The Plain Old Man

Kelling & Bittersohn #6

by Charlotte MacLeod

Murder upstages a Kelling family theatrical production—and Boston’s art sleuths are on the case. “The screwball mystery is Charlotte MacLeod’s cup of tea” (Chicago Tribune).  Producing a Gilbert & Sullivan opera requires a special kind of madness, and the Kelling family is large enough and peculiar enough to undertake an entire company by themselves. For years now, Sarah Kelling’s Aunt Emma has supervised these annual productions—from The Pirates of Penzance to The Mikado—and this year she has invited her cast of relatives to rehearse The Sorcerer in her stately mansion. The show is nearly ready when a team of burglars drugs the cast and crew to make off with a priceless portrait. Theft or no theft, Aunt Emma insists the show must go on. Even when one of the cast dies suddenly, she finds a replacement and continues rehearsal. But when Sarah begins to suspect the actor was murdered, it becomes clear that dear Aunt Emma may be in danger of taking her final bow.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Crime, Audiobook, Humor

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

Naturalized US Citizen

Also wrote as Alisa Craig

Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.

Reviews

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can count my theatre attendance on one hand: one of my friends was in Winnipeg’s Fringe Festival, I beheld our wonderful, outdoor Rainbow Stage twice, and was amazed by “The Phantom Of The Opera” with my middle Brother. I have only heard of the theatre writer & composer duo Gilbert & Sullivan, whom some reviewers thought we needed to know to love this novel. I disagree, even though I might have relished the theatre puns more. I give Canada’s zany Charlotte MacLeod five stars for this 1985 novel, whose five predecessors you do need to absorb to have a handle on this loopy series’ growth. I had not awarded the last two highly and felt buoyed by the “The Plain Old Man”. Despite any critiques or silliness that might stretch thin, my delight marshalled five stars!

You could always praise Charlotte for utterly original premises, families, titles, and ridiculous situations that are nonetheless just normal enough to hang onto our believability. Something about a theatre milieu equalizes people. No matter how smarmy, conceited, or rigid one might be usually; makeup, costumes, and collaborative dialogue humanizes us. In a way, it debases in a positive way, an overwrought dignity to willingly cavort onstage. You show you are soulful enough to play, the beauty of the arts. I only remark that with Sarah out of the last mystery and Max away for this one, I look forward to them teaming up anew.

Mysteries usually pertain to an elderly Kelling relative, of which Sarah is the junior member. I love focusing on senior personages and the way family rallies together, even if sourpusses garner rueful avoidance. Charlotte’s title was apt, about coming through valiantly whence outsiders overlook. I love that the logistics were worked out by knowing the habits of friends well.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Kelling is putting on her annual play which she really relishes. This will probably be her last production due to her age and her voice is starting to give out. There is a murder and a missing expensive painting. Sarah is staying with her aunt while Max,her husband, is out on an art thief case. The Kellings are a. large, wealthy and eccentric family.

I enjoyed Charlotte MacLeod earlier books more that the last several books I have read. They are always humorous and the language rich. Charlotte does not play down to her readers. I was glad for the definition look up on my Kindle.

Charlotte MacLeod wrote several series. They would be called cozy mysteries today. However, they are nothing like the cozies being written today. They are original and not formula driven cookie cutters plots. The plotting is tight and a little over 200 pages. She was a very talented author and story teller.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was overwhelmed by the many characters who were at Sarah's Aunt Emma's house to take part in the play. But then I realized it was me not Charlotte MacLeod, I was distracted. I started over and all was well. WHAT A MYSTERY! A huge oil painting of a Kelling ancestress goes missing. For various reasons Aunt Emma doesn't want the police called in. But when one of the cast is found dead in his bathroom, events take a nasty turn. But Sarah and her fellow Kellings are up to the task! Seeing Sarah in hot pursuit literally of the bad guys was thrilling and a hoot at the same time. Only Sarah Kelling Bittersohn would do this craziness! I did miss Max who was away on business in Europe. But this was an excellent who dun it. I love it when I don't figure out the villain till the very end. And it wasn't till the final pages that I twigged it. I enjoy current mysteries but sometimes I get tired of magical cats, recipes and heroines that get themselves into tight spots with a murderer and get beat up or almost killed. Charlotte MacLeod is different. And I love her (posthumously of course.)

