Last Post

by Robert Barnard

A mysterious envelope arrives on Eve McNabb's doorstep soon after she has buried her mother, a woman who kept many secrets. The puzzling letter inside this envelope hints at an illicit passion between the letter writer and Eve's mother, May McNabb. Even when she was a child, Eve sensed that there were parts of May's life she would never understand. She would never know the details of her parents' marriage or why her father suddenly disappeared from her life. While Eve has always believed that her father was dead, she begins to wonder whether her mother's life as a widow had been a ruse. Will she have to question everything her mother has told her? Could her father be alive and well? The letter writer may have some answers, but how can Eve find him or her?

With only a blurred postmark for a clue, Eve sets out to locate the writer and journey into her own past. What she never suspected was that questions can be dangerous, perhaps even deadly...

Filled with piercing wit and illuminating insight into the human condition, Robert Barnard's Last Post proves yet again that he is one of the great masters of mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Cozy, Drama, British Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Aka Bernard Bastable.

Robert Barnard (born 23 November 1936) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.

Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and at Balliol College in Oxford. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He has gone on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories.

Barnard has said that his favourite crime writer is Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie.

Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement.

Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard has published one standalone novel and three alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age.

Barnard lived with his wife Louise in Yorkshire.

Series:
* Perry Trethowan
* Charlie Peace

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an older British mystery (2004) but not a typical one where a murder is immediate or central to the theme.

Eve arrives at her mother's home to clear up after her mother's death.

A letter from her mother's old friend stirs up Eve's desire to know about her parents' hidden lives.

What she discovers along the way makes for an interesting story and a surprising twist ending.

3.5 stars.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

While cleaning out her recently deceased mother's home, Eve McNabb finds a letter sent from, what seems to be, and ex-lover of her mother's. Eve was an only child whose father passed away when she was young. As far as Eve knew, her mother never had any love interests besides her work as a schoolteacher. When Eve decides to track down this woman, who indicates to have had a love affair with her mother, she unknowingly opens up a trail of secrets, one being that her father may still be alive. With the help of Constable Rani, the two begin to work together to discover what really happened to her father. However, someone is aware of their every move and is willing to commit murder to try and hide the truth. This leaves the question, what does a dead father, an ex-lover, and a priest all have in common?

**This is my third book by this author. I love his British satire-style mystery novels. They are very light and entertaining. This one did not disappoint.** 🧐

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I was curious to know the secrets in Eve's family's past I was a little put off by her immediate plans for a relationship with a married man with a small child. Didn't her own family history teach her anything? I didn't really believe in her strong willed mother's behavior 40 years before, but perhaps the last sentence of the book explains that.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

"She picked up an envelope [...] When she read the inscription she realized with a shock that the writer was not one of those who wanted to pay tribute to a dead woman."

Last Post (2004) is the seventeenth Robert Barnard's novel that I am reviewing here. I am not exactly sure what draws me to this author. True, I have rated two of his novels with four stars yet most others are in the two-to-three star territory. I think it might be the simplicity of the plot, the good-natured Britishness of the prose, and - perhaps most of all - the author's tendency to offer somewhat perverse endings (as in 'strange' rather than 'surprising').

The story begins in a funeral house where Eve McNabb looks at her mother's face for the last time. At home she begins reading condolence letters; among them she finds a letter from a woman who appears to have been her mother's former lover. Gasp! From now on the "L-word" casts its shadow over the plot. Eve never had any inklings as to her mother preferences and - being a modern woman employed in PR - she does not care one way or the other but the letter gets her thinking about potential reasons of her father's early disappearance from her life. She was told that he had died but maybe he was driven away by his wife's non-traditional affair? Maybe he is still alive?

Eve begins a private investigation into her mother's past. Since she was a dedicated and successful teacher, and served as the head of a primary school, the connections in the school community seem important for understanding her past. Connections to an amateur theatre group also emerge. Everybody Eve talks to seems to lie, pretend, and hide some if not all facts. She enlists help of a Hindu policeman, who - having marital troubles due to an arranged, loveless marriage - reciprocates Eve's interest in him. Alas, the romantic thread is particularly weak and implausible, and reeks of TV soaps.

One of the characters central to the plot is murdered and Eve, conveniently on a different continent during the murder, is allowed to help the investigation. The guilty party is found, everything seems to be ending well with the characters bound to live happily ever after, but then the author drops a nasty twist at the end. That ugly twist is the only thing that I really like about the novel. Otherwise - even though the novel is moderately interesting and readable - it is quite clearly a below-the-average effort from Mr. Barnard.

Two stars.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been disappointed by a Robert Barnard novel and this one was no exception. When Eve McNabb's mother dies, Eve is sorting through the many condolence letters when she comes upon a letter addressed to her mother, with shocking revelations which cause her to question all her mother has told her -- especially about her father. With the help of a young police detective to whom she has gone for philatelic help about the letter's postmark, she begins to get to the bottom of things ... and then there's a murder. This book was full of surprises to the last page. Although as far as I can recall, all the Barnards I've read have been standalones, I know that he has done a series of police procedurals as well. Last Post obviously stands on its own merits, but there were aspects which suggested that it could possibly be the first of a series, which I would also welcome. Recommended.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any month with a new book by one of my favorites is a good month and this was one of his best. A young woman becomes curious about her dead mother’s life after finding a letter while sorting out her mother’s household.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good contemporary British mystery. After the death of her widowed mother, a young woman finds out that her father might still be alive. She sets out to find him. There is a surprising twist in the ending.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eve arrives at her mother's home to clear up after her mother's death. A misguided letter from her mother's old friend stirs up Eve's desire to know about her parents' hidden lives. Fortunately she has a new lover to help her replan her life.

