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Inspector Sloan #3
The Stately Home Murder
On Sunday the public paid half a crown to view Ornum House's three hundred rooms, its exceptional display of fine china, its authentic Holbein, its dank dungeon complete with suits of armour and a dead body. With 'Burke's Peerage' tucked under one arm and a dictionary under the other, Detective Inspector C,D, Sloan tiptoes through the halls of the aristocracy. His impeccable powers of observation might reveal who murdered the family archivist, but the family ghost walks through these same corridors. So someone else is going to die.
197 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
Catherine Aird
68 books195 followers 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
January 16, 2024
Rich People Problems.
Inspector Sloan has arrived at the castle of the Earl of Ornum to investigate the murder of Osborne Meredith.
Osborne is a historian who has come to Castle Ornum to get their library in order. He has to organize the books and the collections.
Meredith discovers a secret while there. A secret that is so important and dangerous that he is murdered.
Now it’s up to Sloan to find the murderer.
Five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Inspector Sloan has arrived at the castle of the Earl of Ornum to investigate the murder of Osborne Meredith.
Osborne is a historian who has come to Castle Ornum to get their library in order. He has to organize the books and the collections.
Meredith discovers a secret while there. A secret that is so important and dangerous that he is murdered.
Now it’s up to Sloan to find the murderer.
Five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 6, 2019
From when I first logged the book:
First Aird book I read. I now own it...that is the true sign of a good book for me--if I read it from the library (or wherever) and then just have to buy it when I have the opportunity."
Review from first reading of the owned book (2/16/18):
“There’ll have been a reason,” murmured Sloan.
That was one thing experience had taught him. There was a reason behind most human actions. Not necessarily sound, of course, but a reason all the same. (47)
Third in Catherine Aird's series starring Inspector C. D. Sloan, The Stately Home Murder (aka The True Steel;1969) was the first of her police procedurals that I ever read. Like many of those early mystery discoveries, I brought this one home from my public library. I'm sure I discovered her name in the back of some other book or the title just leapt off the shelf at me...because, of course, there was no internet or book-blogging world available to this preteen back in the dark ages of the late 70s and early 80s. At that time, I was simply looking for a good mystery to feed my crime fiction habit and I don't remember noticing the humor so much. But Inspector Sloan has a dry, subtle wit that definitely appeals to me now.
The stately home of the title is one Ornum House. Due to ghastly taxes, the current Earl of Ornum has been forced to open the house to the public every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as Bank Holidays (except Good Friday--the Earl draws the line there: "Religious holiday. Not a civil one. No beanfests in my house on Good Friday."). On this particular Sunday in June, the usual crowd of folks on holiday and the curious have come to Ornum House...some with children in tow. Mrs. Pearl Fisher had had what seemed at the time the good idea to take her children on an outing. She should have known that Michael wouldn't be able to stay out of trouble. Of course, she would never have expected him to discover a dead body in a suit of armor, but, then, neither did their guide.
The body belongs to Osbourne Meredith, who has been working in the library and muniments (documents) room--sorting out the history of the Ornum estate and earldom. When Sloane and his dubiously helpful constable arrive, the discover that Meredith had made some interesting discoveries among the papers, some of which may affect the noble lineage. Did someone kill to keep the status quo? Or did Meredith make an even more dangerous discovery?
Aird has given us a mystery novel that is firmly rooted in the vintage works of the Golden Age. Though her book is set in the late 1960s, the detective work could have been done by Inspector Alleyn in 30s. The style of investigation is very much of an earlier era and she has made a definite effort display her clues in a nod to the "fair play" school. That alone makes this an excellent novel, but she also entertains us by making fun of the very tropes she emulates. She plays on standard motifs and plot devices and serves up a denouement that should make classic crime buffs howl in dismay--but, it fits with the atmosphere she has skillfully employed. ★★★★★ then and ★★★★★ now. [I love it when I still enjoy books that I loved when I was younger.]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
First Aird book I read. I now own it...that is the true sign of a good book for me--if I read it from the library (or wherever) and then just have to buy it when I have the opportunity."
Review from first reading of the owned book (2/16/18):
“There’ll have been a reason,” murmured Sloan.
That was one thing experience had taught him. There was a reason behind most human actions. Not necessarily sound, of course, but a reason all the same. (47)
Third in Catherine Aird's series starring Inspector C. D. Sloan, The Stately Home Murder (aka The True Steel;1969) was the first of her police procedurals that I ever read. Like many of those early mystery discoveries, I brought this one home from my public library. I'm sure I discovered her name in the back of some other book or the title just leapt off the shelf at me...because, of course, there was no internet or book-blogging world available to this preteen back in the dark ages of the late 70s and early 80s. At that time, I was simply looking for a good mystery to feed my crime fiction habit and I don't remember noticing the humor so much. But Inspector Sloan has a dry, subtle wit that definitely appeals to me now.
