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Wycliffe #4
Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place
On the beautiful, tranquil Scilly Isles, a brutal murder is uncovered...There was no doubt at all that the girl was dead. The front of her skull and her facial bones had been splintered like the cracked shell of an egg. What made it even more shocking was the setting of the murder - an idyllic corner of the Scilly Isles where violent crime was almost unknown.Angry and distressed, the villagers instinctively turn against the only stranger in their midst, the famous pop star and teenage idol Vince Peters. But Superintendent Wycliffe is not so sure. Slowly, methodically, he begins to dig beneath the calm surface of the community - and soon uncovers a violent undercurrent of fear and guilt...Why readers love W.J. 'First-class, old-time, hyper-ingenious whodunit.' Observer'You can always count on Wycliffe ... he inevitably guarantees a good story, convincing characters and appealing landscape ' Financial Times'Wycliffe teases out the truth with delicate skill that leaves the reader intrigued and convinced.' Mail on Sunday'Gripping.' The TimesFans of Ruth Rendell, Val McDermid and Peter Robinson will love W.J. 1. Wycliffe and the Three-Toed Pussy2. Wycliffe and How to Kill a Cat3. Wycliffe and the Guilt Edged Alibi4. Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place5. Wycliffe and Death in Stanley Street6. Wycliffe and the Pea-Green Boat 7. Wycliffe and the School Bullies8. Wycliffe and the Scapegoat 9. Wycliffe in Paul's Court 10. Wycliffe's Wild Goose Chase 11. Wycliffe and the Beales 12. Wycliffe and the Four Jacks 13. Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin 14. Wycliffe and the Winsor Blue 15. Wycliffe and the Tangled Web 16. Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death 17. Wycliffe and the Dead Flautist 18. Wycliffe and the Last Rites 19. Wycliffe and the Dunes Mystery 20. Wycliffe and the House of Fear 21. Wycliffe and the Redhead 22. Wycliffe and the Guild of Nine * Each Inspector Wycliffe novel can be read as part of a series or as a standalone*
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1973
19 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
W.J. Burley
44 books25 followersBurley was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. Before he began writing, he was employed in senior management with various gas companies, before giving it up after the Second World War when he obtained a scholarship to study zoology at Balliol College, Oxford. After obtaining an honours degree he became a teacher. Appointed head of biology, first at Richmond & East Sheen County Grammar School in 1953, then at Newquay Grammar School in 1955, he was well established as a writer by the time he retired at the age of 60 in 1974. He died at his home in Holywell, Cornwall, on 15 August 2002.
John Burley had his first novel published when he was in his early fifties. His second published novel, two years later, saw the appearance of Superintendent Charles Wycliffe.
Over the next 25 years Burley produced another seventeen Wycliffe books and five other books.
Then, late in 1993, one of Burley's Wycliffe stories appeared on television in a pilot starring Jack Shepherd.
The pilot was followed by 37 episodes broadcast over a five year period.
By 1995 the author was, for the first time in his life, financially comfortable. He was over eighty.
But the success of the television series meant that John Burley found himself overshadowed by his creations. To the public, the name Wycliffe brought to mind the unsmiling face of Jack Shepherd, the actor. Even in the bookshops it was Shepherd's face that dominated the covers of Burley's paperbacks.
John Burley, however, continued to write and produced a further four Wycliffe titles. He was working on his 23rd Wycliffe novel, Wycliffe's Last Lap, when he died in 2002.
Recently a wish to restore the balance has emerged from amongst his readers. There is a feeling that we are neglecting a writer of quality, one who deserves to stand beside Simenon, the creator of Inspector Maigret.
Reading through John Burley's books in publication sequence, one notices how the author's voice gets stronger and his views more certain. And how his writing skills grow until, in the later books, a few words are all that it takes to pin down an image. These are the signs of a writer confident in his craft.
John Burley had his first novel published when he was in his early fifties. His second published novel, two years later, saw the appearance of Superintendent Charles Wycliffe.
Over the next 25 years Burley produced another seventeen Wycliffe books and five other books.
Then, late in 1993, one of Burley's Wycliffe stories appeared on television in a pilot starring Jack Shepherd.
The pilot was followed by 37 episodes broadcast over a five year period.
By 1995 the author was, for the first time in his life, financially comfortable. He was over eighty.
