His Burial Too: Catherine Aird

Richard Tindall, of Strothers and Tindall (Precision, Investigation, and Development Engineers), is missing. He wasn't in his bed when his daughter got up and it looked like he never returned home the night before. He isn't at his office. And then a body is found in a church tower under the wreckage of a huge sculpture which had been temporarily stored in the tower. And thus begins a mystery with a very complex solution.

Inspector C.D. Sloan is sent to investigate, and takes along Detective Inspector Crosby, who often (always?) features in these stories. Crosby is generally inept and not much help in the investigation; he is good with cars but that is about all. Sloan is unusually grumpy with Crosby's foibles in this book, or so it seemed to me.

I found the story especially interesting because Tindall's company is involved in research and development in the scientific area, there are other businesses competing to buy the company, and the staff is somewhat eccentric. There are many suspects and red herrings. I did not catch any clues to the killer but I did have an inkling who it was, probably just because I read so many mysteries.

The writing itself is not spectacular but I enjoyed the story all the same. It must be the characters, her way of developing the plot, and the humor that keeps me coming back for more.

There were some good clothes descriptions also, that tell the reader something about the characters. Here Inspector Sloan meets Fenella, Richard Tindall's daughter, for the first time.

There was something a little unexpected about her appearance—almost foreign. ... 

It was high summer in England and this girl was wearing brown. Not a floral silk pattern, not a cheerful cotton, nor even a pastel linen such as his own wife, Margaret, was wearing today. And dark brown. It was a simple, utterly plain dress, unadorned save for a solitary string of white beads. 

He was surprised to note that the whole effect was strangely cool-looking There was the faintest touch of auburn in the colouring of her hair which was replicated in the brown of the dress. A purist might have said that her mouth was rather too big to be perfect but ...  

Sloan wasn't a purist. He was a policeman. On duty. He took a step forward. 

I have now read five of the Sloan and Crosby series by Catherine Aird, and I can say that she is one of my favorite mystery writers. Some of the books in this series are more serious, although they all have elements of humor. I would put Henrietta Who? and A Late Phoenix in that category. Also The Religious Body which I read before blogging. For that book, see this Spotlight by Margot at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... This book and The Stately Home Murder are more on the lighter side,  emphasizing the wit and humor more.

See other reviews at Clothes in Books, Tipping My Fedora, and Classic Mysteries.

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Publisher:   Rue Morgue Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 1973)
Length:      159 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Inspector Sloan #5
Setting:      UK (Calleshire, fictional county)
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:      I purchased this book.