A Fall From Grace

Charlie Peace #9

by Robert Barnard

From Robert Barnard, the internationally acclaimed Diamond Dagger-winning crime writer . . .

With A Fall from Grace, Robert Barnard triumphs once again with a witty tale of family discord and murder.

Detective Inspector Charlie Peace and his wife, Felicity, are shocked when Felicity's difficult dad, Rupert Coggenhoe, suddenly announces that he's moving north to their Yorkshire village. Felicity has never much liked her father, and to have him as a near-neighbor fills her with foreboding. The boorish old man has always loved to impress the ladies, young and old, by exaggerating his modest success as a novelist. True to form, soon after his move to Slepton Edge he surrounds himself with adoring females, including a precocious, theatrical teenager named Anne Michaels. Rupert and Anne could make a lethal combination.

Rumors fly, but Felicity convinces herself that Rupert would do nothing seriously wrong. He can be annoying and outrageous but he's not a criminal. She relies on a friend, a doctor who seems to be strangely aware of everything that's happening in the community, to warn her if he hears of anything really troubling. She doesn't have long to wait, but the news is not what she expects. It's worse. A body has been found and it looks like murder. Stunned by a difficult reality, Felicity is even more shocked to discover that she, herself, may be a suspect.

This is one criminal investigation that's much too close to home for Charlie Peace. He's not officially on the case, but he uses his copper's instincts and a husband's heart to find a killer and to discover anew the meaning of family.

Praised for his "perfect pitch, exquisite pacing, and meticulous plotting" (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times), Robert Barnard proves yet again that he is one of the great masters of mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2007

About the author

Aka Bernard Bastable.

Robert Barnard (born 23 November 1936) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.

Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and at Balliol College in Oxford. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He has gone on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories.

Barnard has said that his favourite crime writer is Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie.

Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement.

Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard has published one standalone novel and three alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age.

Barnard lived with his wife Louise in Yorkshire.

Series:
* Perry Trethowan
* Charlie Peace

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. A nice little mystery, there's that phrase when reading Robert Barnard. We're in the small Yorkshire village of Stepton Edge in which the matter of murder arises but is not soon resolved. I'll leave that to you as you read the novel. DI Charlie Peace of the Leeds police and his wife Felicity live in the village. They have never been close to her father, author Rupert Coggenhoe, but suddenly he decides to move north to be near them. Indeed Felicity holds great animosity for him. Why is he doing this? At the same time they encounter a gang of young teens and children chanting strangely outside the homes of village newcomers. Charlie traces them to a controversial drama stream at the nearby high school and finds out that the leader is 15-year-old Anne Michaels. Why is she doing this? When she develops an attachment with the elderly Coggenhoe, could it be blackmail or something more than that? Other characters are introduced as normal, then questions develop - about the background of a mayoralty candidate, the attitudes of the local police, and more. You'll understand. Please don't ignore the title; it's full of potential. (July 2019)

[Jill H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I have read too many of Barnard's books and expect more than this one provided. It is one of the Charlie Peace series and I just could not seem to get very interested. It moves extremely slowly and I never knew exactly where the story was going. The plot is pretty thin and a lot of extraneous characters appear who apparently don't have much to do with advancing the story.....I just kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. There were some unusual character twists but the author did not expand them and the whole thing was just left hanging with no real conclusion. Not one of my favorites, by any means.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found that, of all the books in the series, I much prefer the ones in which Charlie's family life, and particularly his relationship with Felicity. Here he must support her in her efforts to keep her father at arm's length, even as they accept money from him to buy a house for themselves and one for him in the small town of Slepton Edge. It's their introduction to life outside the city, and they do everything right to fit in and feel a part of the community. Rupert, Felicity's father, is another matter, and when he falls to his death from the edge of a rock quarry, she finds it hard to accept condolences. While trying to stay out of an investigation that isn't on his own patch, Charlie also has to deal with new friends who aren't open about their past and a group of school children led by a teenage girl who was in an ambiguous relationship with Rupert. Lots to ponder.

3/25: Yes, just as much to wonder about on the second reading. I particularly enjoy Felicity's efforts to get some questions answered.

[Rusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a so-so but easy read. I felt the story moved slowly. Told in the voice of Charlie Peace, an exceptional policeman with well honed deductive powers, it deals with real life situations, conflicts, and problems as he and his wife move to a new town. The character development of Charlie and his wife, Felicity, is well done and I liked the approach of Charlie telling the tale. Charlie and Felicity do not like her father who moves into the same town and complicates life in their new community. One quote from Felicity especially sticks with me: "As Swift said, children aren't obliged to feel gratitude to their parents, because when they were being made the parents were thinking of something else entirely."

