Little Knell

Inspector Sloan #18

by Catherine Aird

Inspector C. D. Sloan is called in when it is discovered that a large collection of artifacts that has been left to the Calleshire museum includes a three-thousand-year-old mummy case containing an all-too-recent murder victim.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature, Crime, Procedural

201 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, known professionally as Catherine Aird, was an English novelist. She was the author of more than twenty crime fiction novels and several collections of short stories. Her witty, literate, and deftly plotted novels straddle the "cozy" and "police procedural" genres and are somewhat similar in flavour to those of Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham, M.C. Beaton, Margaret Yorke, and Pauline Bell. Aird was inducted into the prestigious Detection Club in 1981, and is a recipient of the 2015 Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed. A mixture of old and new deaths: when the sarcophagus turns out not to have an ancient Egyptian mummy, but instead a woman dead only a week ... Inspector Sloan needs to figure out who she was and why she died; as well as figure out what is going on with the drugs trade in Calleshire. And in the end, it all wraps up with a bow for him - as he reasons his way to the answer.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it's because I've been reading Aird's Sloan/Crosby books like Pringles, one after the other, due to being housebound of late, but I am confused by Aird's Little Knell on two particular plot points--one, that she has resurrected a character she quite decidedly killed off in #4 and refers to him as if that murder never happened; and 2, that the Middle Eastern desert nation of Lasserta that she introduced in #13 is, in this story, suddenly a jungle nation that grows and exports pineapples, mangoes and bananas lol Hmmm. Otherwise it's another enjoyable outing although I always glaze over when the story hinges on detailed financial hijinks. Love her humor and characters and of course, playful use of language and allusions to literature and history. Looking forward to the rest! PS I've only read this one time, not sure why it's posting that I read it twice.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The picturesque locations of a curio collection in an old manor and a seaside animal rescue foundation are woven into a plot to hide illegal drug income. Somebody who doesn't know Inspector Sloan tries to bribe him. I was initially put off by the team from the moving company, so it took me a while to get involved in the story.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well who can resist a story with a mummy in it? This and a large batch of heroin that just got intercepted causing a problem in the same area.

The story here has some lovely conversations with Sloan and various other groups that “groups” that are trying to stop drug trafficking... the information is really interesting. And then there is the whole mummy aspect, finding one body then another and how mummy’s have to be “dealt” with and why.

By the end, if you’ve been paying attention, there is really only one person who could be the guilty party, which is quickly summed up at the end. The joy in the story is in the delving into the particulars.

[RC Prentice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening gambit reminded me a bit of some of Aaron Elkins’ “substitution of bones for bones” device he uses to engage his character, anthropologist Gideon Oliver. While I am drawn to mysteries that take place in library stacks, museums, and archaeological sites, I found Aird’s device of hauling in the mythical Borneo-like nation of Lasserta somewhat irksome. Apparently we are meant to acknowledge its existence as a given, and accommodate it as a player in the resulting action and resolution of the puzzle. That device spins the narrative into a kind of never-never-land that diminishes the power of the “body substitution” device.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like Catherine Aird's mystery books with DI Sloan and Crosby. They are a fun read, not too long, and a lot of interesting thoughts going thru DI Sloan's head will trying to work out the who done it. This one I figured out who did it pretty quick but that didn't stop my enjoyment. I am re-reading some of these that I read years ago and trying to read the rest and most of the time I really like them. I'm not looking for bloody, messy murders, to many of those in the news. So I'll be onto the next one that I can get at the library and probably enjoy that too.

[Yibbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mummy, in a mystery by a favorite author, what could be better! Unfortunately, I just couldn't find any of that feeling of ancient mystery that an Egyptian mummy lost promised. All the other plots swallowed that up and made any reference to him seem incongruous. It wasn't a bad mystery, but it lacked what I was looking for.
While referenced delicately, there are oblique references to a debauched lifestyle and the resulting diseases.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Why would the moving of a sarcophagus (complete with mummy) draw the interest of the coroner? Where is the local supply of illegal drugs coming from, and how are the "drug lords" hiding or laundering the proceeds? These are among the questions the Inspector Sloan must find the answers to in this quick-paced mystery nicely seasoned with dry wit.

[Larkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed to every Catherine Aird mystery that I've read. This one, however, seemed bogged down with tedium and too many characters. I wouldn't recommend starting with this one, if you're new to the series.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

rather complicated.

