Death in Disguise/a Chief Inspector Barnaby Mystery (Chief Inspector Barnaby Mysteries (Hardcover))

Rating:
Summary: Utterly human, utterly readable, and utterly clever
Review: Caroline Graham is sheer joy to read. Her characters are always eccentric but never caricatures (though the author's acerbic tongue may initially make you wonder!) The literary allusions, the author's determination to make her reader stretch (but never in a pedantic or boring way) all contribute to the "can't put it down" quality. (NEVER start a new Caroline Graham just before bedtime. Wait 'till you have several hours to spend.)

Throughout Death In Disguise I found myself sympathizing with not only the sympathetic characters, but also the obnoxious, the loopy, and the pathetic. Throughout it all the plot weaves and clues drop, which are available to the alert reader to sort out.

That said, there are some weaknesses in this particular mystery. An unfortunate affair is introduced rather clumsily for the obvious (and awkward) purpose of setting up a character's demise. The villain is only revealed through some out-of-character twists. The police work seems rather lacksadaisical, without the tightness that the excellent writing would suggest be accorded to the plot (bodies drop like ninepins and yet no crime scene is cordoned off, suspects flee without follow-up, and so on.) But the sly development of fully rounded characters plus her dead-on skewering of the new age fringe is priceless.

I'm sorry it's gone out of print. I hope the publisher plans to reissue a paperback at least. If you enjoy Dorothy Sayers, you will love Caroline Graham.

Rating:
Summary: Too Quirky for Words!
Review: Caroline Graham's Inspector Barnaby is a wonderful character. He's so human and so likeable with all of his human shortcomings and uncertainties. Troy, his partner, is quite despicable actually. He's such a chauvinist, and quite full of himself, but again, he's so believable. Ms. Graham draws very real characters. Even the quirky people involved in this particular mystery are so finely drawn that they are recognizable. Ms. Graham writes in the "cozy" genre, but her books are really anything but cozy. There is enough murder and mayhem for anybody if they take the time to read her books. This book does such a good job of descrbing cult life that it appears the author has personal experience with this type of lifestyle. I sincerely recommend this series for those mystery readers are looking for something a little different, and for characters and situations quite out of the ordinary.