But the success of the television series meant that John Burley found himself overshadowed by his creations. To the public, the name Wycliffe brought to mind the unsmiling face of Jack Shepherd, the actor. Even in the bookshops it was Shepherd's face that dominated the covers of Burley's paperbacks.
John Burley, however, continued to write and produced a further four Wycliffe titles. He was working on his 23rd Wycliffe novel, Wycliffe's Last Lap, when he died in 2002.
Recently a wish to restore the balance has emerged from amongst his readers. There is a feeling that we are neglecting a writer of quality, one who deserves to stand beside Simenon, the creator of Inspector Maigret.
Reading through John Burley's books in publication sequence, one notices how the author's voice gets stronger and his views more certain. And how his writing skills grow until, in the later books, a few words are all that it takes to pin down an image. These are the signs of a writer confident in his craft.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 7, 2022
This was my first Wycliffe mystery. I thought the story began well - W. J. Burley certainly knew his nautical terms and could describe a typical seaside village.
The plot is a common one: a murder, a handful of suspects, a few exposed secrets... I enjoy a murder mystery as much as the next reader, so long as the writing is good and something new/fresh is brought to the table. Death In A Salubrious Place (W. J. needed to work on his titles IMO), unfortunately, brings no freshness.
Superintendent Charles Wycliffe is supremely bland. His sidekick, Gill, is sexist and distasteful. Both make a number of non-detective assumptions throughout the story, and the book's ending is not satisfying. I also found it odd that a small village would continue to host dances after more than one murder has occurred.
The Wycliffe books are short and easy. I would recommend them for relaxing trips to resorts, but I was left with no desire to read the others in the series.
The plot is a common one: a murder, a handful of suspects, a few exposed secrets... I enjoy a murder mystery as much as the next reader, so long as the writing is good and something new/fresh is brought to the table. Death In A Salubrious Place (W. J. needed to work on his titles IMO), unfortunately, brings no freshness.
Superintendent Charles Wycliffe is supremely bland. His sidekick, Gill, is sexist and distasteful. Both make a number of non-detective assumptions throughout the story, and the book's ending is not satisfying. I also found it odd that a small village would continue to host dances after more than one murder has occurred.
The Wycliffe books are short and easy. I would recommend them for relaxing trips to resorts, but I was left with no desire to read the others in the series.
July 19, 2021
This was a good read. Unlike the others I have read we know that the young lady has been murdered as we are present for the deed. However we don’t know who did it, so this is still a mystery rather than a procedural. To complicate matters there is a second murder. The two would seem to be connected, but how is the question. It does not help that the second victim is not well-liked by the islanders and is also held by some to be responsible for the first murder. Thus we have an intricate puzzle for Inspector Wycliffe to solve. As I said I enjoyed this one. It was one I had not read before. Nor do I believe was it adapted for the television series. Thus it was fresh for me. Recommended.
February 5, 2011
A nice light read which was just what I needed. Was set in the Scilly Isles where a girl had been found at the bottom of a quarry. Was it an accident or was it murder? Everyone wants it to be an accident except the father doesn't accept this and pushes the police into investigating.
September 16, 2020
One of the most elegiac Wycliffes, which is a feat since they are all quite melancholy. Something about the isolated island setting and the rainy weather just makes for a pervasive mood. Wycliffe himself is at his most sympathetic here, and the characters are well drawn.
January 15, 2023
A young girl is murdered on an isolated island – Burley sets the murder on a fictional addition to the Scilly Isles (there are over 140 islands situated more than 20 miles from the Cornish coast, like a geological afterthought, an extension dribbled from the long Cornish peninsula).
The community blame an incomer – a pop singer fleeing the celebrity life. I always worry when a writer introduces a celebrity to the equation, especially a pop singer (given that the writer will generally be long out of touch with teenage cultures) … it always reeks of the writer trying to ‘sex it up’, to introduce glamour and mystique to murder. I can’t associate glamour with murder – most real murders are fairly stupid, sordid or self-explanatory affairs … murder mysteries hold their readers by offering the forensic psychological unravelling of a puzzle. Indulging celebrity culture seems superfluous.
Burley tries to create the claustrophobia of an isolated, island community – their sense of isolation, of identity, of difference from the mainland, their sense of self-reliance, the rhythms and logic of their lifestyle … tides, boat and aircraft timetables, seasons and weather, the quietude of the dark half of the year, the influx of tourists during the brighter half.
