A Necessary End

December 8, 2014
Enid Frott, who’s recently retired and has always loved books and reading, decides to form a book club in Gregson’s well-crafted, if initially slow 18th mystery featuring Det. Chief Insp. Percy Peach (after 2013’s Brothers’ Tears). The club’s prospective members gather at Enid’s flat in Brunton, a suburb of Manchester, England, where they eat, drink, and discuss what book to read first, finally agreeing on Jim Crace’s Harvest. The next day, the most erudite and contentious member of the group, who admitted to the others during the meeting that he carried a loaded pistol while driving, is found shot dead in his car. Is it suicide or murder? Peach must gather evidence, and discover whether anyone had reason to wish the victim dead. The tension mounts as the connections between club members are gradually revealed through Peach’s interviews and the suspects’ interactions. Gregson has a good ear for dialogue, and series fans will enjoy cameo appearances from characters from earlier installments.

December 15, 2014
A book club gets off to a rocky start when one of its members is murdered. It might seem odd for Enid Frott and Sharon Burgess to start a book club together in their small town of Brunton. Only 10 years ago, Sharon's husband, Frank, planned to leave his wife for Enid, his personal assistant, only to break off his affair with Enid instead. But Frank's death finds his widow and his now-retired former mistress at loose ends, free to collaborate on a project that interests them both. Of course, the membership must be small and select. Sharon suggests Dick Fosdyke, a freelance political cartoonist, and Jane Preston, who teaches literature at the University of Central Lancashire. Enid's nomination is more daring. Alfred Norbury is a provocateur, not above badgering his intellectual opponents when he sees fit. But his intellect is undeniable, and the ladies finally agree that some controversy might add spice to their club's discussions. Alfred, highhanded to the last, doesn't hesitate to bring his uninvited young protege, Jamie Norris, a grocery-stacker who writes poetry by night, to the group's first meeting, swelling their ranks to six. Of course, that number dips back down to five when someone puts a bullet in Alfred as he sits in his driveway. The murder calls the decidedly unliterary DCI Percy Peach (Brothers' Tears, 2013, etc.) and his menacing bagman, DS Clyde Northcott, into action. Taking nothing at face value, the pair chip away at the club members' facades until they crack the case. Gregson's lively portraits of suspects don't quite make up for slapdash plotting and an unforeseeable solution.

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January 1, 2015

A key member of a newly formed local book club is Alfred Norbury, a well-read man who enjoys sharing his knowledge. But someone doesn't appreciate his learning because Norbury is murdered. Detective Chief Inspector Peach and Detective Sergeant Northcott soon identify a number of suspects with serious grievances against the victim. The duo must uncover the truth in their 19th outing (following Brothers' Tears).

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2014
DCI Percy Peach and his sidekick, DS Northcutt, are back in this modern British police procedural. This time out, there's less badinage and cutting humor and more procedural technique as Peach tries to solve a tricky murder. Spinster Enid Frott decides to form a book club and teams up with a most unlikely partner, Sharon Burgess, the wife of Enid's former lover. At the book club's first meeting, a motley group assembles, consisting of Enid and Sharon plus a political cartoonist, a would-be writer, a university professor, and one of the town's most erudite men. Shortly after the meeting, one of the club members is murdered. While the remaining members look innocent enough at first glance, Peach is convinced one of them is a killer. As he and Northcutt investigate, they learn that this group of literary types all had had dark secrets to hide. Gregson is in fine form with this latest installment in his always-entertaining Percy Peach series. A surprise twist at the end adds a nice bit of frisson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)