Angel Death

Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery #15

by Patricia Moyes

After Henry Tibbett helps the police in their investigation of the disappearance of an old lady on a Caribbean island, he himself is kidnapped and his wife, Emmy, is left to unravel the mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, International

226 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 1980

About the author

Moyes was born in Dublin on 19 January 1923 and was educated at Overstone girls' school in Northampton. She joined the WAAF in 1939. In 1946 Peter Ustinov hired her as technical assistant on his film School for Secrets. She became his personal assistant for the next eight years. In 1960 she wrote the screenplay for the film School for Scoundrels starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Alastair Sim. She married photographer John Moyes in 1951; they divorced in 1959. She later married James Haszard, a linguist at the International Monetary Fund in The Hague. She died at her home on the island of Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands) on 2 August 2000.

Her mystery novels feature C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, Who Saw Her Die (Many Deadly Returns in the US) was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1971. She also wrote several juveniles and short stories.

Series:
* Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

My friend continues to find mysteries about Henry and Emmy Tibbett and I continue to read them. This one was fine, but nothing special. I tend to like more the books that are set in Europe. This was another of Moyes books about the Caribbean and drugs. I do wonder why this was so important to her.

If you are going to read Patricia Moyes, I recommend you try Murder Fantastical or Twice in a Blue Moon.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Tibbett mystery set in the (fictitious) British Seawards. I'm starting to think I don't like Moyes' books where sailing is prominent! Although unlike Down Among the Dead Men, it's not the sailing terminology that bothered me in this one. The plot was just too complicated, without much payoff. This was another story where you need to keep track of characters with a list - lots of characters come and go, and/or take on different identities. Seemed like too much effort for marijuana, esp since PCP figures in, and she'd already introduced cocaine issues in Black Girl, White Girl. I didn't like personality change in Henry - Emmy was too accepting of fairly abusive talk, and the officials were too dismissive of his efforts. Also, there were too many loose threads that we're supposed to accept are just due to post-storm chaos (although perhaps that is more true to life, rather than the idealized world of detective fiction!)

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possibly the worst Moyes I've ever read. This book made no sense at all and I was so busy trying to keep all the characters straight (who were the Carstairs and whose ship did they really own?), I think I missed some things. Also - who was "E" in the end and whose affairs were straightened out?

Super lackluster and worse than "Down among the dead men," which I mostly didn't understand due to my nautical ignorance.

[Margaret]

Loved this book - Henry Tibbett is always a good investigator and it was fun to see him act out of character in this story due to some interesting circumstances. The Caribbean setting was warm and inviting and definitely put vacation thoughts in my mind.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett of Scotland Yard is on holiday with his wife Emmy, sailing in the (Fictional) British Seward Islands. A chance acquaintance, Miss Betsy Sprague, goes missing on her way back to England, and sets off a hunt for not only the elderly lady, but for a woman she claimed to have seen... several weeks after that woman, Janet Vanduren, disappeared at sea with her fiance.
Henry gets involved in asking questions at the various marinas around the islands, and then undergoes a sudden and disturbing personality change that sends Emmy seeking shelter with friends while Henry goes off with new acquaintances met at a local club.
Henry had suspected Betsy had fallen afoul of people involved in a kind of modern-day piracy--drug runners trying to use the islands as a base to import drugs to the USA. But now Emmy must try to help Henry from a distance. And to make matters worse, there is a hurricane heading their way.
This is my first Patricia Moyes/Henry Tibbett story, and seemed far-fetched to me, although it became quite suspenseful in the later chapters. I enjoyed Emmy very much, but Henry remained a bit of a cypher to me. If I can find some of the earlier books in the series, perhaps I will be more taken with the characters. Otherwise, this was a twisty tale set in a beautiful part of the world.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry and Emmy Tibbett are once again on vacation, visiting their friends John and Margaret Colville at the inn they own on St. Matthew's Island in the Caribbean, before setting out on a small boat trip. There is also another visitor, a former schoolteacher of Margaret's. She is upset by the death of the daughter of another pupil in a boating accident, but on her way home she believes she suddenly sees her, and calls Henry to tell him. The she too disappears, and Henry is tasked with the investigation. Suddenly his behavior changes, he seems to lose interest in his job, and instead pursues pleasure with new acquaintances. Emmy is puzzled; however a hurricane changes everything. Good characterization and a fascinating mystery make this a compelling read. Recommended.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