The stately home of the title is one Ornum House. Due to ghastly taxes, the current Earl of Ornum has been forced to open the house to the public every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as Bank Holidays (except Good Friday--the Earl draws the line there: "Religious holiday. Not a civil one. No beanfests in my house on Good Friday."). On this particular Sunday in June, the usual crowd of folks on holiday and the curious have come to Ornum House...some with children in tow. Mrs. Pearl Fisher had had what seemed at the time the good idea to take her children on an outing. She should have known that Michael wouldn't be able to stay out of trouble. Of course, she would never have expected him to discover a dead body in a suit of armor, but, then, neither did their guide.
The body belongs to Osbourne Meredith, who has been working in the library and muniments (documents) room--sorting out the history of the Ornum estate and earldom. When Sloane and his dubiously helpful constable arrive, the discover that Meredith had made some interesting discoveries among the papers, some of which may affect the noble lineage. Did someone kill to keep the status quo? Or did Meredith make an even more dangerous discovery?
Aird has given us a mystery novel that is firmly rooted in the vintage works of the Golden Age. Though her book is set in the late 1960s, the detective work could have been done by Inspector Alleyn in 30s. The style of investigation is very much of an earlier era and she has made a definite effort display her clues in a nod to the "fair play" school. That alone makes this an excellent novel, but she also entertains us by making fun of the very tropes she emulates. She plays on standard motifs and plot devices and serves up a denouement that should make classic crime buffs howl in dismay--but, it fits with the atmosphere she has skillfully employed. ★★★★★ then and ★★★★★ now. [I love it when I still enjoy books that I loved when I was younger.]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
December 13, 2015
Robin Bailey 5 Hours 6 MinsDescription: A stately English home open to the public, a worried mother looking for her son, and when she finds him in the dungeons trying to open a suit of armour she is relieved.. until the vizor opens and a dead man looks out at her...
3* Religious Body
3* Henrietta Who? (Inspector Sloan #2)
3* The Stately Home Murder (Inspector Sloan #3)
July 19, 2022
I was mystified but I suppose it made sense, in the end.
She definitely should have had better covers. I turned my nose up at Aird for years because of the flowery covers I saw on her books. Had no idea what was inside. This is my third and I enjoyed it immensely. As I did the previous two.
An earl (I think, or is it a lord?) has to open his house in order to keep it. Allows tours x number of days a week, selling merch. Of course, there are a number of relatives living there - providing some service (mostly) and sponging off the lord of the manor. Number of servants, too. One relative cleans the chandeliers (someone has to do it), the vicar leads the art tour, a former cricketer (or is it cricketeer?) does historical research and finds out something interesting. Unfortunately, someone else knows that he did and kills him for it, stuffs him in an out of the way suit of armor. Kid who has strayed from his tour makes the discovery.
This is more like a play of manners. First, you have the family, then the servants. Then there's the police coming up against Britain's caste system. As an outsider, it is interesting. I don't know how true to form this really is.
I didn't guess the culprit. So she must be doing something right.
She definitely should have had better covers. I turned my nose up at Aird for years because of the flowery covers I saw on her books. Had no idea what was inside. This is my third and I enjoyed it immensely. As I did the previous two.
An earl (I think, or is it a lord?) has to open his house in order to keep it. Allows tours x number of days a week, selling merch. Of course, there are a number of relatives living there - providing some service (mostly) and sponging off the lord of the manor. Number of servants, too. One relative cleans the chandeliers (someone has to do it), the vicar leads the art tour, a former cricketer (or is it cricketeer?) does historical research and finds out something interesting. Unfortunately, someone else knows that he did and kills him for it, stuffs him in an out of the way suit of armor. Kid who has strayed from his tour makes the discovery.
This is more like a play of manners. First, you have the family, then the servants. Then there's the police coming up against Britain's caste system. As an outsider, it is interesting. I don't know how true to form this really is.
I didn't guess the culprit. So she must be doing something right.
June 3, 2017
I think this might be a first, an Amazon suggestion was actually spot on, and I have found a new author that I really enjoy. Have any of you read Catherine Aird’s mysteries? I just read my first one, and it was really fun.
A dastardly crime is committed. Summon Detective Sloan and slightly bumbling associate. Don’t offend the Earl and his lady. Don’t get lost in the House (that just must be capitalized). Follow the clues if you can.
It was great fun. While it is a mystery, there aren’t really any great surprises. I think they call it a Police procedural. You just follow the detective around gathering clues, and they are all there if you can follow them. Aird did a wonderful job of hiding them in plain sight. I figured it out just at the climax. This was one of the few books that made me want to go back and look over the clues again before I read the solution, just to make sure I had it right.
It was even fairly clean. Indecent situations were handled with great delicacy and there were only three instances of ‘mild’ swearing.
I will be looking for more by this author.
