Celia Fremlin Collection 3 Books Set

by Celia Fremlin

Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched

Celia Fremlin Collection 3 Books

Uncle
The holidays have begun. In a seaside caravan resort, Isabel and her sister Meg build sandcastles with the children, navigate deckchair politics, explore the pier's delights, gorge ice cream in the sun. But their half-sister Mildred has returned to a nearby coastal cottage where her husband.

The Hours Before
Louise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine. Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do.

The Long
Jolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can't quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can't honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago. As the nights draw in, Imogen finds her home filling up with unexpected guests, who may be looking for more than simple festive cheer.

768 pages, Paperback

Published August 18, 2023

About the author

Celia was born in Kingsbury, now part of London, England. She was the daughter of Heaver Fremlin and Margaret Addiscott. Her older brother, John H. Fremlin, later became a nuclear physicist. Celia studied at Somerville College, Oxford University. From 1942 to 2000 she lived in Hampstead, London. In 1942 she married Elia Goller, with whom she had three children; he died in 1968. In 1985, Celia married Leslie Minchin, who died in 1999. Her many crime novels and stories helped modernize the sensation novel tradition by introducing criminal and (rarely) supernatural elements into domestic settings. Her 1958 novel The Hours Before Dawn won the Edgar Award in 1960.

With Jeffrey Barnard, she was co-presenter of a BBC2 documentary “Night and Day” describing diurnal and nocturnal London, broadcast 23 January 1987.

Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia...]

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Uncle Paul is a republished book from and set in the 1950s by Celia Fremlin.
I loved the cover and sound of this book, but it felt a little flat. It's well written with a few little red herrings along the way but I didn't really warm to any of the characters and found the plot quite flat. This would make a light thriller read for a lazy summer day at the beach especially one in the UK where the book is set.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m gradually rooting for out the work of Celia Fremlin to read and this is a great holiday book. Some witty character sketches and interesting twists in the plot.

[Ella Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, slow paced book, perfect for the beach but it simply took too long for anything to happen. The ending happened very suddenly and we didn’t get to see the aftermath which would’ve been really interesting since there was so much about the relationships between the characters rather than the mystery.

[spotsoftime · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit of a weird one that had promise but didn’t really go anywhere. I don’t mind a lot of characterisation and no plot but even I was reading it think where is this going?/is anything ever going to happen. And then into the worst Agatha Christiersque plot where we’re supposed to believe someone wouldn’t recognise the person they married, let alone the rest of the family, after a few years? I think the ‘jolly’ cover doesn’t help as it promises more than it can give. I liked Meg and Freddy and Cedric but if it had been thicker I think I would have left it.

[D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book TEDIOUS to read and I blame it on my reading slump. I was having to force myself to read it. It was extremely slow with minor and boring things being completely over explained. The end was not at all satisfying and I just generally did not enjoy the way it was written at all.

[Johanna Berger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die englische Südküste in den 50er Jahren, englisches Sommerwetter, Ferien, Tee in Thermoskannen und Sandwiches dazu, ein Caravan-Park, eine Strandpromenade, ein Picknick, ein einsames Cottage auf den Klippen und das Personal „as British as can be“. Ich kann da kaum widerstehen.
Meg wird von Isabel, ihrer Schwester, per Telegramm an einen Badeort gerufen. Die ebenfalls anwesende, viel ältere Halbschwester Mildred brauche Hilfe. Meg reagiert sofort, informiert noch den undurchsichtigen, aber attraktiven Freund Freddie und begibt sich zu Isabel, die mit den zwei kleinen Kindern drei Wochen in einem schäbigen Caravan-Park verbringt. Deren zweiter Mann Philip, ebenfalls ein recht merkwürdiger Geselle, ist oft abwesend, hat angeblich in der Stadt zu tun. Immer anwesend – wenn auch nicht in Person – ist Uncle Paul. Eigentlich seit 15 Jahren im Gefängnis, weil er versucht hat seine erste Frau umzubringen. Damals war es die sechsjährige Meg, die ihn hinter Schloss und Riegel gebracht hat, als sie zufällig in der Zeitung, in welcher der Fisch fürs Dinner verpackt war, sein Fahndungsfoto erblickte. Sie erkannte die Ähnlichkeit mit dem Mann Mildreds, die ihn dann an die Polizei verriet. Nun, nach fünfzehn Jahren, fürchtet Mildred die Rückkehr des einst so geliebten Mannes, ausgerechnet in dem einsamen Cottage auf den Klippen, in dem sie glückliche Tage mit ihm verbrachte. Mysteriöse Dinge passieren. Freddie taucht auch plötzlich auf …
Cosy Crime (before the term was coined), sehr altmodisch spannend (zumindest zu zwei Dritteln). Natürlich vergisst die dem Mysterium hinterherforschende Meg an wichtigen Stellen die entscheidende Frage zu stellen oder will eine vermeintlich gefährdete Person nicht mit ihren Erkenntnissen verstören, sodass sich die Lage dramatisch zuspitzen kann. Die Auflösung enttäuscht etwas (wie bei vielen Krimis), aber die Atmosphäre, die Celia Fremlin schafft, und ihr englischer Humor sind für Großbritannien-Fans Suchtstoff! Beste Unterhaltung für zwei Nachmittage mit durchwachsenem (englischem) Sommerwetter.
(Besprechung bezieht sich nur auf "Uncle Paul!)

[Averil Travers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Exceedingly funny ; omg Cedric will forever stay lodged in my brain. In fact I now have a word to describe a person when they act in a gauche way. He’s a “no it all” but with the innocence of being one. Celia Fremlin captures middle England so well creating a medley of truly wonderful and unforgettable characters and scenarios that are laugh out loud. She is in the same league as PG Wodehouse. I would highly recommend this book.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is under 300 pages long but felt like forever to finish.

I liked the characters and the chaos but was disappointed throughout. The implication of murder mystery that I got was not true. The last 100 pages had the drama I had been waiting for.

This book will keep you reading as you wait for the 'nightmare' to occur. I felt like I just read a book about people on holiday. Not for me.

[Amy Moo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I've had this on my TBR for over a year and thought it was about time I gave it a try. Managed to find the audiobook via Libby and whilst it wasn't the worst book ever, it certainly wasn't the best.
Not sure I appreciate the writing style so probably a 'me' issue (isn't it always).

[Tina Collingwood]

Did not enjoy this one at all

[Mrs J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book. It felt like my Gran had tried to write a thriller. Gave up a few chapters in which is a shame as it could been a good book.

[Marie-Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

Very slow for the first half. I didn’t mind the resolve of the plot and I enjoyed the characters of Meg and Isabel. It just lacked.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting and clever read.

Recommended reading for fans of vintage mysteries

[EleanxrC. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind've spooky but I enjoyed

[Jurek Minderman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeer gecompliceerd boek, verhaal interessant maar wel verwarrend. Voor mij geen pareltje