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/2018 - Still a fun, light-hearted read, even if I could do without all the Gilbert and Sullivan references. Aunt Emma is a delight, if a bit single-mindedly fixated on her amateur theatrics even in the face of a major art theft and a murder, Uncle Frederick is a charmer and Aunt Mabel is a hilarious old bat!

2016 - I enjoyed this light-hearted, clever mystery much more upon re-reading this time, my third (or fourth!), hence I bumped the rating up from 3 stars to 4. It's always interesting to reread old favorites after several years to see how our feelings change; I've always enjoyed MacLeod's literate, sparkling dialogue and quirky characters, but sometimes tired of her "telling, not showing" style where characters go on and on with their internal monologue and analysis of the mystery and potential suspects and motives.

This time I've been enjoying the Kelling and Bittersohn mysteries as much as the very first time I read them, maaaaannny years ago! As an added bonus, we finally meet the dreadful Cousin Mabel Kelling, who turns out to be every bit the nasty old battle ax she was built up to be in previous books. Delightful!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was grand fun. The coziest of mysteries -- no direct blood and gore, lots of wry humor.

Since the background of the story is an amateur production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer, there are MANY quotations from the songs in that play. G&S fans, beware -- you, too, may find yourselves looking for a recording of the play, so that you can sing along with the characters!

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another charming cozy with plenty of twists as Sarah is on her own this time to solve a theft and a possible murder. The Kelling family is definitely unique and provide many humorous scenes to the stories.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm listening to The Plain Old Man by Charlotte MacLeod. I really liked her when I was younger, but now, and especially on audio, I find her writing annoying. I like the plot on this one - Sarah's aunt is putting on an amateur production of Gilbert and Sullivan when a painting is stolen and a cast member murdered - but enough with the interior monologue! Do something already! If it was a written book, I could skip forward, but with it being a tape, I don't know if I'm missing anything important. All this review of everything that has already happened and speculation on what might happen next - get on with it! I already read that part. Why are you telling me again? Very annoying. Why do authors do that? Do they think we can't remember from one chapter to the next? It's not like the book is that long.

Enough grumbling. I don't think I'll get any more audiobooks by her, though. Just not worth it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot, partly because I love Gilbert & Sullivan. Sarah's Aunt Emma is putting on The Sorcerer as her swan song, and since Max is in Europe, Sarah is staying with her to help. When a valuable painting of Emma's disappears and an old friend is murdered, Sarah has to do the detecting without the help of Max. As usual, there are several plot threads: the operetta; the dysfunctional family, all of whom are in the show (father is chasing a young woman in the cast, to the dismay of his daughter); ransom notes apparently related to the theft of the painting; and accidents that are plaguing the production. The one-night-only show is very successful, Sarah figures out who stole the painting and also finds it, and Max comes home at the last minute. There are also more than a few hints that Sarah may be pregnant. A fun read.

Sept 2020 - Rereading again. Still worth 5 stars.
April 2023 - Rereading

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Widowed Emma Kelling is the heart of the little theater group that's presenting Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "The Sorcerer." Naturally, when she wants an aide, she calls her niece, Sarah Bittersohn, whose husband is in Europe chasing a lost Picasso. When Emma's valuable Romney is stolen, apparently being held for ransom, Sarah's chores are doubled. Emma's old beau, cast in the small part of the Notary, dies mysteriously, and his replacement, Cousin Fred, thinks his old pal was murdered. Max arrives home just in time to find Sarah and the local police have caught the miscreants.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a devoted Gilbert and Sullivan fan, this is the mystery story for you!

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this entry into the Sarah and Max series. It's a pity that Max doesn't show up until the end, but Sarah is her usual self - helping out her much loved Aunt Emma as she leads a motley group of friends and relations in performing the Gilbert and Sullivan show, "The Sorceror". I happen to be a casual fan of G&S, though I've not seen this particular play. The book does a good job of cuing the reader in on the plot, so that's not a problem.