A dastardly crime is committed. Summon Detective Sloan and slightly bumbling associate. Don’t offend the Earl and his lady. Don’t get lost in the House (that just must be capitalized). Follow the clues if you can.
It was great fun. While it is a mystery, there aren’t really any great surprises. I think they call it a Police procedural. You just follow the detective around gathering clues, and they are all there if you can follow them. Aird did a wonderful job of hiding them in plain sight. I figured it out just at the climax. This was one of the few books that made me want to go back and look over the clues again before I read the solution, just to make sure I had it right.
It was even fairly clean. Indecent situations were handled with great delicacy and there were only three instances of ‘mild’ swearing.
I will be looking for more by this author.
September 26, 2022
Catherine Aird’s Sloan and Crosby mysteries have been a joyous discovery for me. They are clever, witty and a pleasure to read.
This, the third in the series from 1970, is set in a Stately Home, where Aird produces an enjoyable version of the Golden Age Country House Mystery, while also mildly but wittily parodying the genre. A body is discovered hidden in a suit of armour, and the long-suffering Inspector Sloan and the bemused Constable Crosby investigate. Possible irregularities in the Earl’s inheritance, elderly and eccentric aunts and a wayward family member are among the immensely enjoyable ingredients of an entertaining plot, but what makes this so enjoyable is Aird’s style, which is quietly erudite, with excellent, readable prose and a vein of dry wit.
I found it a pleasure from beginning to end. I can recommend it warmly and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
This, the third in the series from 1970, is set in a Stately Home, where Aird produces an enjoyable version of the Golden Age Country House Mystery, while also mildly but wittily parodying the genre. A body is discovered hidden in a suit of armour, and the long-suffering Inspector Sloan and the bemused Constable Crosby investigate. Possible irregularities in the Earl’s inheritance, elderly and eccentric aunts and a wayward family member are among the immensely enjoyable ingredients of an entertaining plot, but what makes this so enjoyable is Aird’s style, which is quietly erudite, with excellent, readable prose and a vein of dry wit.
I found it a pleasure from beginning to end. I can recommend it warmly and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
August 8, 2022
4.5 stars, as I love this series, reading as a Buddy Read with the Reading the Detectives group. The author had a long series with Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan in the mythical county of Calleshire, starting in the 1960s, but very much in the traditional British police procedural mode of the Golden Age mysteries I love.
There is a great deal of dry humor, as the low-key Sloan investigates with young Sgt. Crosby, frequently reporting in to the snarky, temperamental, rather overbearing Supt. Leeyes. This one is set in the early 1970s, at an aristocrat’s county seat open to the public.
The setting gives Aird the opportunity to have readers see the ornate rooms bung-full of art, china and ornaments through the eyes of a working class lady on a bus tour with her 13-year-old twins, boy and girl.
The boy has escaped the group, bored and is off exploring, but all mum wants is to slip off her too-tight shoes and sit for awhile. Where has Michael got to? She just hopes he doesn’t break anything; she gets through the tour with her daughter, all the while reflecting internally on the differences between the Earl of Ornum’s living quarters and her own. Finally, the mother finds her wandering boy in the dungeon bristling with ancient weapons of war, where he’s examining suits of armor - he forces open a visor and finds himself face to face with a dead man.
Sloan and Crosby are called in, and we tag along as the pathologist and forensics team get to work, the body is divested of the armor (quite involved, and unique for pathologist and police alike), and the family members present and staff are interviewed. This one had all the great tropes - ancient, titled old ladies, a flighty countess, hyper-efficient steward pining after the young lady of the house, a profligate, sponging cousin who’s mother ran away with a groom and was forever known by the sobriquet “Bad Betty”, even a ghost known as The Judge! When he walked, it meant someone in the family was going to die, delicious foreshadowing!
Aird moves the pacing along briskly, there is another death, and when Sloan reaches a conclusion and makes an arrest, it makes sense, fair play, and well done, with a dramatic gathering of the family and the killer. I really enjoy this series, and look forward to reading on! I also used a credit for the Audible, the narrator is fabulous and entertaining, adds a lot to the story.
There is a great deal of dry humor, as the low-key Sloan investigates with young Sgt. Crosby, frequently reporting in to the snarky, temperamental, rather overbearing Supt. Leeyes. This one is set in the early 1970s, at an aristocrat’s county seat open to the public.
The setting gives Aird the opportunity to have readers see the ornate rooms bung-full of art, china and ornaments through the eyes of a working class lady on a bus tour with her 13-year-old twins, boy and girl.
The boy has escaped the group, bored and is off exploring, but all mum wants is to slip off her too-tight shoes and sit for awhile. Where has Michael got to? She just hopes he doesn’t break anything; she gets through the tour with her daughter, all the while reflecting internally on the differences between the Earl of Ornum’s living quarters and her own. Finally, the mother finds her wandering boy in the dungeon bristling with ancient weapons of war, where he’s examining suits of armor - he forces open a visor and finds himself face to face with a dead man.