Isolated communities have an intimacy, an interdependence, even an incestuous quality given the inter-relationship of a small core of families. They can be suspicious of outsiders, intolerant, wary.
And it gets a bit tedious. Somehow the murder almost becomes the backdrop for the action rather than the focus of investigation. As Burley tries to conjure the play of tide and weather, the complexity of a small community either convinced it knows who committed the crime or intent on protecting the killer from outside interference, the dead girl becomes more of a cadaver than a person, the focus of relationships which need to be explored in order to explain. She fades into relative insignificance.
It's readable – so many names crop up I had to keep reminding myself who was who … and I suppose there is a validity to this … in a small, isolated community you have to keep reminding yourself who is related to who (unless you’ve actually grown up an organic member of that community).
The ending … I’m not happy with it – yes, there’s an inevitability about it, there’s obvious logic to it … but it seems over-dramatised, it seems contrived … it could have been better written, better stage-managed to give the book a more satisfying emotional completion.
The community blame an incomer – a pop singer fleeing the celebrity life. I always worry when a writer introduces a celebrity to the equation, especially a pop singer (given that the writer will generally be long out of touch with teenage cultures) … it always reeks of the writer trying to ‘sex it up’, to introduce glamour and mystique to murder. I can’t associate glamour with murder – most real murders are fairly stupid, sordid or self-explanatory affairs … murder mysteries hold their readers by offering the forensic psychological unravelling of a puzzle. Indulging celebrity culture seems superfluous.
Burley tries to create the claustrophobia of an isolated, island community – their sense of isolation, of identity, of difference from the mainland, their sense of self-reliance, the rhythms and logic of their lifestyle … tides, boat and aircraft timetables, seasons and weather, the quietude of the dark half of the year, the influx of tourists during the brighter half.
Isolated communities have an intimacy, an interdependence, even an incestuous quality given the inter-relationship of a small core of families. They can be suspicious of outsiders, intolerant, wary.
And it gets a bit tedious. Somehow the murder almost becomes the backdrop for the action rather than the focus of investigation. As Burley tries to conjure the play of tide and weather, the complexity of a small community either convinced it knows who committed the crime or intent on protecting the killer from outside interference, the dead girl becomes more of a cadaver than a person, the focus of relationships which need to be explored in order to explain. She fades into relative insignificance.
It's readable – so many names crop up I had to keep reminding myself who was who … and I suppose there is a validity to this … in a small, isolated community you have to keep reminding yourself who is related to who (unless you’ve actually grown up an organic member of that community).
The ending … I’m not happy with it – yes, there’s an inevitability about it, there’s obvious logic to it … but it seems over-dramatised, it seems contrived … it could have been better written, better stage-managed to give the book a more satisfying emotional completion.
June 25, 2021
So bad it is almost enjoyable. A serious contender for the worst book I have ever read and a clear winner in the worst detective book.
Incompetent policeman makes a huge mess of inquiry leaves catastrophic mess in his wake as he returns to his home base in the belief that he's done a decent job. Absolutely no evidence that the author knows anything at all about police procedure. Granted that this is set in the early seventies but things were never as bad as this. (Plenty here to keep Gene Hunt fans happy!) (His later books show signs that he might have used a consultant with police experience. In fact, some of his later books are quite good.)
Dreadful writing full of clunking similes. Unbelievable, badly-drawn characters, a creaking plot that just about gives a credible possibility that every character might be the murderer. To be fair, there is some merit in the plotting which is why I finished the book. To reach the end was a huge relief.
Incompetent policeman makes a huge mess of inquiry leaves catastrophic mess in his wake as he returns to his home base in the belief that he's done a decent job. Absolutely no evidence that the author knows anything at all about police procedure. Granted that this is set in the early seventies but things were never as bad as this. (Plenty here to keep Gene Hunt fans happy!) (His later books show signs that he might have used a consultant with police experience. In fact, some of his later books are quite good.)
Dreadful writing full of clunking similes. Unbelievable, badly-drawn characters, a creaking plot that just about gives a credible possibility that every character might be the murderer. To be fair, there is some merit in the plotting which is why I finished the book. To reach the end was a huge relief.