With this book Patricia Moyes attempts to write a thriller. She incorporates drug use, crime lords, amnesia, police corruption, political unrest and two hurricanes. It really doesn't work for me. While people do get killed this is not a murder mystery. Some supposed drug induced personality changes were hard to believe so, though it started with some promise, I found it a bit of a slog to finish.

[Caterina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book in Series

The background to the novel is the beautiful British Caribbean, and the action takes place during two successive hurricanes. The story moves quickly and is quite interesting, with lots of plot twists. It’s a quick read and the plot moves along rapidly.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who is a Patricia Moyes fan and to anyone who enjoys police procedurals.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. On to the next Moyes book.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery #15

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took a while to grasp and it felt a bit rushed in the end. I still really like the characters.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which the always correct Henry Tibbett totally loses the plot and nearly gets arrested, to the horror of his colleagues and wife. The moment at the end when he's confronted with his behavior is delicious.
Which is not to minimize the seriousness of the problem he is trying to solve.

[Dogsandbooks]

Rereading

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting! Boatloads of Action!

Henry Tibbett & Em are involved in a dangerous tangle of hurricanes, drug dealing & deadly struggle. Who can they trust?

[Jlnpeacock Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in the story are pleasant and believable. There was a bit of tension in the mystery to provide extra interest. It was a delightful read.

[Lyle Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed the yarn

[MaryJo Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take yourself back to the 1980's and with that time period in mind, enjoy a great Inspector Henry Tibbets mystery. Henry and his wife Emmy are enjoying a well-deserved vacation in the Caribbean when they meet an eccentric elderly spinster named Betsy Sprague. Betsy has a strange story to tell, that gets even stranger when she disappears. One thing leads to another, and Henry has to go back to work to use his instincts and his experience to find out what happened to Betsy, and the former student she claims to have seen after the lady was supposed to be lost at sea.
When the two mysteries are compounded by a possible drug ring using the island to transport their goods, things get murky and very dangerous. Especially when Henry is put out of commission, and Emmy has to use her own courage and capability to get to the bottom of things.
The plot is well developed, and the story moves along smoothly, with plausible reactions and plenty of action, especially when stormy Caribbean weather compounds the situation.
There is some profanity that could have been omitted without compromising the story, but it was not constant, and I still have to rate this a top notch fun read.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angel Death by Patricia Moyes is the 16th book of the Inspector Henry Tibbett mystery series set in the late 20th-century. Most of the series is set in London, where Henry is Chief Superintendent at Scotland Yard; this story returns to the (fictional) British Seaward Islands in the Caribbean. Henry and Emmy are on holiday, planning a week-long sailing cruise around the islands, when Henry is asked to investigate undercover. BSI may be a stop-off point for drug smuggling between South America and the US. Henry and Emmy agree to be "bait", posing as amateur (somewhat bumbling) sailors. Their dangerous plan + 2 hurricanes + personality-altering PCP ("Angel Dust") makes for a suspenseful story! The harrowing ordeal of preparing for and enduring a hurricane is described in detail, along with the damage left behind. Emmy has the key role in solving this mystery.

[Teri Am · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series. They remind me of the cozy mystery series set in the 1920s and 1930s , yet they are set in the 1960s/1970s. Inspector Henry Tibbet is a marvelous character and I enjoy how the author shows some, but not all of his deduction process. I had some trouble suspending my disbelief regarding the actions of the main character, but it did not detract from wanting to find out "who did it". Will be reading all of the books in this series.

[Carolyn F.]

I read this series in the 1990s and this is the book that had me going "What the heck happened to Henry?!" He turned into a dick that seemed to be looking for a reason to leave his wife. I don't know if the author's life was in the same sort of turmoil but it had that flavor.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not enjoy the plot of this one.