Sloan and Crosby are called in, and we tag along as the pathologist and forensics team get to work, the body is divested of the armor (quite involved, and unique for pathologist and police alike), and the family members present and staff are interviewed. This one had all the great tropes - ancient, titled old ladies, a flighty countess, hyper-efficient steward pining after the young lady of the house, a profligate, sponging cousin who’s mother ran away with a groom and was forever known by the sobriquet “Bad Betty”, even a ghost known as The Judge! When he walked, it meant someone in the family was going to die, delicious foreshadowing!
Aird moves the pacing along briskly, there is another death, and when Sloan reaches a conclusion and makes an arrest, it makes sense, fair play, and well done, with a dramatic gathering of the family and the killer. I really enjoy this series, and look forward to reading on! I also used a credit for the Audible, the narrator is fabulous and entertaining, adds a lot to the story.
April 3, 2021
This book delivers a very satisfying murder mystery set in a country estate. Aird uses subtle wit throughout keeping things light and lively. A dead body concealed in a suit of armor is discovered by a young rambunctious boy on a tour of the mansion with his mother. That lucky discovery allows Inspector Sloan to be early on the scene, gathering information with Constable Crosby. The Earl and his family members live in the spacious house whilst tour groups trek through as they need the income. There are many possible suspects Sloan must question and his precise observations win the day.
Some examples of the chit chat over tea that goes on in the house-
"That's one thing you can say for the month of June. There's no shortage of flowers." "And no shortage of vases," observed the Countess,"so that's all right." "Quite," said Gertrude stiffly. "Quite."
"What's Exhibit A?" said Sloan suddenly. "A for armor," said Crosby, who had done the labeling. And B for blunt instrument? Sloan didn't ask.
"If there was anything approaching natural selection in troubles it was their tendency to multiply at the wrong time."
I note that this book is currently available through Kindle Unlimited
Some examples of the chit chat over tea that goes on in the house-
"That's one thing you can say for the month of June. There's no shortage of flowers." "And no shortage of vases," observed the Countess,"so that's all right." "Quite," said Gertrude stiffly. "Quite."
"What's Exhibit A?" said Sloan suddenly. "A for armor," said Crosby, who had done the labeling. And B for blunt instrument? Sloan didn't ask.
"If there was anything approaching natural selection in troubles it was their tendency to multiply at the wrong time."
I note that this book is currently available through Kindle Unlimited
September 23, 2022
Classic British police inspector solves quirky murder in a Country Home. Lots of twists and turns, all tastefully done in the traditional style.
March 23, 2016
A friendly warning about this one - it was originally published in 1969 under the title The Complete Steel and for some reason, the title was changed to "The Stately Home Murder." you can still find it under the original title. This is to prevent anyone from buying both titles without realizing they're the same book. I've had this happen with some Edmund Crispin books.
DI C D "Seedy" Sloan and DC Crosby investigate the very unusual murder of a man whose body was stuffed in a suit of armor in the home of the Earl of Ornum. The body is discovered during a tour when a bored 13-year-old boy is amusing himself with the suits of armor and notices that one sounds different than the others. He lifts the visor and a dead man looks back at him. It turns out the victim was researching the family history of the Earls of Ornum, and he may have discovered something important shortly before his death.
The motive for the crime is not readily apparent at first, though the clues are there if you pay attention. The murderer was certainly a surprise (a very amusing one, actually!). The quirky, eccentric noble family is entertaining, though I found the spinster (is that word used any more?) cousin to be rather dated, even for the early 1970s. The book pokes gentle fun at nobility in general. The Earl and Countess of Ornum and their extended family don't really seem to do anything. You have a feeling that once this mystery is over, they will simply make a few minor changes in their household and then go on like nothing happened.
Like The Religious Body, this book feels like it dates from the 1940s or 1950s. There's nothing to indicate it was actually published in the 1970s. Like Erle Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout, Aird does not let her main characters age or really change in any substantial way. I don't see this as an issue and obviously I'm not alone, judging from the popularity of Perry Mason and Nero Wolfe books to this day. Since the characters never change, you always know what to expect - an amusing, entertaining read with a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere.
DI C D "Seedy" Sloan and DC Crosby investigate the very unusual murder of a man whose body was stuffed in a suit of armor in the home of the Earl of Ornum. The body is discovered during a tour when a bored 13-year-old boy is amusing himself with the suits of armor and notices that one sounds different than the others. He lifts the visor and a dead man looks back at him. It turns out the victim was researching the family history of the Earls of Ornum, and he may have discovered something important shortly before his death.
The motive for the crime is not readily apparent at first, though the clues are there if you pay attention. The murderer was certainly a surprise (a very amusing one, actually!). The quirky, eccentric noble family is entertaining, though I found the spinster (is that word used any more?) cousin to be rather dated, even for the early 1970s. The book pokes gentle fun at nobility in general. The Earl and Countess of Ornum and their extended family don't really seem to do anything. You have a feeling that once this mystery is over, they will simply make a few minor changes in their household and then go on like nothing happened.
