Gently Sahib

Chief Superintendent Gently #12

by Alan Hunter

If a tiger mauled a man to death, would he bother burying the corpse?

An escaped tiger that terrorizes a little market town is shot dead by a police marksman, having caused nothing more than a minor panic. A year later, a man is found mauled to death and neatly buried in his own back garden. The only thing Gently can be sure of is that the tiger didn't bury the body, so who did?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, British Literature

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Alan Hunter was born at Hoveton, Norfolk and went to school across the River Bure in Wroxham. He left school at 14 and worked on his father's farm near Norwich. He enjoyed dinghy sailing on the Norfolk Broads, wrote natural history notes for the local newspaper, and wrote poetry, some of which was published while he was in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

He married, in 1944, Adelaide Cooper, who survives him with their daughter. After the war he managed the antiquarian books department of Charles Cubitt in Norwich. Four years later, in 1950, he established his own bookshop on Maddermarket in the city.

From 1955 until 1998 he published a Gently detective novel nearly every year. He retired to Brundall in Norfolk where he continued his interests in local history, natural history, and sailing

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of Alan Hunter's George Gently series starts with a ten foot tiger on the loose in a small English town, so the book is certainly not lacking in the 'thrills and spills' department.

Hunter has abandoned the more experimental writing style of the last few books here and returned to the more familiar, straightforward style of the earlier books in the series. I'm torn about this, to be honest; part of me is relieved, as I wasn't that keen on some of the stylistic experiments, but part of me likes to encourage experimentation and trying new things. I guess you could say I'm hypothetically disappointed but practically pleased. ;-)

This wasn't one of my favourite instalments so far, to be completely honest. There was too much homophobic language being bandied about for my tastes (I know it's period accurate but still...) and I also found the conclusion a little disappointing. Still, I shall continue on to the next book in the series in the hopes that the author will return to form!

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gently and the Tiger
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2012) of the Cassell Crime Connoisseur hardcover original (1964).

'This is quite serious. We have a murder case with a tiger in it.'
'Who's the chummy?' Gently said. 'The tiger?'
'Please! I told you this was serious. But the tiger may have been used as a murder weapon, which is unique in my experience.'

Superintendent Inspector George Gently is called in on the eve of his fishing vacation when a buried body is uncovered. The victim was apparently mauled and killed by a tiger when it escaped a local exotic animal importer a year previously. In the meantime, the man had been thought to have disappeared. He had been a shady character with a penchant for blackmail.

There are no shortage of suspects as the blackmailer's victim ledger is discovered with coded letters and payment schedules. But can Gently solve the case within 48 hours and still make it to Wales for his fishing? Never bet against the Super! I enjoyed this one quite a bit as everyone seemed to have an unshakeable alibi until Gently starts untangling the web of deception.


The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell Crime Connoisseur in 1964. Image sourced from Goodreads.

Trivia and Link
Gently Sahib was not adapted for the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017). Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having seen so many of these books (I believe the author wrote over 30 of them) in the charity book shop I decided to give them a go. Well I must admit this is the second one I have read and I am very surprised for what could have been simple a mass produced stock period crime thriller. I will not give anything of the storyline away but it perfectly portrays England of that era from the cars and language to the village way of life. The crime though somewhat predictable does have some fun twists in it.
One thing I did notice is that there are some places where language and attitudes made me feel uncomfortable (like when they refer to a character as being possibly homosexual) however in hindsight that is the attitude of the time and in fact some of the dialogue though unacceptable now is tame compared to how extreme some attitudes were at the time. Hence full respect to the author for portraying the era, including some of its less savoury aspects.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t find this one as enjoyable at the first in the series I read. Possibly to do with two endangered creatures being killed and the more obviously dated language used. Still Gently is a good solid character to spend some time with and the plot moved along nicely.

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, set in 1963, this novel deals with a strange murder in the Home Counties and Gently has to deal with an assortment of characters who may or may not be involved in the crime. The style suits the period but the whole experience was not particularly inspiring. I preferred the TV series to the novels so far - which is usually be the other way around. A little disappointed.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Gently series - he rushes to solve a case of murder by use of a captive tiger in only 48 hours so he can go on his fishing holiday. Although published in 1965, the sleepy east Anglian town still feels very dated and quite difficult to reconcile with current attitudes when read 50 years later.

[Ells · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because I had an episode of the serialised adaptation with my grandma and she said this particular story was set in a town inspired by my hometown. It took me a while to get into the story but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very unique to have a tiger as a central part of the mystery and I liked how the case was ultimately resolved.

[Mirhanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this whole series

[Fruitbat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

[Sadie Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good crime thriller. Easy read.

[Jo Jenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth Gently I have read and is so far my favourite. It was fast paced and didn't go in for the lengthy descriptive passages used in previous books. The Gently of these books is not the Gently of the TV but he knows his business and is needed as the local boys obviously are too local to appreciate that 'chummie' may be someone who lives in the village. I really like Inspector Dutt who manages to direct himself and doesn't need that much guidance from Gently which is as you would expect from a man who has managed to reach the level of inspector. Far too often the sidekick is little more that a useful tool for the main character to be able to explain his thinking to the reader.
Even though fairly obvious from the start there is a nice little twist at the end that help keep the reader guessing.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really far-fetched and rather daft.