Aftermath

Hennessey & Yellich #21

by Peter Turnbull

The latest Hennessey and Yellich mystery

When five corpses in various states of decomposition are found chained to the walls of a kitchen garden, Hennessey and Yellich quickly begin their investigation. The recently deceased owner of the house was housebound for the last twenty-five years, and so would have had no idea of the appalling crimes taking place yards away. At first, there doesn't seem to be much to go on, the victims appear to have little in common, but Hennessey and Yellich know that the dead must hold the clues they need . . .

Genres: Mystery

185 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Peter Turnbull is the author of nineteen previous novels and numerous works of short fiction. He worked for many years as a social worker in Glasgow before returning to his native Yorkshire.

Reviews

[Mark Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent British procedural.No tricks just straight detective work with typical English characters and local color.

[Pete Loveday · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre mystery that did not grab me. Not helped by a poor case of cost cutting publishing. Too many typo's, poor book layout and presentation. Not for me.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really expected to like this story a little more than I did judging from previous books in the series and the book description. There were just too many characters that could have done it and way too much time spent on the interviews of people that really knew nothing.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

AFTERMATH is the eighteenth book in the George Hennessey/Somerled Yellich mystery series. All of the books follow a pattern. A minor character comes across a body, the police are called in, Detective Chief Inspector George Hennessey and Detective Sergeant Somerled Yellich are placed in charge of investigating the murder, and within days, the case is resolved. Turnbull begins each chapter with a time and date so the reader gets the impression that the pages reflect real time. Turnbull is unique in that Hennessey and Yellich are not pulled into other crimes; there are no distractions for the police on the case so there are no distractions for the reader either.

AFTERMATH begins with the discovery of skeletons in a deserted kitchen garden at Bromyards, an estate that has fallen into acute disrepair as the owner withdraws further and further away from the larger world. By the time Nicholas Housecarl dies at the age of ninety-five, he has reduced his world to a bedroom and a bathroom on an upper floor. When John Seers, Housecarls’ attorney, comes to assess the property, it seems clear that no one has been near the house in a long time, or so it seems, until he finds skeletons in the kitchen garden.

It doesn’t take long for the police to realize that they are confronting the work of a serial killer. Numerous bodies, in various states of decomposition, have been chained together. All have been gagged, all are naked, and all were alive at the moment when their wrists were chained to that of another human who arrived alive and died in the tangle of weeds. As the bodies are examined in the mortuary, something else becomes apparent – there is no means by which a cause of death can be determined.

Initially, the police can find no connection between the victims. They are of both genders and their ages vary widely. But when discovered, the connection is unique, It is not something I have come across in another series.

Peter Turnbull writes, unfailingly, books that will capture the reader. The main characters are likable, decent people, who could live next door. There is no overt violence; it all happens off page. Perhaps because of the number of books in the series, it isn’t necessary to read them is order. Just take one on the next visit to the library, and a fan will be born

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

DCI Hennessey and his team are shocked when a number of corpses are discovered by a lawyer surveying the large property of a recently-deceased client; the homeowner is not a suspect, given that he had withdrawn into living in a single room in his huge mansion and was in his 90s at the time of death, but only a local could have known both that the property existed in isolation and that the owner was so invisible. The police must first try to identify the multiple victims and then search for any commonalities that might link them to an apparent serial killer…. This is the 21st book in the long-running series set in York, England, but only the second to be available in e-book form. Long-time readers will appreciate the attention to police-procedural detail while perhaps sighing a bit at the repetition of specific personal details in each character’s life (I simply skim those few paragraphs, which turn up pretty much verbatim in every book); I think new readers could start with this novel without losing too much of the context from the earlier books. The point of these novels is not to figure out “who done it” (it’s pretty obvious early on), but rather to notice the step-by-step work of police necessary to solving crimes, which is richly detailed. Recommended.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Dark Secrets, I found the book easy and comfortable, but there wer many similarities to the first I read, evrn to Inspector Hennesey arriving home to find his sons car parked out front. One perpetrator in both books had winkle-picker shoes. However, I did enjoy the book even though I might have chosen a different one.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

c2010: FWFTB: chained, decomposition, house, crimes, murders. This may be because I have started in the middle of the series but......this was a hard, hard read. Perhaps it is also because I have read many a crime novel but I felt that I was taking a police detective course 101. No statement was left unexplained and it made the plot soooooo tedious. I couldn't bear to read one more page. Sorry, not recommended at all.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never read the previous books, but picked this up anyways without knowing it's part of a series. Nice little mystery story about finding a serial killer. Reading this was like watching one of the tv shows about serial killers. Interesting read with mainly dialogue made it easy to get it over with.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A number of bodies are found in a remote garden on an aging estate after the owner dies and the police must determine who committed these murders. Turnbull's story takes the reader on the journey as the police detectives follow every lead in the case.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 2 out of 5]

formulaic police procedural.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent continuation of the series. Steady moving, semi-abrupt ending that continues the development of the cast of characters. Decent read.

[Skip · Rating 1 out of 5]

Formulaic and predictable.
If I'm not mistaken, some of the content is even copied verbatim from earlier novels, or at least it certainly seems so.

[Leslie Zampetti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written police procedural - and formulaic to boot. Shame on you, Booklist! You steered me wrong this time.

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story but I thought it was very average compared to other books in the genre. Short and easy to read but forgettable

[Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cutie procedural in a long series. Little suspense or plot twists. Ho hum.

[Estela Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it is. Like colour by numbers.

[Karen]

British murder mysteries are kind of fun. I enjoy the characters and the development of the storyline.