Slight Spoilers follow-
This particular cozy takes place almost completely in Emma's house, a grand building full of precious antiques and valuable paintings. So when a huge Romney is stolen a few days before the big performance, Sarah's attention is split between supporting her Aunt, detecting, arranging flowers, and helping costume and make-up the actors. There are plenty of puzzling questions - why the confusing ransom demands, for so little money? How did they get the huge painting out of the house? Why did they choose to steal it instead of a smaller one?

A good entry into a series that sometimes is more silly than mysterious, I always enjoy rereading this story. And end up playing some G&S when I'm done. If you like mysteries with well-drawn settings, plenty of suspects, and characters who are mostly likable and amusing, you could do a lot worse than try these. But read at least the first 3 in order.

[Virginia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgot completely that I had read a book in this series, or that it even was part of a series, but eventually I remembered Sarah as the widow who owned a boarding house in Boston. Mostly wanted to read it because of being about a Gilbert and Sullivan production; when I was a kid I knew all the lyrics and music from every play, so it was fun recognizing all the very funny parts from the operetta scattered copiously about in the story. I was confused about all the many relations in the Kelling family, however, they probably appeared in the earlier books. Also a pretty good mystery that had me puzzled til the end.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a Kelling & Bittersohn mystery, it's far and away mostly Sarah Kelling and her crazy relatives (Max is out of town for most of it), which makes it lots of fun. And there's some interesting twists. Another nice old fashioned mystery with eccentric characters and with the added interest of amateur theatrics.

[PR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a gala event almost ruined by murder and almost, mayhem. Loved this one.

Loved all the references to Gilbert and Sullivan's Musical...one of them...???...anyway...what a wonderful summer activity foe so Nant to entertain even more...A gala event...too sad to be colored by A murder for those in the kniw.
Really loved this book...one of the best so far in the series.
those viewpoints and those Bitter son's have so much intelligence, fortitude, creative and collective thinking and so much energy...I, as an old and sedentary person, could, simply, never, never, never...in any way, shape or form...keep up!
Her language is sophisticated and clever. I learn so many new vocabulary words and new quotes from folks I have never heard of, read, or experienced...such an education! Every book is a revelation in language domestic and foreign.
I sooo appreciate learning new things.
The characters are this close to being, simply,well, unbelievable...and yet believeable ...if you know what I mean???
Ah, fiction!
This tale of theater production,theater preparation, theater staging, theater direction, theater performance, theater backstage and front stage, theater costuming and actor costuming and decoration, theater set building and painting and, well, THEATER...was a real insight into just how complicated a Theater production can be and may be and is.
And then there is theft and loss and finding and plots and misadventures and murder.
This book has all that and more.
Wow.
An exhausting review.
Just sayin'.
Amen?

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this one a great deal. I think it was the combination of a good story along with Sarah's backstory, good characterization, and good ethics. Actually, the weakest part was the pro thieves. That almost seemed shoved in to make the mystery a mystery since it is part of a mystery series. However, the dirty old man got his rightful comeuppance; the bratty kids were actually incompetently trying to help their mother, who the dirty old man had been ignoring; and all loose ends were nicely tied up. If I were to keep any of the series, it would be this one. But as long as I'm pitching the rest, I will pitch this as well.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love amateur dramatics, you're in luck.

I'm now halfway through this series and this book is my least favorite so far. I can think of many ways to drive yourself to the point of suicide, but none is less appealing than amateur theatrics. Why are so many untalented people so eager to embarrass themselves in front of an audience of their friends? Keeping in mind that those unlucky friends must try to think of something complimentary that they can say with a straight face.

And why do amateur groups always insist on a musical? If they can't act, what are the chances they can sing or dance, much less all three? And is there anything to be said for Gilbert and Sullivan's moldy old operettas other than that they're long out of copyright and there's no fee to perform them?

So while it's pleasant to learn that Sarah Kelling Bittersohn has at least one relative (Aunt Emma Kelling) who isn't a stinker, I agree with Cousin Mabel (the biggest stinker of them all) that it sounds like a boring evening. Still, the Kelling clan and all their friends will turn out and money will be raised for a very worthy charity.