August 2, 2021
The Wycliffe series can be roughly classified into the earlier works and the later works. I find the later works (maybe starting with Wycliffe and the School Bullies) much more interesting than the earlier ones. This book is one of the better earlier works. Wycliffe’s growling and grumbling has also toned down in this book, as compared to the earlier one (Guilt Edged Alibi).
Burley has managed to keep the reader guessing about the killer’s identity right till the end. Though this is the case, the killer is a suspect right from the beginning and so there are no surprises when the case is solved. This is a feature of most Wycliffe books – there are hardly any unlikely persons who could be the culprits (as in Christie’s books) or any twists or hidden angles. The only problem is that Burley has not explained the how’s and why’s of the crime/s clearly to the reader at the end. It is left to the reader to guess how it must have happened and tie loose ends – which is annoying.
Burley has managed to keep the reader guessing about the killer’s identity right till the end. Though this is the case, the killer is a suspect right from the beginning and so there are no surprises when the case is solved. This is a feature of most Wycliffe books – there are hardly any unlikely persons who could be the culprits (as in Christie’s books) or any twists or hidden angles. The only problem is that Burley has not explained the how’s and why’s of the crime/s clearly to the reader at the end. It is left to the reader to guess how it must have happened and tie loose ends – which is annoying.
May 8, 2021
A young girl, Sylvie Eva, is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs on an island off of the south west coast. Wycliffe is sent out to show a presence from the mainland and it soon becomes established that the death is murder. The prime suspect, mainly because he is not a true islander, is ex-popstar Vince Peters, who has a large estate on the island which is more of a commune for local visiting young men and mainly girls, who all flock to watch Peters hold court.
Wycliffe starts to investigate and calls out the rest of his team and the more that he investigates the more suspects he adds to the list. Matters are further complicated when another murder throws many theories out of the window and a new track has to be taken.
It's a decent short thriller and keeps the reader guessing right through to the satisfying conclusion that I didn't see coming. Definitely worth a read.
Wycliffe starts to investigate and calls out the rest of his team and the more that he investigates the more suspects he adds to the list. Matters are further complicated when another murder throws many theories out of the window and a new track has to be taken.
It's a decent short thriller and keeps the reader guessing right through to the satisfying conclusion that I didn't see coming. Definitely worth a read.
October 28, 2025
🍷
British police procedural from an earlier era, and a damn good one. Burley’s writing is always quiet and understated, and the atmosphere similarly doesn’t shout and jar one. I really like his Superintendent Wycliffe character’s personality and way of seeing things. He wrote 22 of these before his demise in 2002, and it appears I’m going to be happy to read them all. When it rates a glass of wine, it’s a winner…
British police procedural from an earlier era, and a damn good one. Burley’s writing is always quiet and understated, and the atmosphere similarly doesn’t shout and jar one. I really like his Superintendent Wycliffe character’s personality and way of seeing things. He wrote 22 of these before his demise in 2002, and it appears I’m going to be happy to read them all. When it rates a glass of wine, it’s a winner…
August 22, 2023
I can usually cope with the dated attitudes in the Wycliffe books because the novels are easy reads and adequately plotted and written. But this one, not. Quite boring and I didn't get the motivation in the ending.
April 11, 2018
Wycliffe an older style of crime novel that was made into TV series. Enjoyable
May 13, 2020
I liked the island setting of this mystery. This is the best in the series so far. I thought I had it figured out but there were still some surprises at the end.
July 1, 2021
very interesting could not work out the ending myself
December 23, 2021
Confused about the ending.
Colorful characters and setting. Everything I could ask for in a police procedural.The book was great, but I didn't understand the ending.
Colorful characters and setting. Everything I could ask for in a police procedural.The book was great, but I didn't understand the ending.
August 5, 2022
Good plot.
Interesting setting.
And interesting characters.
Interesting setting.
And interesting characters.
July 13, 2024
Rather dated but a good story. Won't read anything more of this series.
April 30, 2015
As
Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place
, by W.J. Burley, begins, Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is summoned to an island off the coast of Cornwall after a young woman is found brutally murdered in a disused quarry. It soon becomes apparent that the villagers suspect the stranger in their midst, a former pop star who has bought a large cottage and uses a barn to arrange dances and concerts for the young people, who of course worship him; but the singer has more than one secret to keep from the islanders - and from Wycliffe.... This is the fourth in a long-running series written between the late 1960s and 2002, when Burley died; the series was also made into a television series in the U.K. I like them particularly because of the setting, having spent part of my childhood in Cornwall, although this novel is set somewhere else completely; I also like Wycliffe, who is one of those follows-his-own-intuitions cops who is also thoughtful and even poetic at times ("[Wycliffe]... stood with his arms resting on the rail staring into the harbour. He was trying to decide what colour the water was. Blue? Green? Blue-green? It was shot with gold - or yellow and the tip of each tiny ripple was silvered. If you added to that a certain indefinable translucency... He wondered, too, why he had ever become a policeman and why a detective? He hadn't a clue what to do next.") Given the time in which it was written, there's a lot of casual sexism in this novel, but if one can get past that, it's an interesting read. It's not necessary to have read the earlier books in the series to enjoy this one. Recommended, albeit mildly.
March 25, 2015
Simple police procedural novel set in an (unnecessarily) disguised Isles of Scilly (my primary motivation for reading it). Somewhat undemanding but none the less enjoyable. I was aware of Wycliffe from his depiction on television in the 1980/90s but hadn't read any of the books featuring him. Two murders need to be solved - a young pregnant girl, and former Pop Star with MS who has retired to the Islands. The former pop star is seen as a bad influence on the local young people by the islands community, and so there are plenty of suspects for shooting him. The girl was pregnant by him, and she was simply the victim of a wimpy jealous ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend killed the girl, and his mother killed the pop star!
The book won't do anything for the Isles of Scilly Tourist Board however - so probably just as well Scilly was heavily disguised. The grumpy bunch who man boats and lean on the bar of the Atlantic at lunch time were well described! The only amusing comment I found was the point made by one local that he and his fellow Islanders ignore the tourists through the summer and regard them as a nuisance. Rings a little true.
The book won't do anything for the Isles of Scilly Tourist Board however - so probably just as well Scilly was heavily disguised. The grumpy bunch who man boats and lean on the bar of the Atlantic at lunch time were well described! The only amusing comment I found was the point made by one local that he and his fellow Islanders ignore the tourists through the summer and regard them as a nuisance. Rings a little true.
April 6, 2018
It turns out I had read this once before but I wasn't sure until I was half way through it. Still enjoyed very much and it was worth a reread. I enjoy the character of Superintendent Wycliffe. He's a quiet, thoughtful police inspector and I enjoy the procedural aspect of the investigation. For the crime committed, it is still a gentle story, carefully paced and well described. While the procedural aspect is important, Wycliffe, like all good police investigators relies on his instinct and intuition to come to his conclusions. Most enjoyable.
October 5, 2016
A well written, light read with; there are some lovely descriptions of the Scilly Isles. A local girl is found dead in a quarry and many of the islanders believe the faded rock star Vince Peters who's turned his back on fame, is the murderer. The unorthodox Wycliffe is not convinced he is the murderer and in his own way uncovers the strange secrets of the islanders.
Of it's time - young women described as "dollybirds" and "She was plump and stocky, a V-necked flowered dress in need of washing showed most of her bosom which had never known Playtex control" ! made me smile.
Of it's time - young women described as "dollybirds" and "She was plump and stocky, a V-necked flowered dress in need of washing showed most of her bosom which had never known Playtex control" ! made me smile.
October 3, 2008
Another Wycliffe mystery series. This one was not as good as some of the others. It was way too easy to guess who had killed the victim. I enjoy watching how Wycliffe does his work and many of the characters are interesting and not stock, but just a bit too easy.
June 14, 2016
Once again lovely setting this time in the Isles of Scilly, potentially interesting plot involving the deaths of a young girl and a famous rockstar, impeded by the ponderous conjectures of the worthy Wycliffe
March 27, 2009
Good for what it is-a police procedural mystery. Not pretending to be great literature.
December 19, 2009
An early book in the Wycliffe series (the earliest I could easily get my hands on!). Nice "English Village" mystery.
November 21, 2012
A good light read. Two murders to solve. Some parts more convincing than others. Interesting to see Wycliffe on the Isles of Scilly for a change.
Want to read
February 3, 2019Synopsis: a murder has taken place on the Scilly Isles. Slowly Superintendent Wycliffe uncovers the truth.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews