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5.0 out of 5 stars
THE PUBLISHERS REVIEW [From The Dust Jacket Flaps], 8 May 2009
THE 22nd CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT GEORGE GENTLY, C.I.D., MURDER 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 DUST JACKET FLAPS [the 'blurb'] STATES :
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Just one awkward moment disturbed a pleasant reunion between Gently and the family of a former colleague. A name was dropped that seemed to have unhappy associations for those present. For Vera Mackenzie, the comely widow of Gently's dead friend; for her agreeable son who worked at the B.B.C.; for Anne, his sister, who startled Gently by her haunting resemblance to her father; and for the young Canadian newsreader whom Anne was to marry in a few days' time.
But Gently remembered that moment later when he had a chance encounter with Anne. Anne was distraught, though she tried to hide it and alleged that she was suffering from the after-effects of illness. Gently had his doubts, and they were soon confirmed by a dramatic disappearance, by a mystery that intensified as time went by, and that exploded at last in a ferocious killing.
Now his friends were in desperate trouble. The tragedy had happened in far-away Sutherland; at Kyleness lived the atocratic Scottish branch of the family, and in Scotland Gently had no official standing. Yet he could not leave his friends in such straits, as the indignant Verna was quick to point out, and with many grave misgivings he set out on the seven-hundred mile drive to Kyleness.
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REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS "GENTLY" NOVELS.
["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 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 giood 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 acompany 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 tghriller and puzzle that defies categorisation. Don't on ant account miss it." ('Birmingham Post').
Every year since 1955 (and occassionally 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."
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