A Fine and Private Place: A Novel of Mystery

Rating:
Summary: good but not perfect start
Review: I agree with most of the other reviewer's points: solid writing, but somehow not wildly engaging. I also found the continual trivial discussions by local townfolk tiring, am tired of good cop/bad cop plots (but at least the bad one isn't the boss of the protagonist!), and there were too many minor characters who would reappear with some important tidbit, and I would forget who exactly they were.

However, I think it makes a good start of a series. There really aren't enough "cosy, but not too cosy" British police procedureals for me, and this one was solid, enjoyable and not annoying to me.

Rating:
Summary: doesn't completely satisfy
Review: This mystery novel had everything: a sympathetic police detective and an interesting and intriguing plot set in a small old fashioned village peopled with some really interesting and eccentric characters, and yet I found myself frequently skimming through the pages -- somehow, "A Fine and Private Place" failed to hold my attention completely. And I have yet to fully figure out why!

The mystery in "A Fine and Private Place" takes place in Gloucestershire, in the village of Tolland, where a skeleton wearing the dogtags of an American GI is discovered buried in a field. Fifty years ago (during WWII), an American soldier, Ben Gordheimer, stationed at Tolland, was reported missing, and everyone had assumed that he had deserted, and the unfortunate young man was given a dishonourable discharge in his absence. However the discovery of the skeleton shows that everyone had rushed to judgement a little too soon. In an effort to give Gordheimer some much deserved justice, Detective Inspector Keith Tyrell and his team has been dispatched to Tolland to interview the villagers, to see if anyone knew anything about Gordheimer and the circumstances leading up to his murder. The villagers however prove to be totally uncooperative. A hunt for the men and women (esp the women) who had been alive during the war and who are still around yields nothing: everyone seems to have secrets that they would still like to keep under wraps. And then a further complication ensues when a fresh corpse in discovered buried in a grave.

Freda Davies did a wonderful job of bringing to life the once quiet and still insular village of Tolland. She captures the essence and feel of this village that finds itself unexpectedly and uncomfortable thrust into the limelight perfectly, especially the clash between the 'old' ways and the new -- the ingrained prejudices of old with the more modern sensibilities. And she does a wonderful job of depicting the close ties that the villagers have with each other, despite the differences in rank and wealth. The mystery was definitely an intriguing one: why was Gordheimer murdered? And why are the villagers still reluctant to talk about what happened over 50 years ago? Yet, this novel failed to hold my attention completely. Part of the reason was that, in spite of the fact that DI Tyrell was the kind of detective that all of us would really approve of -- intelligent, intuitive and compassionate -- we only get to appreciate much of his brilliant deducting second hand, as they are all done 'off-stage' so to speak. Basically Tyrell would realise something or notice something that allows him to make a brilliant deduction, but we're frequently not told what it is he's seen or realised until AFTER he's made the deduction. I was quite peeved by the time I came across this for the third time. There is also a rivalry between Tyrell and his superior of sorts, DCI Whittaker -- a ruthless and ambitious man who manages to alienate the villagers of Tolland completely. And truth to tell, I'm a little tired of this much used plot device. Everyone seems to use this.

Strangely enough I thought that part of the reason as to why this mystery novel was not quite so riveting a read was that almost too much happened. The mystery of who murdered the American soldier got lost at times admidst the investigation of who the 'fresh' corpse was and how he ended up being buried in the village graveyard. The pacing, as a result, was not as tight as it could have been. And too much time, I thought, taken up with the rivalry between Whittker's team and Tyrell's. "A Fine and Private Place" is quite a good mystery novel that can boast of an interesting plot. However it was not quite the all consuming read I was expecting it to be.