The Pew Group

Webber & Thomas #1

by Anthony Oliver

An antique dealer's murder initiates a deadly scramble for possession of his priceless eighteenth-century Staffordshire pottery

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

215 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Anthony Oliver was a British film, television and stage actor.

Librarian note: There is no article relating at the actor and the writer being the same person. But according to "Stop, Tou Are Killing Me" the birth and death dates match and his main character, Mrs. Lizzie Thomas, is a Welsh widow.

Reviews

[Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

This was a delicious read! The Pew Group is a rare and valuable piece of pottery of three people on a (church) pew. It surfaces at a village fete in the village of Flaxfield where several folks from near and far are desperate to get their hands on it. It quickly ends up a local antique shop, where the owner has just perished falling down the stairs, his wife having tripped him to cause the fall. Just as quickly it disappears from the shop during a funeral dinner for the husband. While one might think this is a murder mystery, it's really an oddball race to find and nab the Pew Group. Set in the early 1980's, it had the sensibilities of a 1950's village mystery but with computers. Could easily be a Midsomer Murders episode, but with more snark and more sex. Delightfully quirky!

Why I'm reading this: I have no idea! Can't remember why I put this on hold at the library. After a few pages, I thought I wouldn't go further, and then BAM!, I'm hooked. This is a special Doubleday mystery book club edition. I'm trying hard to just look the other way at all the typos!

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Well here's a delicious change of pace! Quirky, fun read. The Pew Group is a set of Staffordshire pottery figures, the most valuable item in Rupert Corder's antique shop. Except, after Rupert's wife Doreen "accidentally" trips him and he falls down the stairs to his death, they go missing; which attendee at the funeral-afters lifted them? Little Flaxfield in Suffolk England runs amok with a cast of oddball residents vying to find them, and hoping to keep them for themselves! They've all got secrets of their own to hide, though in a village such as this, everybody soon knows everyone else's business...delightfully charming, if a bit dated, the characters alone are worth the read, the writer's pen dipped in (diluted) acid. Library discovery, I find I've got an old paperback of the 2nd in the series, and it now goes on the bedside table!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual read. Very English - fun - great characterizations. Midsomer Murders with more twists, cutting wit and dry humour!

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love used bookstores! I picked this up as one of my three-for-$5.00 and totally enjoyed this English-style mystery. I was hooked at the first sentence, "You couldn't call it murder and she had no intention of doing so." And conflicting intentions move the plot briskly along in this everyone is suspect village of Flaxfield. The characters were all engaging and the author's clever descriptions kept me laughing. There are bawdy bits, but it is a fun read.

[Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted here https://55booksin52weeks.wordpress.co...

[J. Rubino · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Doreen Corder's husband dies "accidentally", she is left with nothing but a modest antiques business and a bit of pottery - The Pew Group - that is immensely valuable. A post-funeral reception arranged by Doreen's mother, Lizzie Thomas brings together the eccentrics of the village of Flaxfield and after the gathering (which leaves all of the company with dysentery thanks to Lizzie's Welsh ham) the Pew Group is nowhere to be found, and Lizzie, together with retired Detective John Webber, set out to find the thief.
Oliver - who had been an expert in antique pottery - places his characters in this milieu without burdening readers with essays on antiques (something I find off-putting in novels written by an expert in a particular field,) His characters are wonderfully realized, interesting, eccentric and three dimensional. The plot is intricate without being overly-complicated, the humor is well-done and often hilarious, and the sleuthing pair that he introduces in this book - Lizzie Thomas and John Webber - are a thoroughly engaging pair.
Unfortunately, Oliver's demise ended this first-rate series too soon, and until recently copies of the books, especially The Pew Group, have been hard to find; they're more available now and well worth seeking out.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat batty and lengthy hunt for a pottery figurine after the death of a shabby country antique dealer. He didn't quite die by accident, but nearly. The scene stays in the village, where everyone goes around thoughtfully, gossips, tries to buy the figurine and says that they need money for the church roof. Naturally enough, the rare object vanishes. It should have been in the bank. Trying to find it and sort out ownership etc. takes up most of the story.

[Christiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I wasn't Really in the mood for an English mystery. I spent far too long not knowing what a Pew Group was (my version had no fly leaf and was just a black bound book.) By the time I looked it up, I was already meh about this book.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a odd little mystery, very unique. I've never read a story with characters and events so totally tied together at the end - in a ridiculous but funny denouement. It's a combination of a traditional British cozy and Fielding's Tom Jones.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful English satirical farce. Begins with an outlandish jolt and ends in a chuckle.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really was similar to many of the British murder mysteries that I love so much. Once I got a handle on all of the characters and the sub-stories, it became quite enjoyable.

[Gina T · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better mysteries I've read. Set in England, the characterizations were good, nice small town setting. I didn't figure out who did it, which is preferable when reading mysteries to add a bit of surprise. The novel even tells you the vicar didn't do it. He does benefit.

[Mskarla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 3.5 stars. This is an amusing, occasionally very funny, mystery.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing and did not like the writing.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite entertaining. Great characters.

[Hugh Heinsohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing story and couldn’t keep the characters straight. Tries too hard to be funny. Disjointed narrative.

[Marcia Focht]

This is the first of a series, so funny with glimpses of honest human behavior. I've re-read the 4 books in the series many times

[Vallery Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Never fails to make me smile. And one learns a bit about English pottery history.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this mystery starts off with a very spontaneous murder the crux of the story is about the theft of a very valuable piece of pottery. It was a great romp, I loved it. Full of wonderful characters and an old village church crumbling around them. A 'witches coven' regularly cavorting naked in the full moon through the pastures, Miss Hislop the virginal old maid, crazy about the new young curate Michael Sabini and determined to experience sex just once in her lifetime! John Webber, the detective put out to pasture by his bosses, comes home to Flaxfield to get in shape again (or should he just retire?) and leads the hunt for the Pew Group. Mrs. Lizzie Thomas, Doreen's irrepressible mother, determined to set her daughter's life to right and maybe find love in the middle of it? The sexy Irishman, O'Shea with his butterflies on his bum. Not to mention the delightful vicar, William Coley, who's single-minded determination to get the restoration of his church funded might involve the infamous Pew Group! What in the world does he have up his sleeve!? Will it ever come out that Doreen tripped her husband? Guess you'll have to read it to see! You won't be sorry. A really fun read and delightful plot-line.

[dmayr · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You couldn't call it murder and she had no intention of doing so. But the fact remained that at 9:51 P.M. her husband was alive and reasonably well at the top of the stairs, and that seven seconds later he was lying rather awkwardly a few feet beyond the bottom step and beyond all spiritual or medical aid." And so begins the rollicking romp through Flaxfield and its eccentric inhabitants. Reminded me a bit of Pamela Branch.

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Priceless! The Pew Group is a priceless piece of pottery, the McGuffin at the center of this extremely diverting novel about the English village where the antique goes missing. Published in 1980, this featherweight entertainment features characters and situations which are reminiscent of the mysteries of Caroline Graham, but much lighter in tone. Very enjoyable.