A Very Particular Murder

Benjamin Jurnet #5

by S.T. Haymon

Inspector Ben Jurnet puzzles over the mysterious death of brilliant physicist Max Flaschner, whose death, he is certain, is connected to a paper on quantum physics he was to present

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

"One of the purest lyric voices in the mystery field" New York Times Book Review

Sylvia Theresa Haymon was born in Norwich, and is best known for her eight crime fiction novels featuring the character Inspector Ben Jurnet. Haymon also wrote two non-fiction books for children, as well as two memoirs of her childhood in East Anglia.

The Ben Jurnet series enjoyed success in both the UK and the US during Haymon’s lifetime: Ritual Murder (1982) won the prestigious CWA Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association. Stately Homicide (1984), a skilful variation on the country house mystery, was praised by the New York Times as a 'brilliantly crafted novel of detection...stylish serious fiction', and favourably compared to the work of Dorothy L. Sayers.

Reviews

[Velveeta · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay read.......despite its title, it has very little to do with particle physics and you will not learn anything about physics at all - more likely to be informed about the process of converting to judaism and about orange juice than quantum mechanics......

good beach read

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part I:

Currently, I'm reading A Very Particular Murder by S. T. Haymon. For the curious...yes, this is one of my book-binge treasures. I've read both of Haymon's previous books (Death of a God and Death & the Pregnant Virgin) which titles give one the idea that Haymon has a religious theme going. But not really...all of the novels do have a hint (the current book has an odd little reverend among the suspects), but that's not the focus. This one caught my eye at first simply because I've enjoyed the other books. But, once I read the back and discovered that a professor was the victim...well, there was no way this one wasn't coming home with me.

I've had a hard time getting through this one. Not because it's a bad story--on the contrary, it's quite a nice little puzzle. Was the poisoned orange juice meant for the Professor's adopted son as it seems or did the poison reach the intended victim after all? And, in either case, who had the chance to do it? My trouble lies in in not having time to get through it. I've been sidetracked by the real-life mystery called "Can we get my son to the rank of Eagle Scout before his 18th birthday (Aug 15)?" We'll have to see.

In the meantime, I've been stealing time to read this evening while we're in a bit of an Eagle Scout Project lull and have come across this little gem: "A man was dead--the wrong man, it seemed; which must have given those ruddy physicists no end of joy, the random universe behaving randomly."

Part II:

Wow. S. T. Haymon has provided a double-twist ending. And I didn't see either one of them coming. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that.....(sorry, don't want to spoil the ending) or that.....would happen next. It's been a long time since an ending has surprised me like that (Ten Little Indians [And Then There Were None by Christie?? That may be the last one.). The writing is a bit convoluted at the end...otherwise, I would have rated this one higher. [I gave it 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.] And I might have been even more surprised if I hadn't had to reread certain sentences to make sure I got what Haymon was trying to say. I also deducted points for the physicist bits. A bit much when all one wants is a good read. Every once in a while I DO want to read about science...but I head to the non-fiction section for that.

This was first posted on my blog: My Reader's Block (click above). Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Jurnet has been dragged under protest to a dinner at Angleby Castle commemorating the tercentenary of a well-known local scientist. During the dinner a famous professor dies after drinking some orange juice meant for someone else and Ben find himself a witness to a suspicious death.

What follows is an fascinating and complicated plot involving many strange events and an equal number of strange people who may or may not be connected in some way which Ben find difficult to understand. Then there’s his doubts about his long distance relationship with Miriam who is currently in Israel.

I enjoyed this mystery and found the academic rivalries well done and convincing. I also liked the complex web of relationships between the suspects. As ever the characters are well drawn and believable and Ben Jurnet’s haphazard religious conversion and doubts are convincing.

Will he eventually achieve his conversion and marry Miriam? The jury’s out on that one though there is no doubt about his commitment to his job or his love for Angleby. If you like classic crime novels then give this series a try – they can be read in any order.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some things I liked about this book (the British setting), but i was so angry by the end at some of the ridiculous plot elements and excessive gore and lack of character consistency, that I vowed not to read any more of this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not convinced that what happened in the mystery could have taken place, or that people would act in this way.

[Brenda Orr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awkward.
Not enough along
the physics line.
Read Odd Thomas
instead