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Robert Amiss #3
The English School of Murder
Can anyone British teach English as a foreign language? It's murder....
"Adroit, inspiring, and written with a rare lightness of touch,"
--The London Times Literary Supplement
"Believable plotting, a memorable cast of characters, and three--count 'em--three beguiling sleuths in a warm, gently raunchy, crisp, and literate caper."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Amiss is bumblingly appealing and howlingly funny."
--The Chicago Sun Times
He's also a civil servant down on his luck and out of a job--and thus ripe for a post as a police spy at the Knightsbridge School. Robert's cover will be to teach English as a foreign language. His mission soon becomes, well, murder....
"Quirky, highly intelligent, and thoroughly entertaining...."
--The Washington Post Book World
"Adroit, inspiring, and written with a rare lightness of touch,"
--The London Times Literary Supplement
"Believable plotting, a memorable cast of characters, and three--count 'em--three beguiling sleuths in a warm, gently raunchy, crisp, and literate caper."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Amiss is bumblingly appealing and howlingly funny."
--The Chicago Sun Times
He's also a civil servant down on his luck and out of a job--and thus ripe for a post as a police spy at the Knightsbridge School. Robert's cover will be to teach English as a foreign language. His mission soon becomes, well, murder....
"Quirky, highly intelligent, and thoroughly entertaining...."
--The Washington Post Book World
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
16 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Dudley Edwards
38 books41 followersAfter being a Cambridge postgraduate, a teacher, a marketing executive and a civil servant, Ruth Dudley Edwards became a full-time writer. A journalist, broadcaster, historian and prize-winning biographer who lives in London, her recent non-fiction includes books about The Economist, the Foreign Office, the Orange Order and Fleet Street. The first of her ten satirical mysteries, Corridors of Death, was short-listed for the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger; two others were nominated for the CWA Last Laugh Award. Her two short stories appeared respectively in The Economist and the Oxford Book of Detective Stories.
Series:
* Robert Amiss Mystery
Series:
* Robert Amiss Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
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July 15, 2010Edwards isn't really well-known in the US, and it's a shame. She's a writer for the business magazine The Economist, and she must write these diabolically subversive cozies as an antidote to dealing with heavy world affairs. There's hilarious. And just slightly mean. Sort of Barbara Pym meets John Grisham.
July 31, 2014
What did I think? I thought this book was pure rubbish. Unlikely characters, a plot that made no sense, and mediocre writing. I wouldn't bother, if I were you.
August 12, 2023
You don't have to have read the prior books first, but it helps if you want to follow the development of the friendship between Amiss and Milton plus his relationship with Rachel (a small part of the book for her, but she is his love interest) and know which cases are quickly referred to. The mysteries are completely separate, and one plot won't spoil the others.
Amiss, unemployed as of the end of the prior book (won't spoil this book to not know all of the details, I don't think but it would help) after leaving his previous job, is asked by a friend to get a job at a somewhat sketchy language school after the death of an employee that was officially ruled as an accident. This is slightly raunchy, but there is no explicit sex. However, I'm not really keen on raunchy novels and it brought my rating down a full star--I gave 4 stars to the second book in this series--but I still plan to read the next one at some point.
Amiss, unemployed as of the end of the prior book (won't spoil this book to not know all of the details, I don't think but it would help) after leaving his previous job, is asked by a friend to get a job at a somewhat sketchy language school after the death of an employee that was officially ruled as an accident. This is slightly raunchy, but there is no explicit sex. However, I'm not really keen on raunchy novels and it brought my rating down a full star--I gave 4 stars to the second book in this series--but I still plan to read the next one at some point.
March 13, 2019
2.5 stars actually.
This book could easily be wrapped up in about 100-120 pages, if we think about max extension of script. The mystery, I found was not very gripping as there was a lot of unneeded fun that these guys were having, instead of solving the mystery quickly.
A very unusual kind of school where foreigners are taught English language is the base of this novel. Murders keep happening and Amiss, the protagonist, who took a break from his civil services job and under some circumstances turns into a spy for finding out about these murders.
Stuff keeps happening but it gets really weird. I will be honest, I skipped a lot of pages in between just to finish this book asap. I was struggling. Amiss and Rachel were the best part of this book, but the story otherwise doesn't holds any strength in itself.
