Every Trick in the Book

DI Garibaldi #3

by Bernard O'Keeffe

‘When the body of Alex Ballantyne is found in Barnes Pond the police are baffled. Who could want to kill the newly retired teacher? Investigations bring them to St Jude’s, the prestigious private school where Ballantyne taught, and to the discovery that Ballantyne had been blackmailing several of his colleagues. Sex. Money. Drugs. It seems that Ballantyne knew all about his victims’ secrets, and they were prepared to pay to buy his silence. Is one of the St Jude’s staff the killer? And, if so, which one? DI Moriarty’s on the case and he’s soon discovering that nothing is quite as it seems.’

So runs the blurb of ‘Schooled in Murder’, a crime novel written by Ben Joseph, who is found dead in Barnes Pond the morning after giving a talk as part of the Barnes Book Festival.

DI Garibaldi and his team are shocked to discover that the writer has been killed in exactly the same place, and in exactly the same way, as the victim in ‘Schooled in Murder’.

When they look at the novel they see more connections with real life. Ben Joseph is the pseudonym of Liam Allerton who, like the victim in his novel, is a retired teacher. And he taught at St Mark’s, a school very similar to St Jude’s, the school in his novel.

But is that where the similarities end? How much of Allerton’s own life, and the lives of those he knew, had he put into his novel? And could the clue to the killer’s identity lie in its pages?

Genres: Crime, Fiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2024

About the author

I studied English at Oxford, and started out in advertising. It wasn’t for me, and I soon escaped to train as a teacher.

I turned to crime writing when I stopped teaching. The Final Round, the first DI Garibaldi novel, came out in 2021, and the series has grown from there.

If I had to describe the books, I’d call them cosy procedurals—books with dark elements but not hard-boiled, gritty or violent.

As The Times put it:
“Bernard O’Keeffe’s series is as genteel as the suburb (SW13) in which it is set. Swearing, graphic sex and gore are, for once, off the menu. The gentle humour, oodles of clues and happyish ending create perfect comfort reading.”

Like DI Garibaldi, I live in Barnes. When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading, listening to music, playing Elizabethan Bowls, or watching football—or at least the version of it that QPR play.

Reviews

[Zelda FeatzReviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Every Trick in the Book” is a crime novel that intertwines the worlds of fiction and reality, adding layers of complexity to an already intriguing mystery. The story opens with the discovery of Alex Ballantyne; 's body in Barnes Pond, leaving the police perplexed about who would want to harm the newly retired teacher. As Detective Inspector Moriarty delves into the investigation, he uncovers a web of secrets and scandals involving the prestigious private school, St Jude’s, where Ballantyne taught.
The plot takes a metafictional turn when Ben Joseph, the author of the crime novel” Schooled in Murder:., is found dead in the same manner and location as his fictional victim. DI Garibaldi and his team are astounded by the eerie parallels between reality and fiction, raising questions about the boundaries between the two.
Visit the blog for more: https://featzreviews.com/every-trick-...

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Partner Random Things Tours & Muswell Press. My opinions are my own.

When the body of a local author Liam Allerton is found in the pond after giving a talk at the Barnes Book Festival, local DI Garibaldi and his team are tasked with investigating the murder. Making it all the more strange, the murder seems to have jumped right out of the pages of Allerton's hit novel. And the similarities don't end with the murder. Garibaldi and his team only find more and more connections between the book and real life, leading them to wonder how much life imitates art...or does it create it?

With this book I dove right into the middle of this series and I'm so glad I did! This being a book about a crime based on a book was fun (what made it even more fun was that the actual author, O'Keeffe, really does live in Barnes and really was a teacher before becoming an author)! I can see DI Garibaldi appealing to Chief Inspector Gamache fans, with a more "police procedural" vibe: Garibaldi and his team work things out as much through trial and error as much as (if not more than) through sudden brainwaves. Garibaldi was very human, with his own life and minor dramas, and I appreciated the theme of "don't assume" that came up with regularity. I enjoyed this book very much and will be going back to read previous books in the series now!

[Emma Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Whoever did it must have read it.'

When local author and recently retired teacher Liam Allerton is found drowned in Barnes Pond, just like the retired teacher in his debut novel, it's a curious case of life imitating art - or rather, his death imitating his art - but when DI Garibaldi reads Allerton's novel, it seems this is only the first of some startling coincidences...

