Between 1945 and 1952, Sheila Pim, an Irish crime novelist and horticulturist, published four mysteries set in Ireland and with a focus on gardening. A Brush with Death was the third of those mystery novels, published in 1950.
The story involves two families. Paul and Hester Fennelly and their daughter Barbara live in Dublin. Hester's brother, Fergus Gandon, is a well-known artist who lives in an isolated rural area with his wife, Nell, and their three young children. They live in the Dower House of Castle Kiskour, and act as caretakers for Lord Kiskour when he is away, which is much of the time.
The first thing that happens in A Brush with Death is that Hester Fennelly gets a letter from Fergus, with whom she has had very little contact for the last 10 years. He asks her if he can come and stay with her and her family while he recovers from the aftereffects of arsenic poisoning. He suspects that someone may be trying to poison him deliberately, and wants to isolate himself for a while. Hester agrees to his visit, after discussions with her husband and their doctor, who is a family friend.
Per the summary on the back of my copy of this book, Fergus "quickly installs himself as the Irish version of The Man Who Came to Dinner, much to the dismay of Hester's husband, Paul." That is a perfect description of events that follow. With his "irascible" behavior and argumentativeness, he alienates some of the servants and disrupts the family.
The possibility of deliberate poisoning has not been raised with the police because the doctor who is treating Fergus thinks it is possible that the poisoning is accidental. Both Fergus and his wife are very reluctant to get the police involved. Why?
My thoughts on Sheila Pim's mysteries in general
- The four mysteries written by Sheila Pim are grouped on Goodreads as The Irish Gardening Mystery Series. So they may be considered a series, but I don't think that they share any characters. At first I was disappointed, since I liked the characters in the first book a lot.
- When I first heard about this series, I was interested more in the focus on gardening than the Irish setting. However, I have to say that this book describes Ireland in the post-war years very well. The primary setting is in Dublin, but some of the characters live in a small isolated village, on the grounds of a castle, so the reader gets a broad picture of Ireland. In Common or Garden Crime, the first book in the series, the setting in Ireland during the war was very interesting, since Ireland was neutral during World War II. I liked especially that the author was writing the story based on her own experiences at the time. In that book the war is referred to as the Emergency and many items were restricted.
Thoughts on this book in particular
- This story starts out a bit slow; most of the first 30 pages (maybe more) is just dialogue and I was not impressed. But once the police get involved (around page 50 of a 150 page novel), events move faster and the story and the characters get more interesting. Along the way, the reader learns more about all of the characters, about their way of life, and why they do the things they do.
- There is a good deal of humor; gentle, subtle humor for the most part. Some of the characters are quirky and entertaining. Fergus has a general factotum at the Dower House who is an ex-convict, and very proud of his trusted position in the family. Even the meetings of the police in Dublin with the police in the area where Fergus lives have plenty of humor, even though they are very serious about solving the crime, once they decide for sure that if it is a crime.
- The two books that I have read both have gardening aspects but the first book was focused on garden club members in a small village. This one has more emphasis on art, artists, and the galleries that sell the art. Gardening and producing plants for food definitely comes into this one also, and it was all very interesting. Lord Kilskour, Fergus Gandon's landlord, carries on a lengthy discussion on the importance of organic farming (in 1950!), which is tangentially related to the arsenic poisoning plot.
These other reviews of this book provide more detail:
I haven't read Sheila Pim's work before, Tracy, but this does sound like a solid read. I know what you mean about a book starting a bit slowly, but it sounds as though the characters have solid development, which is always good. And I do like a novel set in Ireland. Glad you saw some good things in this one.
ReplyDeleteI have been lucky lately, Margot. Recently I read a vintage mystery set in a Scottish castle. This books was not set in a castle, but the Irish castle features prominently in the story.
DeleteThe Man Who Came To Dinner. I saw the movie and it was very funny and so A Brush With Death sounds good as well with a curmudgeon as the main character. Also 1950s Ireland is an interesting setting. My grandparents came from Ireland but that was a few decades earlier.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I love to watch The Man Who Came To Dinner as a Christmas movie, or anytime of the year. I950s Ireland was very interesting to read about.
DeleteThis sounds like an interesting series - or non-series! The setting seems quite cosyish despite the poisoning!
ReplyDeleteFictionFan, as I am very partial to mysteries with skulls on the cover, that was the first thing I noticed about these books. Then the focus on gardening, and the setting in Ireland. They are quiet cozy stories, with good characterization, gradually revealed.
DeleteThese books sound good to me and, like you, I'm a sucker for a book with a skull on the cover. I feel like I've asked you this before, but have you read any of the China Bayles mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert? They all feature plants and are quite good, especially the early ones. I'm a few behind, so should catch up with them at some point.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have asked me about Susan Wittig Albert before, Kelly. I read the first book in the series back in 2004. (I was lucky that I started writing down what books I read in 2002.) That is long enough ago that I don't remember what I thought of it and I haven't read more in the series. Maybe I will go back and check out her books again. My tastes in reading have changed a lot in 22 years.
DeleteAt one time I was very interested in herbs and I still believe that some can really improve your health, but I am not as serious about it as before. However, I think I would enjoy the information about herbs in those books, in addition to the mysteries.
Love a mystery with humor in it! And what a great cover. :D
ReplyDeleteLark, the book has a great skull cover, and the scene fits into the story well. The humor is good, and the characters seem like real people with normal foibles. The attitudes are a bit different because of the time it was written, but that makes sense too.
DeleteAn interesting premise of the poisoning and Fergus who seems to disrupt his sister's family's lives. Siblings can be so hard ! ... The setting and the gardening aspects sound good too. I haven't heard of this author Pim ... so I'm glad for your introduction to her books. Do you plan to read her others?
ReplyDeleteSusan, I am sorry I missed your comment. We have been spending so much time and effort on clearing up the front garden area that I haven't focused on blogging so much.
DeleteYou are so right, in my experience, siblings can be hard.
Sheila Pim is a vintage mystery writer who hasn't gotten a lot of attention in the US. In 2001, Rue Morgue Press reprint the four gardening mysteries, but I still think she isn't too well known. I have read the first book, and have a copy of the 2nd book on my TBR, and will be looking for the 4th one later this year.
Fergus sounds like an ass.
ReplyDeleteRyan, you are right, Fergus doesn't behave very well, and at times is a very irritating character (although he is sick in the hospital for a good bit of this book). He doesn't give much thought to anything but his own needs. His wife encourages him in that behavior, though.
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