Coffin Tree

John Coffin Mystery #26

by Gwendoline Butler

Commander John Coffin suspects foul play when two officers investigating a money laundering scheme are found dead and launches into his own investigation with the help of his worldly wife. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Audiobook

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Gwendoline Williams Butler (aka Jennie Melville)

Gwendoline Williams was born on 19th August 1922 in South London, England, UK, daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams, her younger twin brothers are also authors. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she read History, and later lectured there. On 16th October 1949, she married Dr Lionel Harry Butler (1923-1981), a professor of medieval history at University of St. Andrews and historian, Fellow of All Souls and Principal of Royal Holloway College. The marriage had a daughter, Lucilla Butler.

In 1956, she started to published John Coffin novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. In 1962, she decided used her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville as pseudonym to sign her Charmian Daniels novels. She was credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural". In addition to her mystery series, she also wrote romantic novels. In 1981, her novel The Red Staircase won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two young detectives die in apparent accidents but John Coffin is not satisfied with that verdict especially when the widow of one of the detectives appears to have committed suicide on a bonfire. The detectives were both involved in investigating money laundering and he wonders whether they got too close to the truth. Coffin's private life seems to take on complexities to the same degree that the money laundering investigation develops twists and turns. He wants an old friend of his, Phoebe Astley, to be appointed to a new post but his wife, Stella, is less keen on having Phoebe close to home. When Phoebe herself goes missing Coffin finds himself more personally involved than he wanted to be.

This is a dark and complex book with plenty going on underneath the surface. I like Coffin as a character as he is more complex than many detectives between the pages of crime novels. He is not always reasonable and not always patient but he does his best and he tries not to jump to obvious conclusions. His wife Stella is an ideal foil for him. She is an actress but one who has a good head for business and an excellent understanding of people.

This is a compelling read and one which kept me turning the pages faster and faster towards the end of the book as I wanted to know what happened and whether all the series characters survived. The book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone novel as there is enough background information provided to ensure that the reader can understand what is going on.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coffin has some tricky waters to tread to get to the bottom of some nasty murders.

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commander John Coffin is in charge of maintaining law and order in the Second City of London: an area of London that had been split off and designated as a city of its own. An area with an history of crime and dowdiness, existing along the river. Difficult at its’ best of times, the stifling heat only makes things worse.

Coffin has two officers dead from accidents that happened while investigating a violent money laundering operation. Coffin suspects the deaths are murders and becomes more convinced when the wife of one of the dead officers turns up dead.

Coffin brings in Phoeby Astley to go undercover to suss out more information. He has suspicions of inside collusion but needs proof. Coffin has worked with tPhoeby in the past, but there is also some other history between them. Will there be a problem with that? How will Coffin’s wife handle it?

Coffin doesn’t take things at face value. He feels there is usually more than what is presented and he obsesses over working it out.

I’ve read a few of the series and think I will put a little more effort to getting and reading more. I enjoyed what I read.

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty sure I read this last year, but I don't remember any more of the plot than what the back cover blurb tells you - no idea who the killer or the killed were. I don't think it's worth reading as a standalone and with 25 books preceding it in the series, I can see why it's not particularly common reading with other reviewers.

[Tina Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Reads like a period piece but it was published in 1994. Not THAT long ago!