-- What's it about? --

The eerie similarity between the deaths of Alex Ballantyne and his author, Liam Allerton, begins with a drowning. Alex dies the night of his retirement drinks at The Sun pub; Liam dies the night of his book talk after having drinks at The Sun pub; and both are found floating in the same spot in Barnes pond. It's impossible for the detectives not to look closely at Liam's book to check for parallels, which quickly mount up.

DI Garibaldi reads and re-reads the novel, searching for clues, but even as the parallels persist he and his team try to maintain a broader view of the case. Just because Liam died in the same manner as his character doesn't mean the book holds the key to his murder - or does it? It's certainly holding the key to something, and there are four rather worried teachers who may have featured in Liam's book as victims of blackmail and who were definitely at The Sun pub with Liam the night he died.

Was Liam also a blackmailer? Are any of the teachers guilty of the crimes Alex accused his colleagues of? Or do the answers lie outside the pages of Liam's novel?

-- What's it like? --

This is a slow paced police investigation, summed up beautifully at one point by the detective himself, outlining the scope of both Allerton's 'Schooled in Murder' and O'Keefee's 'Every Trick in the Book' whilst ostensibly commenting on the former! This was one of the elements I most enjoyed: there's a very entertaining focus on reading and evaluating crime fiction that implicitly encourages readers to reflect on O'Keefe's novel as much as Allerton's. While Garibaldi concludes that Liam's story, 'Has its flaws but it's actually pretty good', his colleague is concerned that it's all a 'Bit unlikely, isn't it?' But Garibaldi notes that:

'People don't read these things for their truthfulness, do they? If they did we'd have pages and pages of him sitting at his desk reading reports, wouldn't we?'

This is the kind of gentle playing with the boundaries of fiction that I enjoy and I found it a genuine source of pleasure.

The plot itself unspools a little repetitively; we visit the same four teachers and get the impression they are worried...then we revisit them and they are a bit more worried, then we...you get the picture. Garibaldi and his colleagues talk about Allerton's book and the parallels to his death, then they say that they really shouldn't look exclusively at the book, but it's hard to escape it when there's so many bizarre similarities, and then they talk about the book again. I enjoyed all the theorising about the book and random facts about other books, but I also wanted them to realise the obvious connections and the spot the very logical villain!

-- Final thoughts --

I really enjoyed all the talking about the book, but in terms of the actual crime solving, it felt like that mostly happened in the last five minutes of the story and was largely due to an unforced error on the villain's part and the late fixing of similar on the police side. Garibaldi prides himself on being smart (he's very keen that everyone know that, actually, graffiti is plural, so the vandalism encountered later on in the story should be referred to graffito, singular!) so I would have liked to see him spot the obvious. He did work out several things, but I think these initially distracted him from the logical conclusion. Obviously if he had, that would have potentially made for a much shorter or a very different story!

O'Keefee writes well and this is easy and fun to read. I enjoyed Garibaldi's characterisation (I absolutely will be using that graffito fact) and the scenes with his family didn't feel like they were interrupting the main action. This book is the third in a series and it worked well as a standalone, probably at least in part due to Garibaldi's quite positive characterisation. Although he has nothing good to say about his ex-wife, he's perfectly cheerful and his biggest concern (other than the fact that he appears to be still getting advice from his dead mother) in this book is that his son briefly staying with him stops him frolicking with his girlfriend. All in all, I'd be quite happy to try another book in this series.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really rather enjoyed this book. Garibaldi is a great character, a man of sharp mind and a really good guy to spend time with. Add into the mix a mystery which has a wonderful literary theme, a cast of characters who it is quite clear couldn't lie straight in bed, and bunch of secrets that are clearly worth killing for to protect, and the scene is set for an absorbing, rapid paced book that had me completely engrossed from start to finish.

Now,it's probably obvious given the premise of this blog, and the nature of the books that I tend to review, that I like a good crime thriller or mystery. Well, with Every Trick In The Book, Bernard O'Keefe serves up a mystery within a mystery, and a sleight of hand kind of story where all of the clues are there but, not surprisingly perhaps, pointing us all in the wrong direction. The night after a well attended book talk as part of the Barnes Book Festival, a body is found in Barnes Pond, in circumstances eerily reminiscent of the featured author's novel. The victim? Why it's the author, of course, and, in a case of life imitating art, imitating life, there are no end of suspects for Garibaldi and the team to get to grips with. The book, Schooled In Murder, is set in a school that is startlingly familiar to many, and very closely based on the author's previous place of employment. The 'suspects' in the novel, very similar to some of his former colleagues too ...