Sarah is staying with Aunt Emma while her husband Max is in Europe tracking down a stolen Picasso. Naturally, she comes in for all the jobs no one else wants - painting scenery, arranging flower decorations, making up the actors, and filling in for anyone who doesn't show up.

There are the usual problems and some tragic ones. A long-time admirer of the widowed Aunt Emma has agreed to take a major part, but he's found dead after falling in his bathroom during a nightly trip to relieve himself. Then the young woman who's volunteered for another big role is mugged on the way to the performance. Replacements must be found and that's not easy on short notice.

Worse, a friend of the late Charlie Daventer is convinced that his death wasn't an accident, but a murder. He convinces Sarah, but Emma insists that the police can't start investigating until after the show. Murder or no murder, the show must go on.

Another strange incident is the disappearance of a valuable portrait of a family ancestress, one Ernestina Kelling. No one wants to inherit the ugly thing, but it was painted by Romney and it's worth a bundle. Again, Emma insists that the disappearance be kept secret until after the show. This is going to be her last performance and she intends everything to go smoothly.

Of course, it doesn't, since the murder, an attempted murder, the mugging, and the art theft are all connected. Fortunately, Max is back in town to help the cops wrap up the case and catch the guilty parties. It's really too complicated to make much sense, but if you don't share my dislike of amateur theatricals, you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.

I'm just hoping that the next in the series will get away from stagecraft completely. Enough is enough.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the last book in the series very much because there was a decided lack of Sarah. This book balanced that with a decided lack of Max. It was an interesting premise but I have to admit, I missed the other person in each book. Though Sarah's family is always a nice mix that keeps the story moving. Overall, this was a fun book that, once you got through the beginning chapters, kept things moving right along.
In this book, her cousin Emma is the spearhead of the local community theater. Sarah has been called down to help out painting the scenes and doing other work. The regular players are all in attendance including the fresh-faced ingenue whose father is an aging roue and whose mother has mostly resigned herself to her lot in life. Then there is the slightly-older-than-the ingenue who is seemingly involved with the roue. There is also a plain old man who has been out with gout but has recently been able to rejoin the group. Too bad he dies in a bathroom fall shortly thereafter. But his childhood friend suspects that it wasn't quite the accident it seems. And since that friend is another of Sarah's relatives, she is pulled in to investigate that case as well as the disappearance of a family portrait worth a lot of money.

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Plain Old Man (#6) — Charlotte MacLeod (21 chapters) Nov. 19-24, 2020

In the sixth book, Sarah is going it alone as Max is off in Finland tracking another famous painting. Emma Kelling is putting together a operetta but is met with several set back, as first her friend Charlie is a victim of a crime and other actors in the play are injured.

Sarah is enlisted to help with the stage and makeup but as the injuries pile up, she is tasked with more. Uncle Fred is enlisted too and before you know it, Fred and Sarah are attempting to solve the mystery.

This story was very draggy, I’m sad to say, but it did pick up and become entertaining in the end. The plot was dry, with not a lot of dialog to begin with, but towards the end it perked up.

I read this on my Kobo and I am going to guess that they OCR’d this from paperback to ebook form. There were several grammatical errors (mostly word spellings and spaces,) which led me to believe that this is what was going on.

Otherwise, an OK read.

Three stars. Barely.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Kelling Bittersohn is helping out her Aunt Emma while husband Max is chasing art thieves in Europe; Emma has been presenting the Pirates of Pleasaunce theater troupe in Gilbert and Sullivan productions for ages, but “The Sorcerer” is to be her swan song as her voice is no longer up to the task Sarah is happy to have her mind occupied in theatrical business, but when a huge painting of Emma’s, one worth a huge amount of money, somehow goes missing from Emma’s home, the matters distracting Sarah from Max’s absence take on a deadly tone….This is the sixth novel in the Sarah Kelling series, and this time around it’s all Sarah, with Max putting in an appearance only at the very end. The cast of characters, many of whom are Sarah’s relatives, is large and eccentric, and I must say that I didn’t catch on to the culprit until just before Sarah does, always gratifying in a mystery! I’m quite enjoying this series, set in 1980s Boston (for the most part), particularly because of the fun it pokes at the very rich, but also because Sarah is such a delightful character; recommended!

