Gently Through the Mill [Hardcover]

I have watched Gently on the tv, but this is the first time I have actually read one of the novels. Like most people I knew the novels were different but I was surprised that really they are much better. In this case there is a body found in a mill, in the town of Lynton. The body turns out to be a London petty criminal, part of a small time gang, but what was he doing there, and where are his other gang members?

Scotland Yard is called in, thus George Gently is set to solve the case. Gently finds people witholding information from him, as he interviews possible suspects, and he definitely has his work cut out as he tries to sift through everything for the truth. Uncovering more crimes, will Gently ever solve the case?

This was first published in 1958 and has a 'Golden Age' feel to it that draws you in and holds you, as you try to solve the case before Gently. If you love good old fashioned crime tales with the emphasis on the solving and not on gruesome crimes, then this is well worth getting.

George Gently is asked to look into the mystery of a body in a hopper of flour in the town of Lynton in Northshire. At first it seems as though the local police have been very thorough and left no stone unturned but there is a great deal of information they have not managed to come by.

The dead man is a petty criminal from London and he and his two friends have been staying in the area and spending money like it's going out of fashion. Gently thinks it odd that where there three friends stayed has not been traced.

By practically haunting the mill and the attached bakery Gently manages to find out all sorts of things which various people wanted kept hidden and bit by bit he puts together the jigsaw puzzle and comes up with the murderer.

I really enjoyed this complex plot with its many strands. The characters are interesting and the background of the fictional Northshire - based on Norfolk - really comes to life. I like Gently with his quiet ways and mind that misses nothing - however insignificant.

If you have not tried this series then it is well worth reading if you like your crime without graphic violence and with interesting characters and a likeable detective.

THE 5th, (pipe smoking / peppermint eating), CHIEF INSPECTOR GEORGE GENTLY, C.I.D, MYSTERY NOVEL, [now a television series starring Martin Shaw]. .. FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, I HAVE SUPPLIED A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BOOK, AND HERE IS WHAT THE JACKET FLAPS [the 'blurb'] STATES :

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The body was found in a hopper of sour flour at an old flour-mill in the peaceful, respectable East Anglian town of Lynton; it turned out to be the body of a small-time race-track crook from London. What he had be doing in so unlikely a place as Lynton remained a mystery until the local police gave up and Chief Inspector Gently, C.I.D, was sent to sort things out.

Gently was well acquainted with the eastern counties but he had never before investigated a flour-mill and bakery. By the time he had been through this one he had three suspects lined up - the manager of the mill, the foreman, and the baker, each of whom obviously had something on his mind. But none of them seemed to have any concievable connection with the deceased or with his two companions in crime - who had also disappeared from their usual London haunts.

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REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS "GENTLY" MURDER MYSTERY NOVELS :

[Gently Sahib"] ..... After eleven books, it is about time that this bloke Gently - now promoted to Chief Supt. Gently C.I.D. - got done. On T.V. Or films. After all, he is as solid (fourteen stone I reckon) as Maigret. Or Cluff. And he comes out very well in this tale of an escaped tiger that eats a blackmailer in an edgy Home Counties market town. A clever murder, says Gently, proves it, shoots a panther, then goes fishing. But he will be back. Many times, I hope. - (Peter Phillips, 'The Sun', 1965.)".

"Pipe smoking Gently interviews a colourful array of likely suspects, uncovers the flaws in several 'unquestionable' alibis, steers the case through a violent and exciting climax and, in his wisdom, brings matters to a just and tidy finish. A very readable novel with several pleasing touches of humour. - (Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine', 1965.)".

["Gently French"] ...... 'Gently French' is the twentieth crime story by Alan Hunter to be published by Cassell. For eighteen years he has been creating mysteries for Gently to solve. Originally hailed as an English Maigret, Gently soon took his own highly individual place among the most popular of policemen in English detective fiction. He has been widely praised by most of our home critics but his skill has also been acknowledged abroad. Discussing Alan Hunter's work in the 'New York Times Book Review,' Anthony Boucher described Gently as ..."probably the best interrogator in the business today".

["Gently Does It"] ... In 1955, when his first story 'Gently Does It' was published, he was welcomed in 'Time and Tide' in these terms: ... "Fond as we all are of the old familiar faces, it is a particular (and rare) pleasure to be able to welcome a talented newcomer into the blood-soaked circle of true detective novelists. In Chief Inspector Gently of the Yard, Alan Hunter presents a new and most acceptable detective, owing a good deal perhaps to Inspector Maigret, but nevertheless standing solidly in his own very English boots. The author is careful to point out that 'Gently Does It' is a detective story but not a whodunit, and broadly speaking this claim is upheld, though the identity of the murderer is by no means immediately apparent. The county-town background is lovingly authentic, and the author's bold determination to share all clues and information equally with the reader and the Chief Inspector pays handsome dividends. We accompany Gently fascinated from hunch to clue to certainty and finally, in a very tight corner, to proof. I look forward to watching this splendidly sympathetic sleuth consume thousands more of his favourite peppermint creams. - ('Time and Tide')".

["Gently by the Shore"] ..... The following year 'Gently by the Shore' confirmed his success and F.E.Pardoe wrote in the 'Birmingham Post' ... "When Alan Hunter introduced Chief Inspector Gently just over twelve months ago, it looked as though an important new figure had joined the ranks of fictional detectives; 'Gently by the Shore' more than fulfils the promise of the earlier book." Midway through his career, Julian Symons in the 'Sunday Times' described his tenth story as ..."a wholly modern blend of thriller and puzzle that defies categorisation. Don't on any account miss it. - ('Sunday Times')".

Every year since 1955 (and occasionally twice a year) a new Gently has appeared, and in 1971 Mathew Coady wrote in the 'Guardian' : ..."It's a measure of Mr Hunter's skill that after eighteen investigations one always wants more".

THIS NOVEL : "GENTLY THROUGH THE MILL", IS THE 5th CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT GEORGE GENTLY, MURDER MYSTERY NOVEL IN THE SERIES.