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Dr. R.V. Davie #2
My Foe Outstretch'd Beneath the Tree
The hall porter was not in a position to see. Nor was he likely to remember if anyone was absent in that direction longer than usual. Besides why would anyone be absent longer than usual?’
The Classic English story of detection makes a welcome comeback with the famous detective Dr R.V. Davie. To enter this world is like settling into a beautiful house, all discreet order and comfort. But a walk outside in the lovely maze might disclose a body, done to death mysteriously and brutally. It is then that Dr. Davie really comes to life.
Originally published in 1967
The Classic English story of detection makes a welcome comeback with the famous detective Dr R.V. Davie. To enter this world is like settling into a beautiful house, all discreet order and comfort. But a walk outside in the lovely maze might disclose a body, done to death mysteriously and brutally. It is then that Dr. Davie really comes to life.
Originally published in 1967
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1968
62 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Clinton-Baddeley
29 books6 followersV(ictor Vaughan Reynolds Geraint) C(linton) Clinton-Baddeley was born in Devon, England. He received an M.A. in history from Jesus College, Cambridge. For a time he was editor of the modern history section of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but soon turned to theatre and acting and then to radio, where he worked with W. B. Yeats as his poetry reader. His previous writings include works of literary and theatre research, pantomimes, operettas, and plays.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 6, 2016
I first read this book many years ago and enjoyed it. Dr R V Davie - retired academic is an interesting sleuth somewhat in the same mould as Edmund Crispin's Gervaise Fen though rather older and more relaxed than that volatile sleuth. Davie loves opera and this story revolves round opera performances from the well known to the amateur.
In this well written and interesting story Davie stumbles across some strange happenings without at all realising what he has witnessed and he has to try and piece together what is happening. I found it entertaining reading and the story - like all of the books by this author - has something of the flavour of the Golden Age writers even though the books were published some years later that that heyday of British crime fiction.
I can recommend this book and this series to anyone who likes their crime stories in the classic mould. They always have interesting background and you can pick up a lot of information about opera by reading them. The series doesn't need to be read in order of publication.
In this well written and interesting story Davie stumbles across some strange happenings without at all realising what he has witnessed and he has to try and piece together what is happening. I found it entertaining reading and the story - like all of the books by this author - has something of the flavour of the Golden Age writers even though the books were published some years later that that heyday of British crime fiction.
I can recommend this book and this series to anyone who likes their crime stories in the classic mould. They always have interesting background and you can pick up a lot of information about opera by reading them. The series doesn't need to be read in order of publication.
February 28, 2017
This was a book I was loathe to finish as I enjoyed it so much. The amateur detective, Dr R V Davie, is an elderly opera loving academic who investigates the mystery of a language tape which appears to have been tampered with. There is also the matter of a murder at his London club. Are the two incidents linked? Dr Davie thinks so and determines to solve the puzzle.
Written in 1968 this erudite and gently humorous novel is one of four featuring Dr Davie.
Written in 1968 this erudite and gently humorous novel is one of four featuring Dr Davie.
June 21, 2020
Full review at classicmystery.blog
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February 18, 2023This was really rather cleverly done, by slight of hand by the author. There was a red herring that, like most red herrings, is meant to mis-direct you and one clue that isn't really a red herring at all. So, no I didn't guess who the culprit was.
December 31, 2022
Even though there are a lot of characters to keep track of, I enjoyed this light mystery. Dr. R. V. Davie is a Cambridge academic who steadily investigates the murder of a member of his club.
January 30, 2023
While staying at his Chesterfield Club, in London, Dr R.V. Davies, one morning discovers a body in the garden and the police start their investigation. Meanwhile Davie is learning the art of audio tapes and the learning of English grammar, when he comes across an anomaly. What will his investigation lead to.
An entertaining cozy mystery
Originally published in 1968
An entertaining cozy mystery
Originally published in 1968
December 11, 2022
In this second of the five mysteries with the don-detective, Dr R V Davie, we move away from Cambridge, with most of the action, including the central murder, taking place in the sedately -swinging London of the late 1960s.
Opera features a lot with a performance of Manon Lescault forming the backdrop to the denouement. Other locations include a Women's College, a dismal vicarage and a rather muted gay bar.
Davie is in fine form. The conversations and social observation are as crisp as ever, while the learning and erudition are more lightly- worn, and the literary quotations less clumsily-introduced than in many English amateur detective novels of this ilk.
The puzzle is not too taxing, making this a most entertaining light read. Plus points for the mention of Joan Eardley.
3.5 stars.
Opera features a lot with a performance of Manon Lescault forming the backdrop to the denouement. Other locations include a Women's College, a dismal vicarage and a rather muted gay bar.
Davie is in fine form. The conversations and social observation are as crisp as ever, while the learning and erudition are more lightly- worn, and the literary quotations less clumsily-introduced than in many English amateur detective novels of this ilk.
The puzzle is not too taxing, making this a most entertaining light read. Plus points for the mention of Joan Eardley.
3.5 stars.
