- Hardcover: 246 pages
- Publisher: Scribner Book Company (1 Jan 1981)
- ISBN-10: 0684172941
- ISBN-13: 978-0684172941
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.2 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,047,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"* 'Without doubt, one of the funniest crime writers - ever!' - Mike Ripley * 'Witty, clever... an elaborately plotted, very English and charming story.' - Publishers Weekly * 'A finely honed, icily witty gem of detective fiction.' - Mystery News * 'Caudwell's light touch and the puzzle she presents make for a diverting tale.' - Washington Post Book World
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Yorkshire Post, 23 May, 2002
'it's a pleasant, civilised way to pass an afternoon.'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Yes, it is a whodunnit, and yes the main characters are a group of young barristers. But "a legal whodunnit" makes this sound both dull and old-fashioned, which it isn't! The main character is off to find fun and sex on a holiday she can't afford to take - and gets involved in murder as well, and what follows is how her friends manage to investigate the case. I can't tell you too much without spoiling the plot, other than that it is funny as well as being a good murder mystery - and it's the sort of book you'll want to read over again, so buy it don't borrow it! Oh yes, it's well written too.......
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first of Sarah Caudwell's series of legal whodunnits narrated by Hilary Temple, professor of Legal History at Oxford. Hilary's friends are a group of young barristers in Chancery Lane, Timothy, her former pupil, the austere and elegant Ragwort, impulsive, imaginative Cantrip, Selena, who is like 'a Persian cat which has just completed a succesful cross-examination' and passionate, susceptible, accident-prone Julia. Julia, who is having a disagreement with the tax man, decides to get away from it all by going on an Art Lovers tour of Italy, where she meets a beautiful young man called Ned and succumbs to his charms. Then one afternoon, after having enjoyed a passionate interlude with Ned, Julia finds him dead in bed. It turns out that Ned was an employee of the Inland Revenue, which means, as Ragwort reasonably points out, that anyone might have murdered him. However, Julia is chief suspect, and her colleagues set out to try and prove her innocence. They track down the other membersof the Art Lovers tour to try and find out the truth. Cantrip finds himself inteviewing a dodgy art dealer, the Major, who spends their time together telling Cantrip about all the women in his life. "The Major's known a lot of women. The right sort of women. The wrong sort of women. Women who would, women who wouldn't, women who might have. He told me about them all." This is a blissfully funny book. All the characters are hilarious, the book has a complex and ingeneous plot, witty dialogue, and a laugh in nearly every sentence.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
From the very first paragraph of this book, the reader knows that Sarah Caudwell's writing will be clever and entertaining throughout! The twists and turns of a classic "whodunnit" as well as a cast of hilarious characters (amusing to identify on the Edward Gorey cover illustration) keep the readerguessing in this story of murder in a romantic foreign setting. A definite "must read" for mystery fans who enjoy using their "little grey cells."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Slow to start then gets you enchanted
The opening paragraph is very off putting. The narrator, being an Oxford Professor, has a tendancy to talk like a text book. Read more
Published 18 months ago by K. Trill
Book
Read a review of this book in the Guardian newspaper,the writer pointing out that this author Sarah Caudwell is a neglected writer. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2010 by S. J. Clucas
Introducing Hilary Tamar and the members of the Nursery at 62 New...
"'I don't believe Shakespeare told Julia to try fainting,' said Cantrip. 'He's dead.'
'She is referring,' said Selena, 'to his early poem "Venus and Adonis". Read more
'She is referring,' said Selena, 'to his early poem "Venus and Adonis". Read more
Published on 5 April 2007 by Michele L. Worley
an erudite romp through Venice and Lincoln's Inn
Hoping to temporarily forget the harrassment of the despised Inland Revenue, Julia goes to Venice on an Art Lovers' Holiday, armed only with borrowed guidebooks and a working... Read more
Published on 16 July 2002
One read and you're hooked!
The first of Sarah Caudwell's entertaining, witty and well-written mysteries had me addicted from the start. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 1999
Brilliant
Brilliant in conception of character, ingenious in plot, but above all supremely witty. Every paragraph has a clever epigram, every page is a delight.
Published on 12 Sep 1998
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