'A missing wheelie bin, a gunfight with no bodies, and a carrier bagful of groceries are the ingredients that make up this romping, ultra-English, murder mystery tale. Our heroes are two old college friends, each equally batty in their own way. Together they must solve the mystery in Little Wychwell...in between coffee mornings, rowing practice and the imminent arrival of a bouncing baby.'
Classics scholar Priscilla adores her life teaching at an Oxford University college. Her existence is ordered and uncluttered, giving her plenty of time for what matters most – work. However, Priscilla’s world is thrown into disarray when her friend Elodea has to go away suddenly, leaving Priscilla stuck at Elodea’s house in the village of Little Wychwell in charge of a Yorkshire terrier called Pippy, after church refreshments, and a rather large and smelly pig.
To make matters worse Priscilla soon finds herself embroiled in a bizarre mystery involving a dead body, a wheelie bin, a pig sty and some discarded Tesco carrier bags. Aiding in her investigations (when he’s not getting Prisilla to drive him to early morning rowing practice) is Elodea’s son Barnabus, a young man keen on adventure who knows exactly how to handle his ‘Aunt Prissy’ and her funny little ways.
Barnabus’ persuasive tactics were pure genius, I loved the way he managed to wind Priscilla right round his little finger, getting her to do things she’d never normally dream of agreeing to with just a few well chosen compliments and perhaps a grin thrown in for good measure. Barnabus and Priscilla made an unusual, but brilliant pairing. Their detective skills weren’t quite up to those of Hercule Poirot, and much of their success was more down to pure luck than anything else, but their endeavours were certainly very amusing.
The description of the Sunday sermon at the village church was almost painfully funny, particularly when Priscilla attempts to make a quiet early exit. The service made a wonderful platform to showcase some of the many eccentrics the village had to offer, and I loved them all, especially the Horace quoting vicar.
The murder mystery itself was inventive and certainly kept me guessing, although it did come together a little too quickly towards the end of the book for my liking. There weren’t really enough early hints as to the culprit, meaning I didn’t get a chance to speculate as much as I’d have liked to.
‘Did Anyone Die?’ was a brilliantly English romp; the only thing missing was the Famous Five’s obligatory lashings of ginger beer. Stafford has produced a work that I found completely charming, a murder mystery of the most civilised sort, with plenty of stops for rowing practice and cake, and without too many of those pesky police officers getting in the way of the fun!
4 stars
Classics scholar Priscilla adores her life teaching at an Oxford University college. Her existence is ordered and uncluttered, giving her plenty of time for what matters most – work. However, Priscilla’s world is thrown into disarray when her friend Elodea has to go away suddenly, leaving Priscilla stuck at Elodea’s house in the village of Little Wychwell in charge of a Yorkshire terrier called Pippy, after church refreshments, and a rather large and smelly pig.
To make matters worse Priscilla soon finds herself embroiled in a bizarre mystery involving a dead body, a wheelie bin, a pig sty and some discarded Tesco carrier bags. Aiding in her investigations (when he’s not getting Prisilla to drive him to early morning rowing practice) is Elodea’s son Barnabus, a young man keen on adventure who knows exactly how to handle his ‘Aunt Prissy’ and her funny little ways.
Barnabus’ persuasive tactics were pure genius, I loved the way he managed to wind Priscilla right round his little finger, getting her to do things she’d never normally dream of agreeing to with just a few well chosen compliments and perhaps a grin thrown in for good measure. Barnabus and Priscilla made an unusual, but brilliant pairing. Their detective skills weren’t quite up to those of Hercule Poirot, and much of their success was more down to pure luck than anything else, but their endeavours were certainly very amusing.
The description of the Sunday sermon at the village church was almost painfully funny, particularly when Priscilla attempts to make a quiet early exit. The service made a wonderful platform to showcase some of the many eccentrics the village had to offer, and I loved them all, especially the Horace quoting vicar.
The murder mystery itself was inventive and certainly kept me guessing, although it did come together a little too quickly towards the end of the book for my liking. There weren’t really enough early hints as to the culprit, meaning I didn’t get a chance to speculate as much as I’d have liked to.
‘Did Anyone Die?’ was a brilliantly English romp; the only thing missing was the Famous Five’s obligatory lashings of ginger beer. Stafford has produced a work that I found completely charming, a murder mystery of the most civilised sort, with plenty of stops for rowing practice and cake, and without too many of those pesky police officers getting in the way of the fun!
4 stars
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