This book could easily be wrapped up in about 100-120 pages, if we think about max extension of script. The mystery, I found was not very gripping as there was a lot of unneeded fun that these guys were having, instead of solving the mystery quickly.
A very unusual kind of school where foreigners are taught English language is the base of this novel. Murders keep happening and Amiss, the protagonist, who took a break from his civil services job and under some circumstances turns into a spy for finding out about these murders.
Stuff keeps happening but it gets really weird. I will be honest, I skipped a lot of pages in between just to finish this book asap. I was struggling. Amiss and Rachel were the best part of this book, but the story otherwise doesn't holds any strength in itself.
August 11, 2017
A very intelligent mystery. I had never read any books by this author and am so happy I chanced upon this one. It is #3 in the Robert Amiss series, but it worked fine as a stand alone. I loved the characters, especially Robert, who had left his Civil Service job under dubious circumstances. He was then recruited by policemen friends into applying for a position with the Knightsbridge School teaching English to both poor immigrants and wealthy foreigners. There are several murders associated with the school but the murderer or murderers remain a mystery till the very end. The writing is humorous and reminded me of an Agatha Christie Miss Marple book. I will certainly look for more of this author's mysteries.
November 19, 2018
Robert Amiss is once again in a mess. He has been let go, and now he is struggling to make ends meet. He can't even fly away to Paris to see his love interest. So when he is offered a job as a teacher at a school catering to the whims and wants of the ultra-wealthy foreigners wanting to learn English, he can't very well say no. The deaths at the school or that involve those attending the school all seem highly suspicious. Leave it to Robert to make sure the one person being threatened is not killed. Well, erm...okay.
December 24, 2021
Boring! Perhaps this book didn’t age well. It has a 1990 copyright and was shortlisted for a best first crime novel (although I’m a bit confused as this is listed as #3 in the series and the list of books inside has only1 other by this author.
Robert Amiss is boring. The police detective friends of his are boring. All the interesting plot details are told third hand in a boring manner. The mystery was solved in a preposterously offhanded way.
I can’t recommend this author.
Robert Amiss is boring. The police detective friends of his are boring. All the interesting plot details are told third hand in a boring manner. The mystery was solved in a preposterously offhanded way.
I can’t recommend this author.
December 30, 2018
I'm surprised I've never read any of Ruth Dudley Edwards' crime novels before, and now I will make sure to read all the books in this series. Even though this is the third on, it's not necessary to have read the previous two. It's well-written and witty, and the characters are pleasant to spend a few hours with.
October 12, 2022
I didn't really enjoy this story much, but I read these for Robert Amiss and crew and they are worth it.
October 17, 2025
Robert Amiss has resigned from his civil service job in a huff. He is persuaded to help the police and apply to work as a teacher at the English school. As there has been one death and one attack on the teachers.
an entertaining mystery
an entertaining mystery
February 20, 2017
A quirky murder but amusing nonetheless.
September 7, 2015
Sheer pleasure! Funny, intelligent story of a guy trying to find out what's really going at a school with too many suspicious deaths. Here's my favorite passage, which conveys the tone:
"Rich had had a long apprenticeship with the wealthy and had learned the hard way what gave them pleasure. Early on he had sussed out how you made friends with those who were actually your employers. He modelled himself on those hairdressers and fashion designers of international repute who rubbed shoulders with princesses and the wives of tycoons.
The key was to dress as well as the BPs, have manner that were better than theirs, and be such fun that their real friends--their equals--congratulated them on their finds. But what was much more vital was never to presume. If they invited one to their parties once accepted with delight; if they did not, one never showed resentment: one had no rights. In a nutshell, you sang for your supper and knew your place. And you did that while giving the impression that you loved them for themselves and were indifferent to their money. The combination of requirements would have been almost impossible to achieve had it not been that the wealthy were themselves part of the conspiracy. Because they wanted to be loved for themselves or at least to appear to be loved for themselves, they helped the illusion along.
"Rich had had a long apprenticeship with the wealthy and had learned the hard way what gave them pleasure. Early on he had sussed out how you made friends with those who were actually your employers. He modelled himself on those hairdressers and fashion designers of international repute who rubbed shoulders with princesses and the wives of tycoons.
