Another Man's Poison

George & Molly Palmer-Jones #6

by Ann Cleeves

When she finds her beloved cats and some protected wildfowl dead of illegal poison, elderly Ursula Ottway threatens to expose her landlord, politician Marcus Grenville, as an anti-preservationist. Within hours, Ursula is dead . . . by the same illegal poison. Now, as George and Molly Palmer-Jones reconstruct Ursula's last days, it becomes clear that her sharp eyes and long memory had posed a deadly threat not only to Marcus, but to his chilly wife, his alienated offspring, and others. To bring a killer to justice, Molly and George must uproot a lifetime's worth of secrets and expose a nest of vicious human vultures.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

Paperback

First published May 9, 2013

About the author

Ann is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands...


Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.

In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.

For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony

Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.

Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"

The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).

Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 hours 14 mins, read by Alexander John

Description: When she finds her beloved cats and some protected wildfowl dead of illegal poison, elderly Ursula Ottway threatens to expose her landlord, politician Marcus Grenville, as an anti-preservationist. Within hours, Ursula is dead . . . by the same illegal poison. Now, as George and Molly Palmer-Jones reconstruct Ursula's last days, it becomes clear that her sharp eyes and long memory had posed a deadly threat not only to Marcus, but to his chilly wife, his alienated offspring, and others. To bring a killer to justice, Molly and George must uproot a lifetime's worth of secrets and expose a nest of vicious human vultures.



Set in The Fells, Cumbria, a buzzard, two cats, and a lovely old lady are poisoned.


3* Raven Black (Shetland, #1)
2* White Nights (Shetland, #2)
3* Red Bones (Shetland, #3)
3* Blue Lightning (Shetland, #4)

3* The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, #1)
3* Telling Tales (Vera Stanhope, #2)
3* Hidden Depths (Vera Stanhope, #3)
3* Silent Voices (Vera Stanhope, #4)
3* The Glass Room (Vera Stanhope, #5)
3* Harbour Street (Vera Stanhope, #6)

3* Sea Fever (George & Molly Palmer-Jones, #5)
3* Another Man's Poison (George & Molly Palmer-Jones, #6)

[Obsidian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think every book I read this weekend was a three star read. Nothing Earth shaking at all. I think I am disappointed with this one because the prior George & Molly Palmer-Jones books were really good. This book's reasoning behind the murder just didn't make sense because Cleeves in my opinion did something I don't like with mystery writers, just tossed out information on something you would not get to until they tell you. It just came out of nowhere for me. Also, for me, the ending was so abrupt and I didn't get any satisfaction out of case well done and solved. I know these are earlier in Cleeves career, but this one read as a rough draft and we were missing some meat in it.

"Another Man's Poison" follows George and Molly as they take off for a conference that George is attending. Since the location puts them near Molly's aunt Ursula, they plan on visiting with her. Ursula we find though believes that the local landowner is laying out poison (which is illegal) and she found a dead buzzard and her two cats as well. She's determined to have the man investigated and charged. When George and Molly arrive though, Ursula is dead, and they have a ton of suspects who may have done it.

I usually love George and Molly, but George got on my nerves in this one. He didn't seem to want her part of the investigation. And Molly of course finds out more information that leads to a bigger mystery and I wish that in the end they would have discussed that friction between them.

There's a cast of thousands in this one, but I think the side plots could have been done away with. It just felt like way too much layering after a while.

The ending as I said was very abrupt and the major villain came out of nowhere. The side plots also to my mind were not solved to a great degree of satisfaction. I just honestly felt disgruntled by that point.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Palmer-Jones mystery. The death of Molly's aunt brings Molly and George to a small community with secrets going back 35 years. Which secret was behind the murder of Molly's aunt?

I love the way Molly switches between being the wise old woman and the dithering old lady. By picking the right persona, secrets are revealed to her. George's law enforcement connections bring in essential clues, but Molly is the center of this series as far as I am concerned.

[Ilze Paegle-Mkrtčjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Izbaudu praktiski jebkuru šīs autores detektīvu, tomēr jāatzīst, ka ļaundaru motivācija ir to vājā vieta. Nudien, visas viņu problēmas taču būtu ērti un pat ātri arisināmas ar līdzekļiem, kas nav tik radikāli kā slepkavība

[Beverley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much better than the first one in the George and Molly series, clearly showing Ann Cleeves' development as a writer. It offers some light reading, an interesting plot with a lot of red herrings and a satisfying conclusion.

[Paula R C R. C. Readman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting plot line. Plenty twists and turns

[Netti · Rating 5 out of 5]

1980s - UK, Yorkshire: North York Moors
first published 1992

Ursula Ottway drove the Land Rover over the cattle grid, then got out to shut the gate carefully behind her. Back in the vehicle she paused for a moment before carrying on. It was late afternoon and the hills threw long shadows over Crow Water. Now she was almost home there was no hurry. She savoured the relief of her return to the valley. She hardly left the farm now apart from these monthly shopping trips to Appleworth and each time the excursion became more of an ordeal. The drive along the dual carriageway to the Superstore was a nightmare. Everyone seemed to go so fast. Traffic passed her, horns blaring, lights flashing, the drivers apparently irritated beyond reason by the slowness of the Land Rover.

Aus unerfindlichen Gründen wird dieses Buch bei Goodreads als #6 der Serie geführt, obwohl es 1992 veröffentlicht wurde, also vor "Seafever" (1993).

Puh, dieses Buch ist mir sehr an die Nieren gegangen! Die vergifteten Tiere, die Respektlosigkeit der Umwelt gegenüber, die Einsamkeit der alten Menschen, die Familientragödien... es kriecht einem förmlich unter die Haut. Die Wurzel aller Katastrophen wird nicht offen genannt, ist jedoch schon zu einem ziemlich frühen Zeitpunkt spürbar. Dieses SCHWEIGEN auch seitens der Erzählerin wirkt um so dramatischer und unheimlicher - ein genialer Kunstgriff!

Molly ist sehr mit sich selbst beschäftigt und ihrem Ärger darüber, dass George sie nicht als Detektivkollegin ernst nimmt und oft völlig links liegen lässt, daher nimmt sie die eigentlich deutlichen Signale offenbar nicht wahr. Die beiden wirken hier sowohl jeder für sich als auch als Paar oft ziemlich unsympathisch - aber dafür um so authentischer.

Der Titel bezieht sich auf die Redewendung "one man's meat is another man's poison" - sind die Klassenunterschiede gemeint, die hier in einer ländlichen und armen Gegend noch sehr hart sind? Oder die gegensätzlichen Interessen von Landbesitzern und Naturschützern?

What was needed was a real energy conservation policy. The money and research should go into finding a way of saving energy, not producing more of it.
Das hatten also schon vor 40 Jahren Leute kapiert... und trotzdem wird heutzutage noch immer von neuen Technologien gelabert 🤦‍♀️

[Michael Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was vintage Anne Cleaves. It was was well written and the plot cleverly constructed. The setting was rural north England and I felt almost involved in the way of life and running of the estate and the politics therein.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't quite know what to make of George and Molly. Granted, Another Man's Poison is #5 in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, which may be the problem.

I have never read numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that does put me at something of a disadvantage. George and Molly make their first appearance on page 46 of Another Man's Poison, at the beginning of Chapter 4.

As George and Molly enter the story they are in their car, driving toward Appleworth or Crowford or wherever the heck this story is set, in order for George to attend a conference, and I had no idea who they were. I assumed they were just two more characters, more or less pertinent, in a growing list of characters related in some way to Ursula's story (Ursula, for the uninitiated, is the victim, or one of the victims).

Being of adequate intelligence and discernment, I came in due course to the conclusion that these two older people were rather key to the story. I reread the cover of the book and thought, Silly me, this is a George & Molly Palmer-Jones novel, and this pair are THE George and Molly Palmer-Jones.

I tried to reset my brain but George and Molly continued to strike me, throughout the remaining 200 or so pages, as peripheral to the story. They are vaguely portrayed as a somewhat elderly couple (how elderly is never made clear, but I suspect they are some 20 years younger than I am myself, which would put them in their 50s!!!) who have, in their retirement, begun a joint venture as "inquiry agents."

I thought at first that they would prove to be a deceptively benign and appealing pair of senior sleuths, the better to put the public off its guard. They turned out to be disagreeable individuals who, though they have lived together for decades and have even founded a business together to occupy their retirement years, hate each other. They are spiteful and snide and jealous of each other, or at least that is how they come across in this, Book 5 of the the series named for them and featuring their exploits.

Have Ann Cleeves' characters, George and Molly Palmer-Jones, made it onto the screen? Of course the Cleeves character, Vera Stanhope, certainly has, to much acclaim, thanks in large part to actor Brenda Blethyn, who simply IS Vera. Ms Blethyn is more Vera than the sloppy and obese literary Vera on whom her character is based. How can that be? I don't know. It just is.

Not just the Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope series, but her Shetland series, and her Two Rivers series--the latter set in Devon--have made it onto the screen. I couldn't read the Matthew Venn/Two Rivers books, they set my teeth on edge, but I read and liked the Vera and Shetland books.

If Another Man's Poison is anything to go by, I think I will give the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series a pass. I may try one more book, just to give Molly and George a fair shot., starting preferably with #1. Maybe something in that first book will explain why this older married couple have stayed together so long, and why they have started a business in which they must work together when it is obvious they dislike each other very much.

[Clive Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Vera, before Jimmy Perez, and even before Inspector Ramsay, Ann Cleeves had Molly and George Palmer-Jones as amateur sleuths. Another Man’s Poison has been reissued by an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.

Molly Palmer-Jones arrives to visit her elderly aunt, Ursula Ottway, and finds her lifeless body lying on a well-used Chesterfield in the drawing room. Ursula’s doctor decides to order tests and a post-mortem. There is no obvious reason that would explain her death.

In a small community, gossip flourishes and Molly soon learns that Ursula had threatened to report the local squire and Member of Parliament, Marcus Grenville, to the authorities and the Press for using illegal baits to kill vermin on his estate. If found guilty, Grenville could wave good-bye to his parliamentary career. Before she could do so, however, she died.

George suggests to the police that toxicology samples taken during the post-mortem should be tested for phosdrin, the poison used in the baits.

Meanwhile, Molly has heard that Ursula was widely trusted and a good listener. People confided in her. Our intrepid investigator wonders if a villager has had regrets and had decided to silence the aunt. With Ursula gone, people start confiding in Molly.

Another Man’s Poison is a complex tale of secrets and lies. It is skilfully crafted with well-rounded characters and short chapters.

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Man's Poison by Ann Cleeves

Blurb

When she finds her beloved cats and some protected wildfowl dead of illegal poison, elderly Ursula Ottway threatens to expose her landlord, politician Marcus Grenville, as an anti-preservationist. Within hours, Ursula is dead . . . by the same illegal poison. Now, as George and Molly Palmer-Jones reconstruct Ursula's last days, it becomes clear that her sharp eyes and long memory had posed a deadly threat not only to Marcus, but to his chilly wife, his alienated offspring, and others. To bring a killer to justice, Molly and George must uproot a lifetime's worth of secrets and expose a nest of vicious human vultures.

My Opinion

It has been a while since I have read a book in the George Palmer-Jones series and as I had a long car ride today I thought it was about time I listened to the next book in the series. If you haven't read any of the books in this series so far, you will be able to read this one as it works as a standalone.

For the first time in this series we see more of Molly being the investigator into the death of her aunt. A great read. At just under 7 hours, this works well as an audiobook.

Rating 4/5

[Cidney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must confess to never having heard of George and Molly Palmer Jones, he works for the government and they go to stay with her aunt elderly widowed Ursula Ottway, and then they find her dead. They appear to be amateur sleuths and set about trying to find who would want her dead. Her landlord, a wannabe politician Marcus Grenville, is aiming to get into parliament and wants to buy her cottage to make it into a sort of retreat lodge for bird shoots but she won't sell.

There are shed loads of people in this book, at one point I even began to write them down as it got confusing, however I plodded on and it involved children who whose parents weren't really theirs, illegal poison being set down as traps and young women who had committed suicide. I confess to not only having lost the plot but wasn't even sure if I wanted to carry on reading. You can tell when people are setting out as writers and then down the tracks see the great writers they become. This book wasn't for me, sorry.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ursula Otway, widow, owner of a number of cats lives in this old, run down cottage owned by her landlord, Marcus Grenville. Grenville, a politician, is looking for something that he can impress with, gain a promotion in cabinet and has decided the environment is the way to go. Then Ursula discovers both her cats and a buzzard have been poisoned. Not too long later Ursula is found dead,murdered.

Ursula’s cousin is Molly Palmer-Jones who just happens to be visit8ng with George. Once again George takes the lead in the investigation. Molly gets frustrated with being overlooked and dismissed by George. Cleeves is accurate in her portrayal but I would have liked Molly to stand up to George somewhat more or have George show more respect. This is where I am finding this George and Molly Palmer -Jones series frustrating.
3 stars.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another George and Molly Palmer Jones mystery. Molly's Aunt Ursula is found dead in her farm house in Westmoreland when Molly and George arrived for a visit. Soon they realised that her death wasn't due to natural causes. There was a poisoned buzzard, two poisoned cats and some poisoned eggs. As well, there's an MP with a lot to loose, a daughter who is on the edge, a disabled child, a man wanting revenge and a Momma's boy. Throw it all together and it feels a bit overcooked. But I didn't see the ending coming, well, not all of it.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sleuthing couple Molly and George Palmer-Jones are early creations of Ann Cleeves, yet they share traits with her later series Vera and Shetland: brooding rural life, capricious landed gentry, and birds as sinister atmosphere. Politician and landowner Marcus Grenville is confronted at dinner by Molly's aunt Ursula Ottway about poisoning on Grenville's property, which could torpedo his political future. As things develop, a wealth of secrets emerge: conflict between an old and a new gamekeeper, a disabled child adopted by a farm couple, and what Ursula knew.

[Bodil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is better than the previous book (Prey to murder) in the series, but still George PJ is rather a pompous and boring person, while his wife Molly is a charming character. Still, there are a bit too much in the book, with some loose threads. And I do dislike when the “detective” get to know important clues, while the reader is left out. The end is rather melodramatic, but on the whole I rather liked the book.

[Marieca Wegener · Rating 3 out of 5]

Husband and wife team Molly and George Palmer-Jones are new to me but apparently they appear in a series of Ann Cleeves crime stories. This novel was first published in 1992 and it feels as if it is written by an author who has yet to blossom. That said the book’s lack of crime fiction ‘form’ makes it unpredictable and a good whodunnit.

[Magdalena Wawrzyniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Another Man's Poison" by Ann Cleeves is an engaging mystery novel that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Cleeves' skillful storytelling and well-crafted characters make for an immersive reading experience. The intricate plot twists and turns, leaving you guessing until the very end. If you're a fan of suspenseful whodunits, this book is definitely worth a read.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read Another Man’s Poison by Ann Cleeves which was originally published in 1992 and republished in 2023. An elderly couple George & Molly Palmer-Jones are amateur detectives. Molly’s aunt Ursula is murdered and there is a list of possible murderers and motives. Not my favourite Ann Cleeves story.

[Rhona Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one for fans of ‘Vera’. A neat little thriller, reminiscent of country house murders, with a limited cast of characters and motivations. I quite liked the Palmer-Joneses - a pair of flawed characters in competition with each other so they missed their opportunity to solve the murder until the last scene.

[Sandra Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of the George and Molly books I've read and although I really like the characters in Vera and Shetland I couldn't bring myself to like George or Molly they seemed to be sarcastic to one another not at all like a happily married couple, how they ever solved Mysteries together is a mystery in itself

[Penelope Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the early1990’s it gives an interesting background into the attitude toward grouse and pheasant shooting and banning of poison to control “vermin” that threatened these birds. The ending was so sudden and melodramatic. Otherwise excellent. Love Molly.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to come across an early Ann Cleeves, written before she settled in to Vera and Shetland, I assume. She’s done a good job with the characters and the plot, and the setting in a secluded valley in the Pennines. An enjoyable read.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the series featuring George and Molly. Arriving at her aunt Ursula’s house, Molly is shocked to find her lifeless body on the sofa. Naturally, a murder investigation begins and a lot of secrets come to light.

[April Andruszko · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best George and Molly Palmer Jones novels. I love the way Ann Cleeves depicts the relationship between George and Molly. She allows them petty irritations with each other whilst also showing their deep seated devotion. Good plot with lots of red herrings.

[Neely Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare visit to Molly’s aunt turns into tragedy when Molly finds her dead. Before her death, however, Ursula had invaded an MP’s dinner party to announce her plans to expose him for using poison on his hunting estate.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another countryside murder mystery for Palmer-Jones, with less bird watching than the earlier novels.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anothr good book in the series. I really like this author.

[Beth Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love anything I’ve ever read by Anne Cleeves. This is no exception

[Glynis Macri · Rating 4 out of 5]

kept you waiting for the answer

A good read as it leads you through everybody’s business and secrets till the last minute when they all came together and the killer is revealed.