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the cleverer mysteries in this series . Sarah is off helping one of her favorite Kellings put on a Gilbert and Sullivan show, while Max is in Europe. A painting disappears, and Sarah tries to find it and solve the murder of one of the innumerable Kellings, while the show of course must go on. I disagree with some people's determination not to bring in the police right away, but hey, it's fiction, and this series always reminds me of my first full time boss, and her friends.

This fulfills the 2018 Popsugar challenge of a book involving a heist.

The picture is hidden under the dining table.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | One of the better installments in the series, though I missed Max | Not sure why MacLeod wrote so many series with partner leads, if she found it so difficult to split the narrative between them. It seems she generally focuses each book on one half of the couple, either removing the other entirely or leaving them mostly out of the action. That said, this was a better version of Sarah than the last time she took centerstage, and a much better selection of Kellings. Reasonable mystery. One of the plot synopses here on GoodReads has an important inaccuracy, describing the victim falsely in a way that changes your expectation of the story.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is interspersed with lines from Gilbert and Sullivan because the play's the core of the plot. Aunt Emma is a grand managing widow known for her generosity and also for producing the operetta populated by Kellings and locals. Then a very valuable painting goes missing right off the dining room wall and a kindly old man gets dead under suspicious circumstances. Sarah has to organize the sleuthing by herself because husband Max is out of the country investigating a different art theft. Almost all comes out well in the end and a lot of laughs had by the reader.
Andi Arndt is the excellent narrator.

[Cindyann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hardcover
FINALLY! This book was only 150 pages but it took me WAY too long to read it. Words like..micturitional, ukade, parure, steatopygia, orison, soubrettes, gudgeon, taboret and meed are partly why. I'm still on the search for an Agatha Christie-like author and Ms MacLeod has been on several lists comparing the two. Copyright says 1985 but it reads like something from the 40's. And because of the archaic language and sentence structure, I kept confusing the setting for England instead of Boston. I want to say this is my 2nd MacLeod book but I'm not sure. One more chance is all I'm willing to grant.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I truly liked the first two or three books of this series, and looked forward to reading the entire set. However, beginning with about #4 or so, my interest flagged. The writing was still good, but I've decided my lack of interest stems from the abundance of characters in each book. I understand the New England eccentricities that are highlighted, but there are too many people with odd names to keep up with. I'll not be purchasing any more of this series, which saddens me, because I never tired of the main characters of Sarah and Max.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very charming cozy mystery, my first in this series. I love whodunits, musical theatre and stories about stolen paintings, so this one had all three. One qualm, Max doesn't come in till the very end and has nothing to do with the investigation so I'll need to pick up another book to get to know the second half of the duo. I wasn't really all that invested in figuring out what had happened, because I was really enjoying the story. The ending was a little too coincidental, but I liked it.

[Margaret A. Altemus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fun Mystery

When I began the book, I really wasn’t sure I’d like it. I have loved Max and Sarah and, from the beginning of the book, Sarah was alone with her multitude of relatives while Max was on a case.
Once I got though a few chapters it was clear Sarah could manage the twists and turns on her own while still managing to help her aunt pull off a big privation.
Theft, conspiracies, a car wreck and a clever hiding place wrap i

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a lot of Charlotte MacLeod books buried somewhere in storage. (I need bookshelves!!) Until I can uncover them, I've been enjoying them ala books on tape. Unfortunately, my eyesight precludes me reading too many physical books, so I am so thankful to the person or persons who invented audio books.

[Gabrielle David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is one of my comfort reads. It was written before cell phones and computers took over the world and, — while I would go I to withdrawals if you took my tablet phone, and computer away — I find that soothing.

[Gary Allen, PhD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boing, boring, I mean incredibly boring. Reading this book is like sitting with a knitting old maid listening to her incessantly drone about her cats. This was an ebook but had it been a print version I would have happily burned it.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to have Sarah back in the spotlight in this audiobook, after Max was featured in the last one. I do sometimes have trouble keeping up with all the characters and feel a little nostalgic for the boarding house setting. Nicely plotted story