The key was to dress as well as the BPs, have manner that were better than theirs, and be such fun that their real friends--their equals--congratulated them on their finds. But what was much more vital was never to presume. If they invited one to their parties once accepted with delight; if they did not, one never showed resentment: one had no rights. In a nutshell, you sang for your supper and knew your place. And you did that while giving the impression that you loved them for themselves and were indifferent to their money. The combination of requirements would have been almost impossible to achieve had it not been that the wealthy were themselves part of the conspiracy. Because they wanted to be loved for themselves or at least to appear to be loved for themselves, they helped the illusion along.
January 5, 2024
I did enjoy this satire dressed up as a murder caper. I think this quotation exemplifies what I found great:
"Rich had had a long apprenticeship with the wealthy and had learned the hard way what gave them pleasure. Early on he had sussed out how you made friends with those who were actually your employers. He modelled himself on those hairdressers and fashion designers of international repute who rubbed shoulders with princesses and the wives of tycoons.
The key was to dress as well as the BPs, have manner that were better than theirs, and be such fun that their real friends--their equals--congratulated them on their finds. But what was much more vital was never to presume. If they invited one to their parties once accepted with delight; if they did not, one never showed resentment: one had no rights. In a nutshell, you sang for your supper and knew your place. And you did that while giving the impression that you loved them for themselves and were indifferent to their money. The combination of requirements would have been almost impossible to achieve had it not been that the wealthy were themselves part of the conspiracy. Because they wanted to be loved for themselves or at least to appear to be loved for themselves, they helped the illusion along."
"Rich had had a long apprenticeship with the wealthy and had learned the hard way what gave them pleasure. Early on he had sussed out how you made friends with those who were actually your employers. He modelled himself on those hairdressers and fashion designers of international repute who rubbed shoulders with princesses and the wives of tycoons.
The key was to dress as well as the BPs, have manner that were better than theirs, and be such fun that their real friends--their equals--congratulated them on their finds. But what was much more vital was never to presume. If they invited one to their parties once accepted with delight; if they did not, one never showed resentment: one had no rights. In a nutshell, you sang for your supper and knew your place. And you did that while giving the impression that you loved them for themselves and were indifferent to their money. The combination of requirements would have been almost impossible to achieve had it not been that the wealthy were themselves part of the conspiracy. Because they wanted to be loved for themselves or at least to appear to be loved for themselves, they helped the illusion along."
December 17, 2012
Robert Amiss has a couple of part time jobs while he tries to decide whether he wants to go back into the civil service or do something else entirely. DC Ellis Pooley has suspicions about what is really going on at a language school which teaches English to newcomers to the country. Fortunately there is a vacancy at the school and Ellis wants Robert to apply for it and try and find out whether there was anything suspicious about a recent death of a teacher on the premises.
Robert soon finds himself in an environment which is not wholly to his liking but he quickly realises that there is something odd going on at the school. This well written mystery is full of amusing people and incidents and it pokes fun at many stereotypes. The episodes at the health farm and priceless.
If you want a light hearted mystery with idiosyncratic characters, marvellous dialogue and an intriguing mystery then try this delightful series.
Robert soon finds himself in an environment which is not wholly to his liking but he quickly realises that there is something odd going on at the school. This well written mystery is full of amusing people and incidents and it pokes fun at many stereotypes. The episodes at the health farm and priceless.
If you want a light hearted mystery with idiosyncratic characters, marvellous dialogue and an intriguing mystery then try this delightful series.
December 7, 2014
This was a pleasant surprise. I found it on the withdrawn shelf at the library and picked it up to read on a trip. I happened to read it early and liked it so much I will look for more from this author. Typical English mystery, but full of interesting characters and a strange plot.
April 22, 2015
A little to cozy but I will buy/read at least one more in this series since they don't seem to have that all too common to the genre device, the bunch of eccentric friends of the protagonist who comment on the action.
December 15, 2009
Robert agrees to help the police investigate a suspected crime at the Knightsbridge School of English, where he works. There are several murders before this clever mystery is solved.
December 3, 2015
A fun read. Amiss is enjoyable, as are Milton and Pooley. The humor is great, and it was a good puzzle. The supporting characters were well-done. I even liked the cat. :)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews