the killer, things get even more tricky when a second body turns up...

This is a fun, breezy kind of murder mystery. The list of suspects is small, helped by the isolation of the hotel; the local police inspector is, of course, clearly on the wrong track; and everyone, as it turns out, has a shady past and a motive for killing - this is classic whodunnit territory.

What lifts this to the realm of really wonderful is Patricia Moyes' writing, which is full of such enthusiasm that this truly is a page-turner. Her character observations are spot on, often funny, and she has an eye for description that is at once precise whilst being loaded with glee. As Henry and Emmy arrive at Victoria Station to start their journey they observe the other travellers setting out to various winter destinations:

'They were not all young, Henry noted with relief, though the average age was certainly under thirty: but young or middle-aged, male or female, all were unanimous in their defiant sartorial abandon - the tightest trousers, the gaudiest sweaters, the heaviest boots, the silliest knitted hats that ever burst from the over-charged imagination of a Winter Sports Department.... The whole dingy place had the air of a monstrous end-of-term party.'

To my shame I had never read any of Moyes previously. It appears there are 19 books in the series, so now some serious catch-up to be done. perfect for fans of Golden Age crime writing, these deserve to be re-discovered. Absolutely cracking stuff.

An Owl book

An Owl book

An Owl book

An Owl book

drug trafficing in British seaward islands

"Whodunit?" From the moment Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy boarded the train for their skiing vacation at Bella Vista in Santa Chiara, Italy, I was already trying to pay attention to the intricacies of the characters as one could feel there was to be an upcoming murder to solve. I must confess that I have pictured Henry as a British version of Peter Falk from Columbo days with some of his questioning techniques. Whatever your delight with this genre, I highly recommend adding this series to your wish list. I've added it to my own.

After reading this novel, I noticed a little box promo on the back cover entitled, "Who's Likely to Like This?" The answer reads, "Fans of Caroline Graham and Susannah Stacey." That made me smile as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel by Patricia Moyes. I am a fan of "Midsomer Murders," based on the crime-novel series by author Caroline Graham. Now I'd like to read more Inspector Henry Tibbett Mysteries and add Susannah Stacey's* name to my book wish list for my reading investigations.

*Susannah Stacey is a pseudonym used by writers Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. Under this name, the team has produced a mystery novel series featuring widowed British police Superintendent Bone. They also write a series of mysteries set during the Italian Renaissance under the name of Elizabeth Eyre."

I read this book but with the title "The Sunken Sailor"

I wanted to try this vintage series by Moyes but found that this thirteenth entry was the only library copy in the entire province.

The story stands alone, but I think it would have been an advantage to have some background on Henry & Emmy Tibbett, and the sort of 'style' he uses. I couldn't quite get my footing as to whether I was reading a cozy or an international political thriller. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this well-plotted story.

Interesting read - I was a little perturbed at the outset as it seemed we were looking at the Caribbean through a very colonial lens but I was pleasantly surprised to find it a lot more nuanced and complicated. Inspector Henry Tibbett is sent (with his wife Emmy) to the island of St Matthews to clear up the murder of a prosperous American, hacked to death at a prestigious golf course resort. The politics are tricky as a popular islander is in the frame and racial/revolutionary tensions are simmering. The governor and the wealthy white golf club members are sure the local is guilty and just want the independent Scotland Yard man to prove that guilt without inflaming local politics and upsetting the economy. Unfortunately for them Henry isn't the "one of the boys" that they'd hoped and the motives and murderer turn out to be a lot closer to home. It's my first Henry Tibbett novel and I don't think it will be my last.

Henry Tibbett is a modest man with the serious title of Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard. Behind his mild façade is a man with a shrewd mind, who sees more than people think and can solve any puzzle put in front of him.

When he receives a crossword puzzle, complete with cryptic clues and a note that more clues are to follow, he wonders if it is some sort of prank. Work is slow and so he starts to try and solve it. When it is completely done, he finds that it may be connected to a couple of deaths from the past. Deaths were considered suspicious yet never solved. It also seems to warn of more death to come.

Mingling with a small group of mystery writers, he finds that their main focus is murder. Also that there are connecting threads between them that go back for years...back to the times of the murders found in the crossword puzzle.

This is written in a traditional British detective style. The scene is at a large country estate with all the trimmings of posh accommodations, characters with quirks and mysterious back stories. Along the lines of Sayers, Christie and Allingham. Very enjoyable.

Set in Switzerland, in a picturesque ski resort, this novel was first published in 1971 by Irish author Patricia Moyes.

Jane Weston, a sculptor has invited her friends, Detective Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy to spend the Christmas holiday with her in her small alpine chalet. During that time her hired help, Anne-Marie, is charged and convicted with the murder of her husband, a ski instructor to movie stars. Tibbett, suspecting there is more to the story, begins an investigation. The story is well-done but it has all the ingredients for an even better movie.

Preface:
For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins,
The days dividing lover from lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.
—A.C. Swinburne. Atalanta in Calydon

I have to add that I love the cover.½

Classic, old-timer with lots of British 60s sailing info and atmosphere.½

This a series worth reading. The writing is very good and the settings, mostly England, are beautiful. The main character is no nonsense with a great Brit name Henry Tibbetts! I will add the rest of the series to my to read list. There are ~20 more! Patricia Moyes passed in 2006? I think, but there is a lot to still read.

I loved this book. The characters were intriguing, as good as an Agathsa Christie line up. Set in England was #8(?) in the Inspector Tibbetts sees. Will definitely read more Patrica Moyes, perhaps starting with the first in the series.

My first CI Tibbetts book. Typical English mystery from the 1960s. A lot of detail about boating, but it was probably necessary to understand the crime(s). Chief Inspector Henry Tibbitt is on holiday with his wife, Emmy. I will read more to discover what Tibbitt is like in his work setting.

Fragment uit het boek

Henry stapte haastig uit, struikelde, viel op zijn gewonde arm, . . . daar waren ze, Emmy en Ineke, vastgesnoerd in de baan van de molenwieken, als slachtoffers op een altaar . . .
Hoofdinspecteur Tibbett, zijn vrouw en het meisje waren in de val gelopen, de val die was opgezet door een man die zich niet druk maakte over leven en dood van anderen.

Een Moyes verhaal op het niveau van de allerbeste auteurs!

good British mystery

De kantoren van het peperdure modeblad Style waren tot 's morgens vroeg verlicht. De redactieleden, allen begaafd en allen eigenzinnig, zijn druk bezig om de layouts en de teksten klaar te maken voor een speciaal nummer dat gewijd zal zijn aan de Parijse voorjaarsmode. Tenslotte blijft één van hen over om de hele nacht door te werken en de onderschriften bij de foto's uit te tikken, die de volgende morgen om zeven uur door een koerier van de drukkerij zullen worden afgehaald. Maar deze jongen belt tevergeefs. Spoedig wordt duidelijk dat zich in de vroege ochtend binnen het gebouw een tragedie heeft afgespeeld. Weldra heeft hoofdinspecteur Henry Tibbet zich geïnstalleerd in het gebouw van Style. Na veel opwinding, verwarring en geheimzinnigheid bewijst Henry dat hij zich niet laat intimideren door de artiesten, de genieën, de chefs, de mannequins, de ontwerpers of de modebaronnen van de haute-couture. Patricia Moyes ontplooit hier weer haar talenten in een meesterlijke detective-story van welhaast klassiek niveau. De wereld van de grote mode vormt een knap beschreven en interessante achtergrond voor het verhaal, en geeft haar alle gelegenheid om haar levensechte typen, die verwikkeld zijn in de moordzaak, op het toneel te zetten. Zij speelt een eerlijk spel met de lezer die het tegen haar wil opnemen in het zoeken naar de verrassende en opwindende ontknoping.

Bron: Binnenkaft Prisma Detectives 42