A Rather Inconvenient Corpse: A riotous 1920's mystery novella

by A.G. Barnett

Lord Hugo Bingham has taken a break from life in Oxford to visit the seaside with his steadfast valet, Gladstone.

When a man, who Bingham has had an altercation with, dies outside the Lord's hotel room, he and Gladstone must solve the mystery before his mother the Duchess arrives and ruins his holiday.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, British Literature

42 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2024

About the author

A.G. Barnett is an international bestselling Amazon author of mysteries.

After playing the drums enthusiastically but erratically in a band, working to create digital resources for the visually impaired and joining a digital supply chain startup, he eventually fell into the charitable sector where he has worked in online health information for over a decade.

He is currently writing two series, The Brock & Poole mysteries and The Mary Blake mysteries.

Originally from North Devon, England, A.G. moved to Oxfordshire many years ago where he now lives with his wife, daughter, and ridiculous spaniels.

A.G.Barnett loves hearing from readers, so feel free to contact him on Twitter and Facebook or email him at Contact@agbarnett.com

Reviews

[dnsyl57 · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Rather Inconvenient Corpse" is the first book in the Bingham & Gladstone series by A. G. Barnett

Set in the 1920's, Hugo Bingham is a bit of a manchild but luckily he has his very attentive and intelligent valet Gladstone who is always prepared to step in and offer some guidance. While Hugo is on a break from his studies at Oxford, the pair travel to the seaside. After a late night of partying, Hugo is stunned to discover that the person he had an altrecation with the evening before, is now lying dead outside his hotel room. It doesn't look good for Hugo but Gladstone sees things differently and eventually deduces what really happened to the amazement of Hugo and Inspector Bunch.

At only 36 pages, this is a quick read but has some nice twists. Hugo really is a bit dense at times but he also has a few moments to shine.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might as well be called “Pseudo-Jeeves Solves a Murder.” A short story sold by Amazon individually, not as part of a collection, which seems exploitive of them. At 35 pages, it is not a novella, as the subtitle claims. And hardly “riotous.” A.G. Barnett is not a stylist to compare with Wodehouse, either. There’s nothing wrong with the mystery, but it would have been less annoying if Barnett had not tried to ape the Jeeves stories. I must add that there are numerous typos and other errors.

[María Mónica Beltrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funniest story I've read!!

British dry humour, mystery solved, unperturbable valets, some fine boxing, lord that in cups doesn't understand almost anything and a good final.
SUPERB!

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

If PG Wodehouse wrote cozy crime .... badly. I could see where the writer was trying to go with this, but he was hampered by seriously poor editing and trying to hard. If it was longer, I'd have given up long before the end. 2*

[Shelly Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utter deliight

I enjoyed this story ever so much. It had the feel of a Jeeves and Wooster story. Jeeves is one of my favorite literary characters and I'm certain Gladstone is about to join him.

[Linda Woodley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a short but very readable story

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Fun

Finished it much too quickly! Great short story! Well written! Fun adventure in a holiday for a gent & gentleman!

[Teddi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only 34 pages so everything happened way too quickly. Very similar to Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

Used an Audiobook with the voice narrated by AI (computer generated. Really bad. Choppy and boring and stilted.

[Grant Dickeson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short story. It was easy reading. I truly enjoyed it!

[Sagexox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little read with a very cool 'butler'.. can't complain :D

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mercifully short. Not riotous. Nor long enough to be a novella.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful treat

A posh aristocrat and his resourceful valet who is five steps ahead of his clueless employer! We all need a Gladstone in our lives.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most amusing

I could not help but read this in the voices of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. I rather nice Wodehouse pastiche.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite literally kept me guessing up until the final reveal! I thought the whole debacle was cheeky and fun, with the butler Gladstone cleverly heralding the investigation to help clear his employer's name...though Lord Bingham himself offers little more than amusement to the situation. It has good British humor and a sensible mystery that was short, succinct, and well thought out in how it unraveled.

[Jason Arbuckle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 87 - AG Barnett - A Rather Inconvenient Corpse

A 1920s Murder mystery to round off my week of holiday reads is written in the form of PG Wodehouse’s ultimate creations of Jeeves and Wooster…reinterpreted as Gladstone and Bingham.

Lord Bingham is awakened after a late night of cards and frivolity by his valet Mr Gladstone as the police have arrived asking about the dead body outside their hotel room. What follows is a jolly romp with suitable denizens carrying out dastardly deeds …card cheats…and rapscallions…

Full of 1920s upper class cliches…twits…fisticuffs and buffoonery…loved it

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Lord Hugo Bingham returns later at night to the Royal Hotel in Weston-Super-Mare, and somehow fails to see the dead murdered man, it is up to his valet, Gladstone to clear his name.
An enjoyable short story.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun!

[Joyce Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting short story

[Naveen N. Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decent short whodunnit murder mystery! Loved it!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story with many typos.

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and fun classic style murdery mystery. It was entertainment and great.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mystery that is very much like a Jeeves and Wooster story. You can get this from the author's website.