Only a Matter of Time

Dr. R.V. Davie #3

by V.C. Clinton-Baddeley

Dark dealings are afoot at Bexminster Electronics. Company secretary Robert Coppleston discovers secrets are being leaked to their rivals before he goes missing.

Then two bodies are found in the small town of King’s Lacy, both have bruises on their necks.

It’s time for Dr Davie to begin his investigations, even if it means putting his own life on the line.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

263 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

V(ictor Vaughan Reynolds Geraint) C(linton) Clinton-Baddeley was born in Devon, England. He received an M.A. in history from Jesus College, Cambridge. For a time he was editor of the modern history section of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but soon turned to theatre and acting and then to radio, where he worked with W. B. Yeats as his poetry reader. His previous writings include works of literary and theatre research, pantomimes, operettas, and plays.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. R. V. Davie, professor of poetry and sometime amateur detective, has come to Kings Lacey for its annual festival featuring a bit of opera, a bit of jazz-inspired poetry (or is that poetry-inspired jazz), and a bit of madrigal singing. He didn't expect to land himself in the middle of a bit of murder as well. But on the Friday afternoon, the directors of Bexminster Electronics gathered for a top-secret meeting to discuss the dates for the roll-out of their next electronic masterpiece. By Saturday night, Robert Copplestone, one of the men in the meeting was dead.

Robert had two passions in life--he loved fine china and he was a champion of honesty and truth. So when he was browsing in a local antique shop and just happened to find a company secret tucked into the teapot in a pretty little gold and white tea service, he rushed to phone a trusted board member with the news. But someone made certain that Robert never got a chance to share the secret. When the owner of the antique shop also winds up dead--killed in a similar fashion--Dr. Davie can't help but get involved. He had become friends with Jiri Vanasek and he needed to help find his killer. But will Dr. Davie be able to discover the false clue hidden among the true ones?

Only a Matter of Time is the third of five detective novels written by V. C. (Victor Vaughan Reynolds Geraint Clinton) Clinton-Baddeley featuring the scholarly amateur detective. I have to admit to a bit of disappointment with this one--I felt as though the culprit had a huge neon arrow pointing at her/him the entire time. And there really wasn't much attempt to muddy the waters at all--as soon as Dr. Davie started burbling on about the "false clue" and what kept bothering him, it was pretty obvious who must have done it. There was also another clue--something that I thought must have been done on purpose (although Clinton-Baddeley really didn't explain it that way) that first drew my attention to Mr./Ms. X. I kept hoping that perhaps there would be a final twist (there was the teensiest bit of a hint of one) to make things interesting...but, alas.

A bit of a let-down from my beloved academic mystery sub-genre. Clinton-Baddley does a much better job with mystification in the rest of the series--particularly the first (Death's Bright Dart) and final (To Study a Long Silence). I did enjoy the characters, especially Miss Jesmond, the Bexminster company's confidential secretary, and Dr. Davies is always a delight. ★★ and a half for a less than best effort.

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[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr R V Davie - academic and opera lover - visits Kings Lacy for its annual music festival and of course stumbles across two bodies. As he happens to have been one of the last people to see one of the dead men alive he becomes involved in the murder investigation. It seems there are rather a lot of odd goings on in the area which he attempts to put together and, as it were, join up the dots.

This is an entertaining gentle crime story - in spite of the murders. It is well written and there is a fair amount of background information about opera and music in general. I must say one of the performances he went to sounds highly entertaining - poetry set to jazz music.

I enjoyed the way Davie puts everything together and manages to work out who did by logic and deduction from the facts he knows. It is one of the most carefully plotted mysteries I've come across for a while. This is an enjoyable series which doesn't have to be read in the order in which it was published.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elderly Cambridge don Dr. Davie enjoys the annual Bexminister music festival, but this year he finds the body of an acquaintance, obviously murdered. He's no more than a bystander, of course, but can't help wondering how that body is related to another dead man who is found nearby. Delightful though improbable.

[Daisy Rajbongshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this a 4.3/5🌟. I really enjoyed reading this work by Baddeley. The first chapter started off with an insight into the relationship of Robert Coppleston and his mother, which by the way, reminded me of Sons and Lovers by D.H.Lawrence. The pace of the book is somewhere in-between. The chapters are neither rushed or too descriptive. Everything is short and crisp, which is a good sign. The gruesome murders that take place in the novel is quite intense and uncomfortable. Like the title suggests, the whole case rests around 'only a matter of time', as in, a couple of minutes. This is what intrigues me the most, and my favourite character has to be Dr. Davie.

Do give this a shot!

[Kim Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Davie, is at it again. Solving a crime, that is. This time he gets involved to find out why a friend died. But this wasn't the only murder and R.V. finds himself drawn into a much bigger scenario than he first thought. There aren't really a huge number of suspects to investigate, but it still takes some working out to find the guilty party. And yes, I did guess this one. That didn't spoil my enjoyment though.

[Lois Carkhuff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my style

Classic murder mystery? Too much descriptive explanations. The story was okay I guess, but not my style. I get impatient when it 4 or so pages to explain what a room looked like. There may have been lots of twists and turns but it moved so slowly it was easy to miss them.

[Peter W Woolsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Difficult read.

Very difficult book to read with all the irrelevant side stories and over descriptive passages. All this leads to it being a nightmare in terms of following the plot. Not recommended.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

In common with the second in the series, this has a musical background, and some backstory relating to WW2.

Dr. R V Davie is at a provincial music festival, and, as well as attending an eclectic selection of events, encompassing opera, jazz, chamber music and madrigals, he comes across two murders with a possible connection to industrial espionage. One of the victims is a friend of the detective-don and so he has an added incentive for investigating the crimes.

As the title indicates, the solution turns on timing and the eccentric behaviour of a particular clock.There is some acute observation of manners and mores and the author's erudition is lightly displayed.

Enjoyable and not too difficult to solve.

3.5 stars.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr RV Davie is spending time at the King's Lacey music festival. Sponsored by owner of Bexminster Electronics, a firm being subjected to industrial espionage. Then a man going missing, and later found dead.
An entertaining cozy modern mystery
Originally published in 1969

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read before joining GoodReads. Marked as Read so I don't order & read it again.