I loved the way that the author has played with the link between the book and the investigation, using one to inform, and misdirect, the other. The blurred lines between reality and fiction makes everyone in this case an unreliable witness, and the strange behaviour that they all exhibit over the course of the investigation does nothing to dispell the feeling of mistrust that grew with every turn of the page. It meant that the killer was able to hide in plain sight, although I will confess I had some suspicions, probably because I read so many crime novels myself and have a very suspicious mind about all motives, real or fictional.

The book itself is a lot of fun, utilising many points of view - that of Garibaldi and his team, the various witnesses, and even the author/victim himself, by way of various snippets from the book - and this really keeps you on your toes as a reader. It's clear there is more to what is going on than meets the eye, and the overly defensive nature of the writer's former colleagues makes the mistrust grow. The pacing is spot on, the peaks and troughs of the investigation mirrored in the flow of the narrative. The way in which the team are constantly drawn back to the book, the replay of the novel in real life, made me smile, wondering if somehow the author wasn't just still toying with people from beyond the grave. He clearly didn't murder himself, but there was a kind of malicious glee about the whole process that had me smiling throughout.

This book, the series really, has a good blend between the investigation and allowing readers to get to know more about Garibaldi and his personal life. There is clearly something afoot in this book, for reasons that become obvious in the reading. Garibaldi is a troubled soul at times, but in a new and settled relationship following the break up of his marriage. He's not a clichéd Detective, drunk and broken down, but there are moments of maudlin that creep in, and scenes of tension particularly when dealing with his ex-wife over their son. Thankfully he has a great partner in love with Rachel, and in work with DS Gardner. There is a good amount of banter and camaraderie between them which makes them fun to tag along with, and for once, no antagonism between them and their DCI, Deighton, which I do prefer in a crime novel to be honest.

If you like a fun, mystery packed, police investigation, with untrustworthy characters, a bunch of twisted, and sometimes shocking secrets, and a victim who isn't perhaps as squeaky clean as you'd like to think, then this is a book I'd heartily recommend. It's not a gritty read, not quite cosy - it walks the line somewhere in between, and it's a cracking good story. I love the characters and loved the flow of the story, and I have to make sure I read book two sometime soon to catch up on all that I've missed.

[Eyejaybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This marks the third outing for Detective Inspector Jim Garibaldi (‘like the biscuit’, as he has become tired of acknowledging whenever anyone seems surprised by his surname), and is a very welcome return. Garibaldi lives and works in Barnes, a village-like district of London found on the south bank of the Thames.

Garibaldi is that relatively rare character, a bookish policeman, and while his biggest regret is that he never had the opportunity to go to university, he in an academic manqué, which manifests itself in his frequent inability to stop himself publicly correcting his colleagues’ grammar, or making comments designed primarily to let others know how clever he is. Despite this, he is an engaging and empathetic character.

I had already enjoyed this series with its clever plots and entirely plausible characters, with the added spur of knowing Barnes fairly well.. Bernard O’Keeffe’s description of it is affectionate and accurate. However, I found this instalment especially enjoyable as I have always loved metafiction. This book opens with Garibaldi and his domestic partner Rachel attending a public reading of a crime novel by the local author who had recently retired from their work as a teacher at a nearby independent school. The novel revolves around the death of its primary protagonist, who also turned pout to be a recently retired teacher who had worked at a private school near the Thames.

Life imitates art yet further when the novelist is killed in exactly the same way, and in exactly the same place, as the protagonist of the novel. Similarities then emerge between various aspects of the dead man’s life and that of his character. Garibaldi and his colleagues investigate, and find themselves enmeshed in complications as they try to unravel the similarities and contrasts between the real and fictional lives. The vicinity of Barnes is lovingly depicted, and emerges almost as another character in the book.

I am already now impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Muswell Press for an advance copy of Every Trick in the Book, the third novel to feature DI Jim Garibaldi of the Met.

The morning after Liam Allerton, writing under the pseudonym Ben Joseph, gives a talk about his first novel Schooled in Murder, he is found dead in Barnes Pond, just like his protagonist. DI Garibaldi and the team start investigating and find more similarities to real life within the novel. Is it a roman à clef or simply cryptic clues?

I thoroughly enjoyed Every Trick in the Book, which has an unusual premise and plenty of twists. It is told mostly from Garibaldi’s point of view, with some other characters chipping in from time to time to add further intrigue and mystery.

In Schooled in Murder the protagonist, Alex Ballantyne, a recently retired teacher is murdered after blackmailing four of his colleagues. Liam Allerton has been retired for three years, but four of his former colleagues turn up at his talk and join him in the pub later. Naturally Garibaldi turns his attention to them, but all is not as it seems and he spends an inordinate amount of time trying to get purchase on Liam’s codes and linking these characters to the “fictional” ones. I must admit that it is all a bit convoluted, while being interesting and absorbing. The solution has a neat irony that I appreciated.

I like Jim Garibaldi, the book and country music aficionado, as he’s smart and thinks laterally, but I mostly like him because he hates his ex-wife’s new partner and is quite funny about it. He is even tempered, unless speaking to his ex-wife, and has few vices, so that’s a refreshing change.

Every Trick in the Book is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all in the title!

Like a cryptic crossword provides quiet pleasure, this DI Garibaldi whodunnit is an excellent tonic for those who like to think their way through a medley of clues, red herrings and wryly humorous writing. When the writer of a crime novel, a recently retired teacher, is found murdered in exactly the same way as the victim in his first novel, who is himself a recently retired teacher blackmailing former colleagues, the police begin to examine the lives of certain teachers known to the victim to see if life is imitating art. Or not, as the case might be.

Of course what we are reading is a novel which contains a similar novel, an imaginary victim who has created an imaginary victim; two dead teachers, both of whom enjoyed crossword puzzles, and both of who knew more than they should have about some of their colleagues. The reader is warned throughout that what is in the book may not be at all relevant to the case, that life rarely imitates art, but the writing here is so persuasive, the clues (and red herrings) so sensitively done that it all too easy to fall into the writer's traps, or indeed the murderer's.

[Alyce Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Muswell Press and NetGalley for the eARC in return for my honest opinion of this book.

Ben Joseph is a mystery writer, who after giving a talk at a local book festival, is found dead in the exact same circumstances as the dead body in his book. Except it turns out Ben Joseph is only his nom de plume, he's really Liam Allerton, a retired Math's teacher. What's even stranger is the setting for Allerton's book mimics the real school he taught in. The four suspects in the book were all teachers being blackmailed by the writer. Not suprisingly, four of Allerton's former colleagues show up to his talk. Was Allerton blackmailing them? Is Allerton's book really autobiographical?

What a great plot. Lot's of lovely twisty turns. I did guess who the murderer was fairly early on and in my opinion there were just a few too many twists. It's a good read and the lead detective, DI Garibaldi is a charming, likeable detective. This is the third book in the DI Garibaldi series and I look forward to reading more. 3 out of 5 stars

[alexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story definitely kept me on my toes. I was in a bit of a slump before this and I worried if the book wasn’t up to my expectations, it would get even worse but thankfully, it was even better.
I liked how DI Garibaldi explored every possible lead and how all the leads went somewhere, even if it wasn’t the main crime.
I might just be terrible at guessing books, which is a strong possibility, but I had quite literally no clue who the murdered might have been. Now looking back, I can see, mainly towards the end, that there were clues that could have led me into the right direction and that’s exactly how I like my mystery books.
I am not a fan of unreliable narrators who showed up in this book but honestly? I can’t be mad because it was important for the overall story and, again, looking back I could have picked up on it earlier than I did.
Overall, this book was much better than I expected it to be and although I haven’t read the rest of the series, I am quite tempted to do that now

[Fatguyreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Trick in the Book is the third installment in Bernard O'Keeffe's DI Garibaldi series and having enjoyed the previous book, I was looking forward to reading this, and let me tell you, It did not disappoint.

Without giving too much away, Ben Joseph is a mystery writer who is found dead in the exact same circumstances as the dead body in his book. Enter DI Garibaldi and his team who are confounded by the uncanny resemblance between the author's demise and the character in his book. Our story then progresses from there.

For me, the first half of the book lays a great foundation, but I found the second half lost some pace. But that didn’t really take away from the quality and flow of the writing and storyline, which I found to be superb.

The plot is great, with lots of great twists and turns and I found DI Garibaldi to be a likeable, charming character.

4 stars from me.

[Claire Annals · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the earlier books in the series but the blurb of this book intrigued me. A first-time author is murdered and his body is found in the same place as the character in his book? Well, that just has to be read, doesn't it? I really enjoyed the book - it wasn't shocking or explicit but was comforting in a Sunday afternoon drama kind of way. There were some bits about the main character's former life that I didn't understand why they were there - which may be explained if I'd read the first two books. The identity of the murderer was a good twist. I look forward to meeting DI Garibaldi again in the future. Thanks to #netgalley for a copy of this book.

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Muswell Press for the eARC.
The beginning of the book was very enjoyable . I especially liked DI Garibaldi and the parts describing his private life.
The murder of the author exactly mimicking the murder of his book's protagonist was intriguing and so were many other strange parallels. The plot is very twisty and a bit complicated. Garibaldi and his team are stumped.
The very lengthy guessing game trying to figure out who and what, got too boring after a while and I ended up disappointed with the read. Sorry!

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic concept for a book, I loved watching Garibaldi and his team working on the clues and seeing the similarities between fiction and real life.

As well as the interesting characters, I loved the setting of the book, luckily I have the two previous books to read and learn more about the town (this can be read as a standalone)

If you are looking for a book where you feel that you are a part of the investigations, this is the book for you. I found myself re-reading parts to see if I could find any different similarities 😂.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every trick in the book - Bernard O'Keeffe

This is the third book in the DI Garibaldi series and while I have not read the other books in the series it was easy to read and get into the series.

Ben Joseph a mystery writer is found murdered the morning after giving a talk about his new book, but Ben Joseph is also Liam Allerton a retired maths teacher.

This book was an easy read with one too many twists in my opinion and while I figured out the murderer early one ( I try and do this with all mystery books) it is worth a read .

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was trying to be a bit too clever, the book, the names, the coincidental tie-in with the authors workplace and colleagues and the - gasp - codes!

I didn't think much of the codes.
And in the end it's sheer luck that they find the guilty party anyway.

Note: He's wrong. Graffito is only used in an archaeological context - a deliberate mark made by scratching or engraving on a large surface such as a wall.
The modern writing on walls in pen, paint, etc the plural and singular is graffiti.

[Martha Brindley · Rating 3 out of 5]

DI Garibaldi is investigating the murder of an author, found dead after a local book event. The murder copied the plotting from the author's recent book. I liked the background detail of Garibaldi, a good insight into his life. The plotting was good but with too many twists and it was a bit lengthy, which made me lose interest. I found it just a bit boring and was disappointed with the read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

[Megan Wintrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Garibaldi is back again with another murder. A murder of an author this time.

When things start pointing in one direction are they really as it seems? Or is it something completely different?

Garibaldi and his team work together to find the culprit, with some unexpected twists along the way what will the outcome be? Who is the killer? Why did they do it?

I really liked this book, I liked the characters and the story was good. It was a nice pace of story that also kept you guessing.

[Zuzu Burford · Rating 2 out of 5]

.
Bernard O'Keeffe utilized the book Every Trick in the Book to explore every cryptic idea a writer may have in their repertoire. It was said of over numerous times "this bloody book"and making the plot more akin to how much cryptic mystery could be contained in one story.
Had the murder solution come from left field, I could have put up with all of this, but the payoff was hardly worth the wait. 2.5 for me.
An independent review for NetGalley / Muswell Press

[Debs · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 and a half stars. At times it was an interesting story... but somehow it didn't strike my fancy. The character's were not well developed, except for Garibaldi, who was a bit full of himself.
On ok book but nothing exciting...

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very readable book by Bernard O’Keefe. A good plot and kept my interest til the end

[Kay Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ticks many boxes. Well constructed with some character diversity. Misses the zing of some other mystery series but fine as addition to English police proceural mystery genre.

[Tayla Megan Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s really easy to sit and find fault in someone’s book, to sit and nit pick every little detail but when I sit and think about this book as a whole and the experience of reading the story I actually really really enjoyed it. Firstly I love it when the book is about books and authors, its like bookception; secondly I thought it so clever to have passages from the book that the book was about (I know this sounds confusing but you will have to give it a read to understand, it was really good).

From the beginning I was convinced I knew who had done it but when more suspects were introduced and more motives became apparent all my deductions flew out the window, even though in the end I was correct. D.I. Garibaldi was written really well, I loved that his character was not the usual hard arse cop that had a point to prove, he had culture, he had mommy issues and we learnt much about his personal relationship as well, both with his girlfriend and his son.

At first it was a little overwhelming to have so many characters that were suspects especially because they intertwined with the book that was spoken about in the book. But once the story unfolded and the clues were solved it all became this clear family tree of evidence.

All in all this book was brilliant, I highly recommend this read, the atmosphere was amazing and if you are a lover of small village murder vibes then this is definitely a good read.