Like The Religious Body, this book feels like it dates from the 1940s or 1950s. There's nothing to indicate it was actually published in the 1970s. Like Erle Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout, Aird does not let her main characters age or really change in any substantial way. I don't see this as an issue and obviously I'm not alone, judging from the popularity of Perry Mason and Nero Wolfe books to this day. Since the characters never change, you always know what to expect - an amusing, entertaining read with a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere.
August 2, 2022
This is the third in the Inspector Sloan series, first published in 1969, and which I am enjoying greatly. This book begins at Ornum House, home of the 13th Earl of Ornum, Henry Augustus Rudolfo Cremond Cremond. With taxes high, the family have opened the house to day trippers and, among these are Mrs Pearl Fisher with her thirteen year old twins, Michael and Maureen. Michael is a very curious boy and manages to extract himself from the tour of the house and find the dungeons, where he discovers a dead body in a suit of armour. This turns out to be the family archivist, who seems to have found a secret which put him in danger.
It is up to Sloan to uncover the clues and investigate the crime. This is written a while ago, so there is a great deal of class consciousness and Sloan feels a little out of his depth at times. However, he manages to solve the mystery and the reader has an enjoyable guided tour of their own, amongst the various family members and through the rooms of the Big House, with all of its secrets. I look forward to reading on in this series and am glad that I have discovered it.
It is up to Sloan to uncover the clues and investigate the crime. This is written a while ago, so there is a great deal of class consciousness and Sloan feels a little out of his depth at times. However, he manages to solve the mystery and the reader has an enjoyable guided tour of their own, amongst the various family members and through the rooms of the Big House, with all of its secrets. I look forward to reading on in this series and am glad that I have discovered it.
May 28, 2023
4 Stars. Are you ready to learn about, or more likely be puzzled by, the weapons of war in the middle ages and the early renaissance? That is, suits of armour and, as Inspector Sloan who was called out to investigate a dead body says, "Everything [in weapons] from a poleaxe to a partisan." What's that last one you ask? You will surely repeat that question again as Ms. Aird does her best to enhance our knowledge of the instruments of battle from 350 or more years ago. For your information, a partisan is a large spearhead affixed to a long pole used in thrusting attacks. A murder occurs on the estate of the Earl of Ornum in County Calleshire. The body of the Earl's archivist and librarian has been found by Michael Fisher, a wandering 13-year-old visitor whose family was taking a castle tour. The young lad came face-to-face with Osborne Meredith when, curious, he opened the visor of a suit of armour in among all those antique weapons in the armory. How did Meredith's body get there? The Earl is a member of the House of Lords and Sloan and Crosby, his exasperating constable, must watch their step. It's an old-fashioned mystery. Libraries, butlers and the upper class. (May 2023)
November 21, 2011
This is, hands down, my favorite mystery of all time. I have it on audio read by Robin Bailey and it never fails to entrance and amuse me. The combination of CA's wit and sharp observation of human character and Robin Bailey's excellent portrayal of those characters make this, IMO, an absolutely perfect book. I adore all Catherine Aird's books, but this is at the tippy top. Why this book is not available for an e-reader baffles me.
I will never finish this book because I listen to it over and over again under the title "The Complete Steel".
I will never finish this book because I listen to it over and over again under the title "The Complete Steel".
February 3, 2016
It is the early 1970s, and times are tough in the upper reaches of British society. To survive the changing times, the Earl of Ornum has done the previously unthinkable and opened his estate to wandering tourists. One day, a hyperactive little boy and his family are roaming Ornum House delightedly. The curious tyke sees a full suit of armor and lifts the visor . . . only to see a face staring out at him.
3* The Religious Body (Inspector Sloan #1)
3* Henrietta Who? (Inspector Sloan #2)
3* The Stately Home Murder (Inspector Sloan #3)
TR A Most Contagious Game
3* The Religious Body (Inspector Sloan #1)
3* Henrietta Who? (Inspector Sloan #2)
3* The Stately Home Murder (Inspector Sloan #3)
TR A Most Contagious Game
January 22, 2009
The beginning of this mystery is classic. A very rambunctious boy who came with his mom on a tour of Ornum House gets split from the group. The group goes down into the armoury, where there is a display of several suits of armor. The boy is there, playing around with the armor, and as he opens the visor on one of them, what's there to meet him but the face of a dead man. So...in comes Inspector Sloan, but solving the crime isn't going to be easy with a list of suspects and motives for the murder.
I'll rate this one as average; it's good, but there really wasn't a whole lot of room for the story to be more developed (imho). Recommended for those who like police procedurals and British mystery in general.
I'll rate this one as average; it's good, but there really wasn't a whole lot of room for the story to be more developed (imho). Recommended for those who like police procedurals and British mystery in general.