There was one thing I didn’t think was explained and should have been. Someone seemed to know something he shouldn’t have. He wasn’t guilty so…no explanation was forthcoming. But I like this author. I like her writing style.

[Matthew Hawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that bugged me was that Horace Boller died in Last Respects. This book was published a number of years later than Last Respects, so perhaps it just fits in between?

It's still a great read.

[Carole-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the May 2002 Pan Books Ltd paperback

[Karen Baadsgaard · Rating 2 out of 5]

BORING

[Jan]

audio 2001

[RJC · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mostly predictable plot, modern crime mixed with mummies. Nice writing style.

[Joy O’Toole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Ekj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just barely mediocre

A very superficial story with a very thin plot and a decided lack of character development. My first (and last!) engagement with this author.

[Nichola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pegged the murderer far to early for this one. A bit megh overall. Still love Sloan though.

[Bea Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read and enjoyed several of Catherine Aird's books in the 70s and 80s, and for some reason thought she had stopped writing. Acquiring the book A Reader's Guide to the Classic British Mystery by Susan Oleksiw reminded me of Aird and, looking for one I hadn't read, I discovered this relatively recent (2000) book in her series about Inspector C. D. Sloan of the Calleshire Constabulary. (Calleshire appears to be somewhere on the south coast of England.)

I recall Aird's earlier books as having a rather quirky sensibility for an English police procedural, and that trait is still present here. Touches of humor appear throughout and the plot is sufficiently convoluted for anyone. But for some reason, which I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't think this book was as good as the earlier ones. It was short, though; I finished it in one evening even though several hours of that evening were spent in the car and attending a play. If you are interested in trying Catherine Aird, I'd recommend going to one of her early books like The Religious Body. In Little Knell (and I never did figure out what the relevance of the title to the book might be), Aird seemed to be phoning it in.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Aird's comedic touch wasn't as pronounced as usual but she still offered some zingers.  This is another of her police procedurals with a twist of comedy.  Aird takes aim at the illegal drug problem in England and offers a bit of 'the cure fits the crime.'

Sloan still has Crosby, an immature constable who likes fast cars and faster routes.  Superintendent Leeyes is even lazier than Crosby, but he's the boss.  Sloan finally gets a lucky break (and he needs one after so many years with Crosby and Leeyes), when someone decides to try to bribe Sloan with rose bushes.  The best news of all is that he gets to keep the rose bushes.  Margaret had already informed Sloan that "they" couldn't afford the bushes.  She was incensed when they arrived.  Good things do happen to those who wait.

I'm devastated; I only have one more collection and one more novel to read of Aird's.  I've read them all at least twice. Aird is one of my very favorite authors.


Sloan & Crosby Series
-- skipped some --
16. AfterEffects (1996)
 17. Stiff News (1998) 
** 18.Little Knell (2000) 
19. Amendment of Life (2002) 
 20.A Hole in One (2005) 

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of Aird's mysteries. I'm not sure why I acquired two of her novels to begin with some years ago, but I'm glad I did. The more I read, the more I appreciate that she is a flawless writer. Everything has significance, and she sticks to the point of the plot, "no dead wood" as it were, in the prose. The author must perform exhaustive research on diverse topics since she manages to incorporate much insight into a variety of things. All her characters are appealing, drawn with sly humor, amusing cynicism, and commentary on current events. I will pursue her other novels.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Greatorex Museum has inherited a mummy from a local notable. Much to their surprise, they find the case contains a newly murdered body. Only Detective Inspector C. D. Sloane and his assistant, Constable Crosby, could tie the body to money laundering and the drug trade. Another charming English police procedural.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't as impressed with this as with the first Aird I read; this time around the short and sweetness seemed to be too economical with language and I found it hard to keep the story straight as it moved past me so quickly. (It seems a little ironic to say that about the book I read after the long winded Déjà Dead but never mind.)

[Katie Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern-day corpse is found in a mummy case, and there's drug trafficking and money laundering to trace to its source! Not my favorite of the Sloan books, as I found the drug trafficking and money laundering plots a bit boring, but still a pleasant, quick read.

[Carla H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

More dialogue, more 'he said boringly'.

[Kay]

Oh how she does intrigue me with her titles. And her books.

[Judym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do like the British mystery series featuring detective Sloan .

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give it a 2.5 stars. Not as good as other Det. CD Sloan mysteries of hers that I have read, such as A Going Concern.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...