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I’m sure I picked up Six Feet Under by Dorothy Simpson bc it has this tagline: Murder Most British. How could I resist?
Hardworking, honest, family loving, and empethetic, Detective Thanet sometimes wonders if he’s in the wrong career. But he is a fine detective and when the murder of a seemingly insignifigant and mousy house cleaner with a vile and overbaring mother is broght to his attention, he will do everything in his power to solve it. Even if that means uncovering a whole twon of secrets and some shortcomings of his own.
I have the feeling that I got this book at a by the bag book sale, but I can’t remember when or where. This is the second in the series and like I said, I know I picked it for the tagline. I had never heard of the author before, but it seems she had 15 novels in her Inspector Thanet series. Why this novel is called Six feet Under, words which are never uttered in the book, and have no baring on the story, is a mystery to me (haha). It seems that in 1982, this might have seemed a thrilling and enticing name for a mystery novel. I love dry British cop shows and novels and if someone made a handbook on how to create them, it might be this book. Tough, brilliant, loving, rye, and firm lead detective? Check. Eager, green but determined, not all put together but trying his best, young sargent? Check. Secretive, cloistered, looks perfect from the outside but everyone has their own agenda and allgeince, country village. Got it. Gruesome murder of a seemingly innocuous occupant. Killed it (her). So if you like those things, this is the book for you. It wasn’t the greatest mystery novel I’ve every read, and I wouldn’t seek out more of Dorothy Simpson novels but if I found one randomly again, I would pick it up. I would recommend this book for those who like novels set in small English towns, cop mystery novels, or anyone interested in comparing this to other books of it’s ilk.
Had you heard of this author before? Are you a fan of British Detective novels?