April 17, 2011
My Foe Outstretch'd Beneath the Tree by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley is one of my many academic mystery acquisitions. This series features Dr. R. V. Davie a distinguished professor from Cambridge. Elderly and inherently lazy, he still manages to find himself in the most extraodinary circumstances and adventures. This particular mystery revolves around a gentleman's club, a women's college and the opera.
Morris Brent had good looks, good luck, a beautiful mistress and a membership in the exclusive Chesterfield Club. But it seemed that someone thought he might have too much of a good thing....And so, one morning, Dr. Davie with his knack for spotting trouble found Brent facedown in the club's well-kept, members-only garden. Brent was very still and quite obviously murdered. Two copies of a tape recording lead Davie from the club to a women's collge and finally to the opening night at the opera. All the suspects were on hand for the gala event.... and the solution was waiting in the wings.
Overall this is a delightful mystery--but definitely a comfort read rather than an intense puzzle. Written in 1967, it is a definite tribute to the Golden Age of mysteries and Clinton-Baddeley makes a good effort at detective story fair play. The dialogue is witty and while there is a fair amount of quotation it is not over-played or pretentious. A good choice for a night when you want something fun, intereseting, but not too taxing. Three and a half stars out of five.
Morris Brent had good looks, good luck, a beautiful mistress and a membership in the exclusive Chesterfield Club. But it seemed that someone thought he might have too much of a good thing....And so, one morning, Dr. Davie with his knack for spotting trouble found Brent facedown in the club's well-kept, members-only garden. Brent was very still and quite obviously murdered. Two copies of a tape recording lead Davie from the club to a women's collge and finally to the opening night at the opera. All the suspects were on hand for the gala event.... and the solution was waiting in the wings.
Overall this is a delightful mystery--but definitely a comfort read rather than an intense puzzle. Written in 1967, it is a definite tribute to the Golden Age of mysteries and Clinton-Baddeley makes a good effort at detective story fair play. The dialogue is witty and while there is a fair amount of quotation it is not over-played or pretentious. A good choice for a night when you want something fun, intereseting, but not too taxing. Three and a half stars out of five.
January 18, 2017
Professor Davie, elderly academic, opera-lover and gentle eccentric, is invited to visit the studio where an English language course is taped, and is given a copy of a demo tape. He asks a club acquaintance, one Mr. Brent, to play the tape on his tape recorder, and is surprised by the ending of the tape, which seems to hint at a rendez-vous on a specific date at a specific opera performance. Brent is found strangled under a tree in the club garden soon afterwards, and there seems to be more than one club member who has a good reason to kill him. Davie is especially intrigued when he realized that other copies of that tape have a much more conventional ending. So he walks back the trail of everyone involved in the recordings and soon discovers a second corpse.
The main charm of this book was Professor Davie and his lifestyle, which involves an academic existence in Oxford, several clubs in London, frequent visits to the Opera, and titled friends and tea-parties. So all very English and a great escapism read. As a mystery, it was so-so - there was really no way the reader could have foreseen the ending, which came as a surprise and as a quick way for the author to tie up loose ends.
The main charm of this book was Professor Davie and his lifestyle, which involves an academic existence in Oxford, several clubs in London, frequent visits to the Opera, and titled friends and tea-parties. So all very English and a great escapism read. As a mystery, it was so-so - there was really no way the reader could have foreseen the ending, which came as a surprise and as a quick way for the author to tie up loose ends.
February 12, 2017
A fun read, but feels a bit dated.
April 13, 2009
Dr. Davie visits a women's school and while there, he stumbles on a sort of mystery. The school produces a language learning course that is tape recorded and mailed out. But some of the tapes have a different message. While he's puzzling over what this might mean, he visits his London club. The next day, a fellow club member is murdered.
This is a second in a brief series written in the 60-70s, and has a similar feel to some of its contemporaries. Not quite as outlandish as Gideon Fell and not as highbrow as Michael Innes, these books are still a great find for mystery fans who enjoy the Golden Age of mystery.
I don't want to give too much away, but let me say that Davie's interest in opera and his academic background help him get to the bottom of this case just in time to prevent becoming a victim himself. I only gave it 3 stars because it was a bit of a stretch, and the plot seemed a little disconnected in places, but I would really round it up to 3.5 stars if I could.
This is a second in a brief series written in the 60-70s, and has a similar feel to some of its contemporaries. Not quite as outlandish as Gideon Fell and not as highbrow as Michael Innes, these books are still a great find for mystery fans who enjoy the Golden Age of mystery.
I don't want to give too much away, but let me say that Davie's interest in opera and his academic background help him get to the bottom of this case just in time to prevent becoming a victim himself. I only gave it 3 stars because it was a bit of a stretch, and the plot seemed a little disconnected in places, but I would really round it up to 3.5 stars if I could.
July 12, 2009
Elderly Dr. Davie is up from Cambridge, staying in his London club, when the body of a club member is found in a secluded garden. Davie is afraid that the death is connected with a strange tape he's been sent, meant to teach English to foreigners. Is it positively necessary for him to meddle? No, but it's very tempting.
August 17, 2013
Very British. A gentlemen's club, opera, and murders to solve. Short and enjoyable!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews