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Post Mortem
Il critico e scrittore H. R. F. Keating, motivando l'inclusione di questo romanzo semisconosciuto del 1953 nella sua lista dei 100 migliori gialli di tutti i tempi, ha citato la raffinatezza dei colpi di scena, l'arguta caratterizzazione dei personaggi, la qualità della scrittura, ma soprattutto la splendida trovata, senza precedenti nella storia della narrativa poliziesca, su cui si fonda la vicenda. Quando lo scrittore Gilbert Worth muore, il caso viene archiviato come suicidio, anche se nell'opinione di coloro che lo conoscevano lui non era tipo da togliersi la vita. Inoltre, c'erano stati alcuni strani "incidenti" in precedenza, senza contare che la moglie, i figli, la segretaria e il vicino di casa, fra gli altri, potrebbero non essere estranei ai fatti. Qualcuno, in particolare, è indignato per l'esito dell'inchiesta e decide, a suo modo, di indagare... Dietro lo pseudonimo maschile di Guy Cullingford si è celata per moltissimi anni la scrittrice e poetessa inglese Constance Lindsay Taylor.
- GenresMystery
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
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43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 23, 2020
From the inside cover of the Penguin edition: "What was the mystery surrounding Gilbert Worth's death? The verdict was suicide, but in the opinion of those who knew him, Worth was not the type to take his own life, and twice previously, 'accidents' had occurred. One person, at least was not satisfied with the verdict of the inquest, and the dramatic situations arising from Worth's elimination were watched from a highly unusual angle by that person, who was most interested to identify the culprit."
Worth was not a particularly likable person and was downright cruel as a father and husband. The wife, the daughter, the two sons, the attractive secretary—all had motive and opportunity. Worth's lawyer and publisher, even the servants, had their ideas on the subject, as did the gardener and the next-door neighbor.
What is most unique about this mystery is revealed about 25 pages in. Even so, I wouldn't want to reveal the spoiler, so it's difficult to review this book. Suffice it to say, it was a most entertaining read, though perhaps not a fair-play mystery with the traditional red herrings and clues. The characterizations were strong and entertaining. Once the murder is solved, the epilogue adds just a bit of an extra surprise.
Guy Cullingford was a pseudonym for Constance Lindsay (Dowdy) Taylor (1907-2000).
Worth was not a particularly likable person and was downright cruel as a father and husband. The wife, the daughter, the two sons, the attractive secretary—all had motive and opportunity. Worth's lawyer and publisher, even the servants, had their ideas on the subject, as did the gardener and the next-door neighbor.
What is most unique about this mystery is revealed about 25 pages in. Even so, I wouldn't want to reveal the spoiler, so it's difficult to review this book. Suffice it to say, it was a most entertaining read, though perhaps not a fair-play mystery with the traditional red herrings and clues. The characterizations were strong and entertaining. Once the murder is solved, the epilogue adds just a bit of an extra surprise.
Guy Cullingford was a pseudonym for Constance Lindsay (Dowdy) Taylor (1907-2000).
October 8, 2019
The third novel by CL Taylor, and the first published under her male pseudonym, is quite different to its predecessors.
Despite what other commentators have said, this is a novel of detection, and one with with an intriguing premise. While it does not quite live up to its initial promise, it does puzzle the reader right to the end, and then contrives some extra surprises in an epilogue.
As usual with this author, the characters are vividly-drawn, and in the main highly-unlikeable, although again a few surprises emerge.
Thoroughly enjoyable and recommended. An unusual read.
Despite what other commentators have said, this is a novel of detection, and one with with an intriguing premise. While it does not quite live up to its initial promise, it does puzzle the reader right to the end, and then contrives some extra surprises in an epilogue.
As usual with this author, the characters are vividly-drawn, and in the main highly-unlikeable, although again a few surprises emerge.
Thoroughly enjoyable and recommended. An unusual read.
May 12, 2019
Good 1930's (?) murder mystery with a ghostly twist.
Enjoyed it.
Enjoyed it.
October 11, 2021
This is a 1953 book by British author Constance Lindsay Taylor, writing using the pseudonym Guy Cullingford. This book has an extremely unique protagonist and plot. While the book is a murder mystery, it is very different from the usual mystery where a crime is committed and then it is solved. In this case, the crime is more in the background and the focus is mostly on the family drama of the relatives of the deceased. It is about life, family, regrets and a lot of human emotions. The writing is very refined and strong, oftentimes thoughtful and philosophical without being boring. However, I was disappointed that there was not much crime solving and too much just straight up family drama. Overall, I would rate this book a 3.5 star.
Spoiler Alert. It is difficult to describe the plot of this book without revealing the most unique aspect of the story, which is really ingenious. The story is told from the first-person point-of-view of famous author Gilbert Worth. Gilbert is a very rich, self-centered and detestable person who lives with his wife and three adult children in a large Victorian house in the suburb. He also has a secretary Rosina Peck (who was also his mistress) who arrives to his home office every day to work with him. The house has an attic room with its own staircase which Gilbert uses as his office for novel writing. The book starts with Gilbert writing about how recently there were two attempts on his life. The first attempt involved someone putting a marble on a dark stairway at night which leads to a turret room. The second attempt involved someone putting poison into a thermos of warm milk Gilbert always keeps with him when he works late at night. Both attempts failed. Gilbert then described how he was taking a nap in his study one day and when he was half dreaming and half awake, imagined he saw a women shot him. When he became conscious again, he realized he was already dead and has become a ghost and that he was looking at his own dead body in the study. The story then describes events that happens afterwards, including the discovery of the body by family members, the police arriving, and subsequently concluded it was a suicide since Gilbert was holding the gun in his hand. After that, we saw how Gilbert (the ghost) described the reactions of different family members and friends after his death. Only then he realized how he was widely despised and hated by everybody, including all his family members, all his servants and some of his friends. He also realized five people have motives to kill him: his wife Sylvia, his sons Julian and Robert and his daughter Juliet, in addition to his neighbor and good friend Toby Kent who was madly in love with Gilbert’s wife Sylvia. Gilbert also found out it was his son Julian who tried to kill him with the marble on the dark staircase and it was his daughter Juliet who tried to kill him with the poisoned milk. As events progressed, there were quite a few family dramas where Gilbert was the silent observer. In the end, he discovered that it was his wife Sylvia who murdered him by shooting him with his own gun when he was asleep in at his desk. Cullingford explained away the first person narrative form by telling the reads that Gilbert, as a ghost, was able to continue to write his manuscript, where he dutifully noted everything he saw and heard after his death. Overtime, after enough time has elapsed, his spiritual power diminished and finally he ceased to exist even as a ghost. By then, his manuscript was complete and he has locked it in a secret drawer in the turret room. Years later, after Sylvia has died in a house fire, the manuscript was discovered by accident. Debates existed then as to whether it was really Gilbert who wrote it after his death, whether it was Julian who wrote it and pretended it to be his father’s work, or whether Gilbert was able to predict the future and wrote the story prior to his death. That manuscript, of course, was for this book, Post Mortem.
While the idea of having the ghost of the victim as the protagonist is a great and novel idea, I was expecting Cullingford to have gone in a different direction with Gilbert assisting in the solution of the crime. Instead, most of the book was just filled with domestic scenes and what happened in a household days after a man died. In the end, there was really no detection, and the crime of murder was never uncovered officially. The whole story came out through Gilbert writing down conversations he overheard as a ghost. In a way, this turned the book into a run-of-the-mill fictional story of a dysfunctional family rather than a first-class mystery novel that it could be.
Spoiler Alert. It is difficult to describe the plot of this book without revealing the most unique aspect of the story, which is really ingenious. The story is told from the first-person point-of-view of famous author Gilbert Worth. Gilbert is a very rich, self-centered and detestable person who lives with his wife and three adult children in a large Victorian house in the suburb. He also has a secretary Rosina Peck (who was also his mistress) who arrives to his home office every day to work with him. The house has an attic room with its own staircase which Gilbert uses as his office for novel writing. The book starts with Gilbert writing about how recently there were two attempts on his life. The first attempt involved someone putting a marble on a dark stairway at night which leads to a turret room. The second attempt involved someone putting poison into a thermos of warm milk Gilbert always keeps with him when he works late at night. Both attempts failed. Gilbert then described how he was taking a nap in his study one day and when he was half dreaming and half awake, imagined he saw a women shot him. When he became conscious again, he realized he was already dead and has become a ghost and that he was looking at his own dead body in the study. The story then describes events that happens afterwards, including the discovery of the body by family members, the police arriving, and subsequently concluded it was a suicide since Gilbert was holding the gun in his hand. After that, we saw how Gilbert (the ghost) described the reactions of different family members and friends after his death. Only then he realized how he was widely despised and hated by everybody, including all his family members, all his servants and some of his friends. He also realized five people have motives to kill him: his wife Sylvia, his sons Julian and Robert and his daughter Juliet, in addition to his neighbor and good friend Toby Kent who was madly in love with Gilbert’s wife Sylvia. Gilbert also found out it was his son Julian who tried to kill him with the marble on the dark staircase and it was his daughter Juliet who tried to kill him with the poisoned milk. As events progressed, there were quite a few family dramas where Gilbert was the silent observer. In the end, he discovered that it was his wife Sylvia who murdered him by shooting him with his own gun when he was asleep in at his desk. Cullingford explained away the first person narrative form by telling the reads that Gilbert, as a ghost, was able to continue to write his manuscript, where he dutifully noted everything he saw and heard after his death. Overtime, after enough time has elapsed, his spiritual power diminished and finally he ceased to exist even as a ghost. By then, his manuscript was complete and he has locked it in a secret drawer in the turret room. Years later, after Sylvia has died in a house fire, the manuscript was discovered by accident. Debates existed then as to whether it was really Gilbert who wrote it after his death, whether it was Julian who wrote it and pretended it to be his father’s work, or whether Gilbert was able to predict the future and wrote the story prior to his death. That manuscript, of course, was for this book, Post Mortem.
While the idea of having the ghost of the victim as the protagonist is a great and novel idea, I was expecting Cullingford to have gone in a different direction with Gilbert assisting in the solution of the crime. Instead, most of the book was just filled with domestic scenes and what happened in a household days after a man died. In the end, there was really no detection, and the crime of murder was never uncovered officially. The whole story came out through Gilbert writing down conversations he overheard as a ghost. In a way, this turned the book into a run-of-the-mill fictional story of a dysfunctional family rather than a first-class mystery novel that it could be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2022
Two and a half stars: An routine story, centered on the supposed suicide of a man who didn't seem to be a very nice one. No one liked him, many around him hated him and he himself acknowledges his misdeeds as the story unfolds. I found it ok, with some witty writing (one character is described as reminding the narrator of a sea lion, and when he comes forward to shake hands he "extends his flippers") but lots of long passages that don't really move the story along. It's one of those "to each his own" instances and I wouldn't add it to my 100 Best Mystery Books, as H.R.F. Keating did.
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September 19, 2022Offbeat.
February 1, 2025
Old time crime
Great book I love from the 1950s. I love the style of writing and the subject. Well worth a read.
Great book I love from the 1950s. I love the style of writing and the subject. Well worth a read.
August 22, 2020
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
August 31, 2017
I fantasmi scrivono libri?
Non sono molti i Bassotti che mi hanno deluso, leggendoli, ma questo è uno di quelli. Lo considero davvero scarso come giallo, nonostante la trovata narrativa insolita. Vuol essere un tentativo di approfondimento psicologico dei personaggi e delle loro motivazioni, ma alla lunga diventa una noiosa predica su colpa-confessione-punizione, con tanto di fuoco 'purificatore' finale.
Il finale: vorrebbe essere un doppio finale che tenta di trarre in inganno il lettore, ma in realtà lascia con l'amaro in bocca.
Non sono molti i Bassotti che mi hanno deluso, leggendoli, ma questo è uno di quelli. Lo considero davvero scarso come giallo, nonostante la trovata narrativa insolita. Vuol essere un tentativo di approfondimento psicologico dei personaggi e delle loro motivazioni, ma alla lunga diventa una noiosa predica su colpa-confessione-punizione, con tanto di fuoco 'purificatore' finale.
Il finale: vorrebbe essere un doppio finale che tenta di trarre in inganno il lettore, ma in realtà lascia con l'amaro in bocca.
April 30, 2018
Generally billed as a murder mystery, this book was well-written enough to hold my interest, but I wouldn't say that it is a mystery in the traditional sense. It seemed more like a study of a dysfunctional family. The identity of the killer does, indeed, remain a mystery until near the end of the book, but, in the interim, virtually no detective work takes place. Also, there aren't any sympathetic characters to root for. A surprise ending saves it a bit, but I can't heartily recommend it.
August 3, 2019
MOST ORIGINAL PLOT TWIST EVER!!!
Written by Constance Dowdy, who took the pseudonym of Guy Cullingford, in 1953. I love mystery books that portray life in early path of the 20th century and this one is fleshed out extremely well. What makes this book so good is the twist of the ghost becoming the detective in his own murder.
But this book - you won't be disappointed!!!
Written by Constance Dowdy, who took the pseudonym of Guy Cullingford, in 1953. I love mystery books that portray life in early path of the 20th century and this one is fleshed out extremely well. What makes this book so good is the twist of the ghost becoming the detective in his own murder.
But this book - you won't be disappointed!!!
January 28, 2014
Giallo particolarissimo ma molto gradevole è stata una delle prime scoperte di questa bella collana.
Want to read
July 29, 2012note: Post Mortem (19
53) is title in English
53) is title in English
March 24, 2020
Senza senso...grossa delusione...uno dei peggiori tra I Bassotti
Want to read
February 12, 2019Synopsis: who killed Gilbert Worth? The official verdict was suicide but was it? Worth had been worried about something.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews