Cork in Bottle

by MacDonald Hastings

278 Pages Macdonald Hastings

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

Reviews

[JohnR · Rating 4 out of 5]

One for those who enjoy England's the details of an English village struggling into the world of electricity, against the post war decline in the importance of aristocracy.

It is not a police procedural, more action in a very calm way. A delightful ending for those who like all the loose ends tied up.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great character Hastings has created in Montague Cork. Such a pity that he only wrote five Cork novels.

Bottle is an old feudal village on the East Anglian coast. The local squire has has spate of insurance claims, Cork smells a rat and goes there himself to investigate. All sorts of mayhem ensues.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. This is the fourth Cork novel I have read and I am now looking for the last one "Cork On The Telly" aka " Cork On Location" but it is very hard to find as was this one.

[Peter Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

What fun!

[Zoe Colvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming, light, golden age book about Montague Cork, who runs an insurance company and takes it upon himself to investigate claims from time to time. A preposterous plot but pleasant settings.

[Paul Dumont · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 1953 murder mystery written by Max Hastings' father; Montague Cork is a sixty two year old senior insurance claims manager who finds himself mixed up in a murderous plot unfolding in a remote Norfolk village in the dead of winter. Vivid, fast-paced, and embellished with some keenly observed nature writing as our hero is pursued through coverts and tracked through woods when he gets too close to the truth. Would have made an excellent TV or radio vehicle for Timothy West.

[Lindsay Doering · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has everything: trout fishing, rural Scotland, drinking, a mysterious death and a complicated and thoroughly analyzed life insurance fact pattern.

[Regine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muzzy.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

General director of the Anchor Accident Insurance Company, Montague Cork grows suspicious of repeated claims by the Stagg estate in the remote East Anglian village of Bottle. He should leave it to his subordinates, but here he is, in the middle of winter, in the middle of nowhere, trying to elicit information from a hostile, surly population. Cork's insistence on going it alone instead of calling for help like a sensible person can be annoying, but it's always more or less amusing to watch him succeed as a fish out of water.