April 18, 2016
Catherine Aird seems to be one of those author's who rarely surprises you, yet always manages to deliver a tale to hold your interest and entertain you. Her books have that classic British golden age feel to them and if you like Agatha, Dorothy, Margery and the rest from that period, although she wrote later, I think you will find a liking for Catherine Aird as well.
February 26, 2015
Another fast and very entertaining book. The solution of this one threw me for a loop.
April 7, 2022
'The Complete Steel' is a very lighthearted piece, almost cartoonish in its depiction of the English aristocracy. In terms of tone, the word 'droll' comes to mind. No grief, angst or terror here. Just a clever puzzle, and lots of dry, sardonic humour, mostly generated by the vast difference in the lives of aristocrats and just about everyone else.
The opening, which has a coach party visiting a reluctantly open-to-paying-peasants Stately Home, beautifully sets the stage for the gap between normality and life at a stately home. Having the coach party find the fresh corpse of a member of the household inside a suit of armour on display in the dungeon was a stroke of brilliance.
'The Complete Steel' is only 200 pages long and the case is solved within forty-eight hours which makes it a quick light read that I found very relaxing.
The plot has more twists than I expected and successfully mislead me about what was going on for most of the book and then delivered an ending that was both completely plausible and worthy of Scooby-Doo.
I think Catherine Aird's tongue was firmly in her cheek as she wrote this but she still delivered a good mystery. She also educated me on who churls are and what is kept in a muniments room.
June 24, 2022
This short novel, narrated beautifully by Robin Bailey, was fun and a bit baffling to me. Although I spotted the major clue, I couldn’t figure out its significance. Inspector Sloan, however, could, leading to the unmasking of a most surprising culprit.
Although written in the 1960s it reads like a classic Golden Age novel, with the tropes and stereotypes I love. I do plan to read more of Aird’s Inspector Sloan series.
Although written in the 1960s it reads like a classic Golden Age novel, with the tropes and stereotypes I love. I do plan to read more of Aird’s Inspector Sloan series.
February 22, 2015
"When it is not necessary to change, quoted the Earl sententiously, it is necessary not to change" p 157. Brain challenge in one line. Eccentricity is why I read Sloan series, and to expand my vocabulary. Sloan even asks boss for "dictionary" to tackle new words like "muniments" p 54.
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses" commanded Sloan, climbing in.
"Beg pardon, sir?"
Sloan sighed. "Headquarters, Crosby, please." p 190
Crosby just wants tea, is mildly baffled when Sloan quotes from literary education. Duo usually stimulate tiny tickles, seldom galumphing guffaws.
"Sunday in June" p 12 during stately Ornum House public tour, mischievous Michael lifts visor on armor "circa 1595" p 39 - and finds corpse. DI Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan and inadvertently funny sidekick DC Detective Constable Crosby must sort out who stashed late "Our Mr Meredith, Librarian and Archivist to his Lordship" p 39 thirteenth Earl, and why. "Dead these last couple of days" p 41, victim was last seen Friday by butler Dillow, "just after four o'clock tea .. He ate the lot" p 63.
"Osborne Meredith might not have been any trouble to a butler. He was going to be a great deal of trouble to a police inspector. This police inspector" p 49. Humor is light, sneaks up from side. Meeting vague Countess "was rather like interviewing cotton wool or blotting paper" p 51.
Clearly the fact that Meredith arranged masterpiece painting experts "The Young Masters [Art Society p 163] coming down to see the pictures" contributed to his death. "Lordship's nephew Miles Cremond" is visiting with his wife Laura. I get lazy nephews confused. Another is artist William Murton "expensive tastes and a low income .. pursues his career in fits and starts and nubile young ladies all of the time" p 158. Meredith also found papers "proving Harry isn't Earl" p 53. I still can't see how perpetrator kept godentag weapon hidden before attack. Putting together the puzzle is so complicated, I had to just drift, enjoy eccentrics, setting, until Sloan solves crime. In minor sub-plot, Traffic officer melancholy droopy-face 'Happy Harry' Harpe asks how same garage catches calls to accidents.
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses" commanded Sloan, climbing in.
"Beg pardon, sir?"
Sloan sighed. "Headquarters, Crosby, please." p 190
Crosby just wants tea, is mildly baffled when Sloan quotes from literary education. Duo usually stimulate tiny tickles, seldom galumphing guffaws.
"Sunday in June" p 12 during stately Ornum House public tour, mischievous Michael lifts visor on armor "circa 1595" p 39 - and finds corpse. DI Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan and inadvertently funny sidekick DC Detective Constable Crosby must sort out who stashed late "Our Mr Meredith, Librarian and Archivist to his Lordship" p 39 thirteenth Earl, and why. "Dead these last couple of days" p 41, victim was last seen Friday by butler Dillow, "just after four o'clock tea .. He ate the lot" p 63.
"Osborne Meredith might not have been any trouble to a butler. He was going to be a great deal of trouble to a police inspector. This police inspector" p 49. Humor is light, sneaks up from side. Meeting vague Countess "was rather like interviewing cotton wool or blotting paper" p 51.
Clearly the fact that Meredith arranged masterpiece painting experts "The Young Masters [Art Society p 163] coming down to see the pictures" contributed to his death. "Lordship's nephew Miles Cremond" is visiting with his wife Laura. I get lazy nephews confused. Another is artist William Murton "expensive tastes and a low income .. pursues his career in fits and starts and nubile young ladies all of the time" p 158. Meredith also found papers "proving Harry isn't Earl" p 53. I still can't see how perpetrator kept godentag weapon hidden before attack. Putting together the puzzle is so complicated, I had to just drift, enjoy eccentrics, setting, until Sloan solves crime. In minor sub-plot, Traffic officer melancholy droopy-face 'Happy Harry' Harpe asks how same garage catches calls to accidents.
August 16, 2024
Taking all the tropes of a murder mystery and turning them on their head. Seedy Sloan is as witty as ever and the title is a clever play on words. It was changed to The Stately Home Murder in the US and they miss out on the pun.
April 30, 2021
Agreeable
It’s an agreeable book to read. It’s decently written and goes along at a reasonable pace but I couldn’t get absorbed in the plot. The characters are drawn patchily - the noble family are quite vivid as you might expect but the police seemed almost anonymous to me and made little impact.
It’s an agreeable book to read. It’s decently written and goes along at a reasonable pace but I couldn’t get absorbed in the plot. The characters are drawn patchily - the noble family are quite vivid as you might expect but the police seemed almost anonymous to me and made little impact.
March 2, 2020
Truly enjoyable!! I recommend this for fans of the show Lewis, and also fans of Agatha Christie.
September 9, 2018
Ornum House has 300 rooms and on a Sunday the Earl and Countess of Ornum open their house to the public at a cost of two shillings and sixpence each. The house contains an exceptional display of fine china, an authentic Hans Holbein painting and a dungeon that contains a variety suits of armour and associated weapons.
On a particular Sunday a 13-year-old boy is with his mother until he disappears. She panics but eventually finds him in the dungeon inspecting the suits of armour and that is when he gets a terrible shock. One of the suits of armour sounds different when he knocks on it than the others so he opens the visor only to be confronted by the staring face of a dead man.
Panic sets in with the Earl, the Countess, their quirky extended family, some of whom live at Ornum House and others who are staying with them, and the servants, including a condescending butler named Dillow. Inspector Sloan, with his partner, Sergeant Crosby, is called in to investigate. But it is not immediately evident how or why the man has died but once the body is removed from the suit of armour it does become apparent that he has been murdered.
Nobody is allowed to leave the house as Sloan and Crosby go about their investigations and for a time they seem to be getting nowhere. Then information comes to light about the Holbein painting and about the activities of the murdered man, Osborne Meredith who is an archivist working with the family. Did he discover something that someone did not want him to reveal?
This leads Sloan in another direction and his enquiries with the very different types of people in the house produce new leads. And eventually he manages to work out what has happened, the reasons behind the crime and most importantly the culprit.
Although not written in the so-called Golden Age of Crime fiction, Catherine Aird has given 'The Stately Home Murder' a decidedly period flavour that works well and that keeps the suspense going until the denouement ... and who committed the crime? Well, you may be able to work that one out!
On a particular Sunday a 13-year-old boy is with his mother until he disappears. She panics but eventually finds him in the dungeon inspecting the suits of armour and that is when he gets a terrible shock. One of the suits of armour sounds different when he knocks on it than the others so he opens the visor only to be confronted by the staring face of a dead man.
Panic sets in with the Earl, the Countess, their quirky extended family, some of whom live at Ornum House and others who are staying with them, and the servants, including a condescending butler named Dillow. Inspector Sloan, with his partner, Sergeant Crosby, is called in to investigate. But it is not immediately evident how or why the man has died but once the body is removed from the suit of armour it does become apparent that he has been murdered.
Nobody is allowed to leave the house as Sloan and Crosby go about their investigations and for a time they seem to be getting nowhere. Then information comes to light about the Holbein painting and about the activities of the murdered man, Osborne Meredith who is an archivist working with the family. Did he discover something that someone did not want him to reveal?
This leads Sloan in another direction and his enquiries with the very different types of people in the house produce new leads. And eventually he manages to work out what has happened, the reasons behind the crime and most importantly the culprit.
Although not written in the so-called Golden Age of Crime fiction, Catherine Aird has given 'The Stately Home Murder' a decidedly period flavour that works well and that keeps the suspense going until the denouement ... and who committed the crime? Well, you may be able to work that one out!
