Chapter and Hearse: And Other Mysteries

Inspector Sloan #20

by Catherine Aird

A wealthy businessman has died under suspicious circumstances. A Christmas with the family provides more drama than could be expected. A girl accuses the hospital of killing her grandmother. In 16th Century Scotland, the death of a clansman is not what it first appears.

From the investigations of Inspector C. D. Sloan and his enthusiastic, all-too-constant, but not very helpful sidekick Constable Crosby of the Calleshire C.I.D. to the travails of Henry Tyler of the Foreign Office, from the mysterious Malcolm Venables of the Secret Service to Sheriff Rhuaraidh Macmillan of 16th century Scotland, Catherine Aird's latest collection of literate, delightful tales takes the reader through the full range of crime and punishment. Aird's mix of deft plotting, charming wit, and clever writing has made her one of the most engaging and enduring traditional crime writers. In her latest volume, all of her considerable gifts as a storyteller are on display.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2003

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

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of short stories. Many of them feature Sloan and Crosby, Catherine Aird's series detectives but others are historical. All have the author's trademark humour and many have a neat twist at the end just when you think you've worked out what's going on.

Not all stories include a murder, though many do. I particularly liked the last story in this collection 'Dummy Run' which involves Crosby in a case of trespass which proves he isn't as stupid as he sometimes appears to be to Sloan.

Another favourite of mine is 'The Trouble and Strife' in which someone goes missing and the solution is not at all what it appears at first sight to be.

If you want something to read with a cup of coffee or to pick up and put down in odd moments during the day these stories are ideal as each can be read in a few minutes and will leave you with a sense of satisfaction and generally a smile at the vagaries of human nature and the way the story has worked out.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series.

No violence, no suspense, clever, somewhat realistic story lines and protagonists. This is my kind of book. The last story is great fun.

[Joy O’Toole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Short stories.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Aird is one of my favorite authors; I've read all of her books at least once.  However, I've been having a hard time finding this particular book that is a group of short stories by la Aird.  Some of these stories have just a very few pages and some are longer.  Some are about the 16th century and others are of more recent vintage. 
 
Detective Inspector Sloan and his loyal partner, DC Crosby, are alive-and-well in some of these stories.  One of my favorite quips, when Sloan decides not to contradict his boss, he reminds the readers that 'he's having a care for his pension.'  These stories show just how extraordinary the author's knowledge of Anglican Church history, Shakespeare, the Bible, ancient English history really is.  She's often witty and always intelligent in the cases she persues with the reader. 

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressed with this second of short mystery stories by Aird. In this one there is Insp. Sloan, but also Henry Tyler (from the Foreign Office) and also a few of a Scottish Sherrif (I cannot pronounce his name... okay.) from way back when, and sometimes just some new characters in the Calleford/Berebury area. Again, she really does well with the short story form! This woman knows her poisons, so watch out.

Will need to see if I can find others, but there were only two in my library system! Well worth the read if you can get a hold of the book. The stories also bring back characters from other mysteries that are in her series as well.

[Jacinta Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many short story collections, this one is a pretty even mix of good stories and just-okay stories. My favorite part about it was the recurring characters, especially Henry Tyler of the Foreign Office and Constable Crosby who is the epitome of a bumbling detective. I found it difficult to get into the stories that jumped back to 16th-century Scotland, partly because those characters spent a weird amount of time complaining about Queen Mary despite her having nothing to do with the actual story. None of the mysteries are too difficult to solve, but most of them are pretty fun to read.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Catherine Aird's Inspector Sloan's first mystery, set in a British convent, and enjoyed it. These short stories, though listed as Inspector Sloan #20, are not all about him. Some of the stories appeared as early as 1995, others by the 2004 publication date. Sloan and his bosses have historical theological discussions in at least two of the stories, several take place in sixteenth-century Scotland, and some are one-offs. Short stories weren't really Aird's forte, though this was her second collection of them, and most of the ones I read felt flat.

[Larkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As far as I can tell, I have read all of Catherine Aird's books, and really liked all but this one and one other. I usually like her short stories, but these feel like the crumbs that are all that's left at the bottom of your cereal box. They seemed either to be too labyrinthine, or too trite/easy. Please do not read this one as your first Catherine Aird book.

[Nichola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, I love Henry Tyler and I WISH there were more of him. He is brilliant. Not that I still don't love Sloan but Tyler is less morally rigid.

This was such a good collection. I particularly loved the last story for the twist!

[Scilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has 22 short stories in 8hr and 24 min. Most of them starred Inspector Sloan and Constable. Most of the stories are fun to hear, and the reader is good. I'm not as fond of short stories as with longer books.

[AmyLeong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable read.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable short stories. Clever.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely not the best of Catherine Aird. Many of the short stories were ho hum. If we weren't still in lockdown I doubt that I would have bothered finishing this.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of very short mystery stories, some featuring Inspector Sloan, and others with other protagonists. Three of the stories are set in Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

[Taco Beta · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. I like catherine airds writing, but a bit too slow for short stories. Some were interesting, other less so. A lot of food poisoning going on.

[Jill Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever and quirky.

[Jim Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crosby was in fine form in "Like to Die."

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every author can write a short story, but Catherine Aird proved she can write a whole collection. The stories are short, witty and full of twist in the tail. Not all of them feature Sloan, so can be read as stand alone not part of the series.

Very enjoyable read, recommend.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very light read, in fact I thought some of the stories were a bit TOO lightweight, and I was surprised to see that old chestnut about someone hanging himself making use of a block of ice.I first heard that one in the 1970's. I prefer her full length novels, which is why I'm reading one at the moment, alongside an interesting but heavy book about Napoleon.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Aird's writing and her characters. This collection includes short stories with Inspector Sloan, but also several about a 16th century Scottish sheriff and several about Henry, a British secret service man. All the stories are very clever and some are very funny. I'm looking forward to reading her full length mysteries.

[Mary Kay Kare]

I enjoyed these stories a great deal more than I expected, finding Aird less dry in her humor then usual. None of them made me lol, but I did smile broadly a couple of times. Especially the last one.

[Gowri N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eminently readable collection of smart, light detective/crime stories with a good dusting of humour. I am docking 1 star for the tedious dialogues between Inspector Sloan and his Chief — they were joyless, but fortunately present only in a few stories.

[Suzanne Auckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of short mysteries set in Scotland. Many were very short, but all were intereting. I would like to read some of her crime books.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable collection of short stories. I was very taken with some of the non Sloan and Crosby ones, especially the Henry Tyler stories and the ones set in 16thC Scotland.

[Trene1968 · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun, short mysteries.