Nice mystery, not very demanding, whose protagonists vaguely resemble Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, even if they do not get to have the same charm. Moreover, lacking completely the ability of scientific investigation, the conclusions of the supposed Holmes are purely deductive and, at times, seem to come down a bit from the sky. However, a fair entertainment for a long wait at the airport.

Review: BRUTAL TERMINATIONS by Cherith Baldry

Term it Oxford Cosy Noir: this is an utterly delightful story full of subtlety and wry humour with genuine emotions, and an amateur sleuth protagonist who is the scion of an ancestry ripe with English gentlemen, Etonians all. Gawaine St. Clair is a gentle soul, an intellectual plagued by neuroses. His Watson is David, advertising executive and occasional chauffeur, frequent sounding board, always best friend.

This was a one-day reading for me, maintaining my interest from first page to last, and leaving me eager for more outings of Gawaine St. Clair.

3 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

Gawaine St. Clair receives a telephone call from a don at his old college St. Clement’s, which is associated with Oxford. A skeleton has been found in the garden while some construction work was going on. At first he declines the invitation then changes his mind. Accompanied by his good friend David they travel to the college to learn that it is not a skeleton, but a body. It was buried about thirty years ago and the woman was six months pregnant. Gawaine jokingly calls his friend David “Watson.”

It appears that another don, Richard Templeton is missing. Gawaine meets the officer in charge of the case, one Inspector Carter . They agree to work together to solve the case.

There are several potential suspects in the case. What a collection of personalities. From friendly to outright hostile to sly and manipulative, they all have reason to murder a pregnant woman. When a woman named Marcia Scott is waiting in Gawaine’s room, she offers him an envelope that Templeton told her to save for him. She doesn’t know what is in it. She thinks it might be important to the case. The letter offers potential clues as to the identity of the woman.

This book is well written and plotted. The tension in the story begins with the discovery of the body in the garden. It reaches a peak at the denouement with the classic “gather all the suspects together” scene. I couldn’t get a grasp on Gawaine. He seemed fragile and was a member of the aristocracy, but beyond that the reader is given no clues. This is not my favorite situation in a book. I had a greater understanding of David. He was impetuous and had a tendency to speak before thinking, but at least he had a personality. The reporter I did not care for. This is my first Cherith Baldry novel, but I don’t think I’ll be looking into her other books. There are too many fine books out there to read to spend time on one that is just okay.

I want to thank NetGalley and Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read.

I am beginning to set my eyes on books published by Matador, but let me say thank you and also NetGalley for the eARC.
Gawaine and David reminded me a whole lot of Sherlock and Watson and I for one cannot say whether that's good or bad.
I loved how Gawaine could be both attached and detached during the investigation on campus. It was almost like watching a two year old trying to give you a piece of candy and then deciding not to. The plot was involving and at some point halfway through the book I felt like we were going round in circles and everyone was a suspect. I loved that.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves to solve a mystery.

Thank you Netgalley and Matador for the eARC.
Gawaine St. Clair, amateur detective, travels to Oxford with his good friend David Powers. St. Clemens College has asked former student Gawain's to look into the find of a skeleton. Excavations to add to their library space in the garden led to their discovering the body of a young pregnant woman. The body has been there for about 30 years and suspicion falls on the several members of St. Clemens' staff who were at the college at that time.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. The characters seemed superficial, I never felt I knew them and didn't much like them. The female journalist came closest to being sympathetic and fun. The obvious mental problems suffered by Gawaine are sketchy, what's his problem? All in all, I was disappointed.