January 20, 2024
If you like a classic mystery with some dry humor, you will probably enjoy this series. 3.5 stars
October 23, 2012
I've just started this series and this, #3, is the best thus far. I have the same comment as for the previous two editions, however. The Complete Steel is, like the others, almost entirely plot driven with very little character development. Therefore, I suppose they better fill the requirements of a "mystery" than many of my favorite mystery novels. I, however, tend to prefer character-driven novels, with mystery as a secondary plot device. I certainly would recommend this as a light, quick read but not as a favorite series in which the primary characters have become old friends you can't wait to hear from or about again. As thus far there is little or no character development, the recurring figures being merely police officers going about their duty without attention to their private lives or a glimpse at their private thoughts, it would not matter in which order you read the books. Thus far, there has been no plot carry-over nor any growth of the characters. Again, however, the concoction and unraveling of the mystery itself is very well done. If you prefer plot-driven novels and guessing who-dunit, this is the series for you.
May 14, 2015
This book has also been published under the title 'The Complete Steel'. Ornum House is a favourite place for day trips for the people of Calleshire. Bit one small boy gets more than he bargained for when he lifts the visor on a complete suit of armour and sees a face staring back at him. Osborne Meredith - that family archivist and historian has been murdered and put inside the suit of armour. DI Sloan and DC Crosby are sent to investigate.
Sloan soon decides that it is an inside job but trying to get the various members of the Earl of Ornum's family to account for their movements at what appears to be the relevant time is a difficult job. This is an entertaining and well plotted mystery story with some ingenious twists and turns and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing.
This is an enjoyable series for all those who like the cosy mystery genre with no on the page violence and interesting characters. The series can be read in any order and I have read each book more than once.
Sloan soon decides that it is an inside job but trying to get the various members of the Earl of Ornum's family to account for their movements at what appears to be the relevant time is a difficult job. This is an entertaining and well plotted mystery story with some ingenious twists and turns and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing.
This is an enjoyable series for all those who like the cosy mystery genre with no on the page violence and interesting characters. The series can be read in any order and I have read each book more than once.
September 2, 2019
While I love mysteries written during the first half of the 20th century and mysteries written in that style, this book was a disappointment. It's that dreaded British tax code taking its toll again. A stately, historic home has to be opened for tours by the public to make money for upkeep. During one of the tours, a naughty little boy (or maybe he was just frisky) opened the visor on a suit of armor and, of course, there was a body inside. In typical English country home murder mysteries, the murderer has to be someone within the house or grounds. Call in Detective Inspector Sloan and his sidekick Detective Constable Crosby. While plodding through this book, I got the distinct impresssion that it was being written in the hope that it would be a candidate for Masterpiece Theater--minus the Masterpiece. While I generally gallop through a good mystery, I couldn't even work up a good canter for this one.
October 29, 2018
It's the way she tells 'em.
Aird did indeed mature as a writer, and in a very short time. Perhaps she had better editorial advice than many of our contemporary cosy writers get today. It's obvious that she had a great deal of fun writing this book without crossing over into self-conscious, self-indulgent attempts to amuse. She can write decent English, too. Perhaps another great help is that she was writing contemporary fiction, not trying to emulate a historical period as do many "period cosy" authors today.
A perfect weekend read when I was nursing a cold. These books will bear re-reading, once I've read all I can get my hands on. At last a substitute for Phryne Fisher! I won't give up returning to 1928 Melbourne entirely but I have re-read those far too frequently of late.
Aird did indeed mature as a writer, and in a very short time. Perhaps she had better editorial advice than many of our contemporary cosy writers get today. It's obvious that she had a great deal of fun writing this book without crossing over into self-conscious, self-indulgent attempts to amuse. She can write decent English, too. Perhaps another great help is that she was writing contemporary fiction, not trying to emulate a historical period as do many "period cosy" authors today.
A perfect weekend read when I was nursing a cold. These books will bear re-reading, once I've read all I can get my hands on. At last a substitute for Phryne Fisher! I won't give up returning to 1928 Melbourne entirely but I have re-read those far too frequently of late.
May 26, 2019
I’ve read a number of this particular series and this was a really fun one. I like the setting and the characters. Nice humor in the telling of the story through Sloan and the newer policeman Crosby. Through both you get a bit of world weary knowledge with the unrestrained curiosity of a newbie doing his best.
A really fun quick read, hope these stories are reprinted or e-booked my copy was a bit brittle and much tape was used to hold bits together.
This is one of those mysteries that you start out and by halfway I wanted to finish it. A teaser of who was where and some of the clues you had to follow were what people said as well as knowing the routine of the house.
(Also you get to learn a bit about aristocracy and history in this one.)
A really fun quick read, hope these stories are reprinted or e-booked my copy was a bit brittle and much tape was used to hold bits together.
This is one of those mysteries that you start out and by halfway I wanted to finish it. A teaser of who was where and some of the clues you had to follow were what people said as well as knowing the routine of the house.
(Also you get to learn a bit about aristocracy and history in this one.)
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