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Charlie Peace and his wife Felicity are able to buy a nice house, but there's a catch. Felicity's egotistical, using father is part of the package. Their new neighborhood is restrainedly welcoming. There's a worm in the apple. The children in a local drama school are up to nasty tricks, which may be connected with the dead body found in the quarry. Charlie and his family are always interesting, and Barnard has come up with other mysterious, likeable characters such as the mayoral candidate Dr. Chris Carlson and his wife; veteran actor Desmond Pinkhurst undergoing a renaissance; and nasty but charming acting student Anne Michaels.

[Squeaky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a great many of Barnard's books and like them very much. I find I often have to look up words in a dictionary, and not being British I have to research colloquialisms unfamiliar to me. Learn something new every day!

The first time I read this (I see from my notes) I apparently missed who the suspect was. The plot is not resolved by the final chapter, but things have been set in motion towards that end. I prefer a tidy winding-up of a story, but that is not the author's goal. Perhaps this is a more "mature" device, rather than spelling everything out for the reader. Although THIS reader often needs things spelled out!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a series, but this author is very prolific, so write a lot of different series. Charlie Peace is a black policeman in England. He and his white wife, Felicity and their daughter reluctantly decide to take up her father's request that they move to a village where he also wants to move so that they can live closer to each other. Felicity hates her father, but wants to try to do the right thing since he is getting older and her mother has passed away.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really had a hard time getting into this book. I found it odd that some of the characters had similar names, which sometimes confused me. It was very slow-moving and there were plot twists, albeit slight ones, that seemed to come from no where. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to make myself finish the book. The narrative was fall asleep boring (which I did, many nights, trying to finish). I was hoping that it would pick up and get exciting, but sorry--the surprise ending didn't even help.

[Anne Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though I'm still only giving this book 2 stars, it was the best book out of the 3 I read by Robert Barnard. It had the most suspense, I liked the characters, and I liked the English town where it took place. I wish I could live in a close-nit town like that!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Robert Barnard's mysteries, but the plotline got a little tangled with the characters, and made it a little too convoluted for me to really enjoy it.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing real memorable about this book, but I enjoyed it.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new (to me) mystery series!!

[Mysteryfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charley and Felicity move to a new town. It has one of the more original motives for murder that I've read. The characters are expertly drawn. A good read.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book meandered along and ended up nowhere. I wouldn't bother reading another in this series. It seemed to stop mid-idea, almost as if the author had had enough of it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Charlie and Felicity! A good story, then usual quiet references to things outside the story.

[C3wach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, as usual.

[CAROL · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent detective story. A black cop has a white wife. Her father died under suspicious circumstances. A very cool twist at the end.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I like Barnard's writing style and approach. His idea of "suspense" which the cover promotes (and was probably the publisher's idea, not his) suits me just fine. I don't need to add to my normal anxieties through my reading for entertainment. But I do appreciate the taut pacing of excellent writing which others so used to joltjoltjolt styles clearly misunderstand entirely.

In these days of political mayhem in America, so many readers would quickly identify the narcissism displayed by the father-in-law and better sympathise with the backstory and how much of a predicament it would be in all the associated family. Social pressures are so different now too (from 2006 to 15 years later), it strikes me that the author's set up of a children's Intimidation Club would involve more brutal elemenst of drugs and gun violence and would more immediately be dealt with in a very harsh way with few questions asked. As a consequence, the relatively innocent feel of this tale works to its advantage.

Some reviewers have stated that the pacing drags or is soporific, but I prefer the slow reveal of character relationships and how this plot pulls two divergent characters together at the end. The ease of reading simply testifies to the excellence and professionalism Barnard always delivered in all his work.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may be mixing up Robert Barnard with another author but I thought I had read a few of Barnard's books many, many, many years ago and enjoyed his writing, his wit and his mysteries. Not this one. The writing wasn't polished and the story was very odd and quite confusing and ultimately dull. I didn't understand the chanting at all. I didn't understand why Rupert wanted to be near his daughter if they disliked one another so. I got very tired of being told how much Felicity disliked her father page after page. I was definitely disappointed in this one. I doubt I would read anymore Barnard.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quietly entertaining. I started reading this series a lifetime ago and getting reacquainted with Charlie was very calming.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A library find. November 2023.