[Tria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a choice made for me by the mobile library team, who often choose books from genres they know I like to fill my monthly delivery quota, if I haven't reserved the full number. The author is new to me.

I enjoyed reading this novel (I'm trying to rate things more evenly from now on, since I so often seem to end up rating things as either a 4 or a 1!), to some extent, and I finished it within a day, though not in one sitting.

I think I'd probably have picked it up sooner than I did, had the blurb been less coy about its queer characters, and I'm none too comfortable with the erasure of bisexuality as a possibility, let alone a reality. In addition to that, the darkest strand of the story is only barely touched upon, even by the very last page, and the final resolution leaves a number of plot holes. Not to mention the irritating instalove between the main character, Eve, and an unhappily-married newly-met acquaintance.

Speaking of acquaintances, the author somehow manages to give one more of a sense of chance-met characters, and even of Eve's past and future/present male partners, than he does of Eve herself. That... isn't a positive. In any way.

I winced a few times while reading the book, but it wasn't until I stopped to write this review that most of the things about it that bothered me so much really seemed to come into focus. The bi-erasure was in my mind almost throughout my read, as I hoped Barnard would finally own up to May's apparent bisexuality instead of trying to write her off as a lesbian with a beard, but he never did. But the rest? Well, the book is readable and, as I've said, enjoyable enough. But I'm not sure I'll be giving Robert Barnard any space on my personal bookshelves after this.

3 stars.

Content warnings (spoilery):
Bisexual erasure, homophobia, mention of coercive control, parental disappearance, parental loss, murder of an elderly adult, mentions of illegal images of children in the context of ephebephilia.

[Theresa Leone Davidson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me be clear: one star is one star too many. Not only is this novel boring, it has a ridiculous side story of the protagonist falling in love with a married police officer, and he with her, and conveniently his wife and child move out of the family home, AND they plan marriage in the space of, oh, I don’t know, five minutes. Absurd. I would say it is also absurd that the protagonist takes five whole minutes to forgive her father for leaving her and her mother when the protagonist was a toddler - complete with zero contact - but unfortunately that really happens (a roommate in my college days forgave her absentee father after more than thirty years but the damage had been done: she has never known what a good man looks like and she married a petty, selfish jerk who, though a good father, respects his wife not at all). And the mystery itself, which until the last forty to fifty pages is summed up by the question: was the protagonist’s recently deceased mother a lesbian, is not only old fashioned, pointless, and boring, but offensive as well. And all of this rubbish topped off by a ridiculous, unsatisfying conclusion. 🤮 I understand this author has won some awards so maybe at some point he could pen a good story but this book was so bad I will not be reading any of his others.

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, and certainly not a conventional mystery. A young woman's has died and she decides to investigate her mother's past and, in the process determine what happened to her father, who disappeared many years earlier. In the process she learns about what a wonderful and admired person her mother was in the view of the public. She also learns of events that led to her father's disappearance and supposed "death" in Australia. She of course finds her father very much alive and visits him in Australia, then returns to Yorkshire to find that a figure from her mother's past has been murdered. The question of the murder isn't much of a mystery. One weakness in the book is the unlikely instantaneous connection that forms between the young woman and a young Indian policeman.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing story with a less-than-sympathetic protagonist about whom we learn very little except that she has no problem about having an affair with a married man. But, of course, she grew up with a mother who kept her distance and who lied about Eve's father having died. This comes out as Eve begins to guess that her father may still be alive, so she will do her best to track him down, and to learn what led to his disappearance. The murder comes as Eve is still investigating, and the culprit is a surprise, with a shocker of an ending if you were taking things at face value throughout this book.

[Mark Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first bit of fiction written by Mr Barnard. I enjoyed it as it was different. The protagonist was an interesting woman who acted in odd ways at times. Her romance happened very quickly and was not quite believable to me.
The 'crime' happened late in the book and left me a bit dumbfounded. The solution at the end threw some light on it. The absolute last page completely took me by surprise.
All in all a good book but not one that would make me rush out to read others by Mr Barnard.

[Rita Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, no one is likely to fall asleep reading this one. There is a lot happening as our heroine tries to figure out if her deceased father is really dead or not and why her recently deceased mother received a very strange letter (the "last post" of the title). There is one plot thread that only gets resolved (and not very well) in the very last sentence of the book, but otherwise it's a lively and interesting story.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet but interesting mystery about a woman who decides to track down the father she never got a chance to know. After her mother’s death, Eve realizes that not only did she never really know her mother but that she may have been lied to about her father being dead. As she searches for the truth, Eve is helped by a charming Indian police officer who is also questioning his own life situation.

[Revkid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time reading anything by this author and I really enjoyed the read. It was an intriguing story with a very surprising ending.

[Dogsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite well written, but surprising out of left field ending.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy, you really have to read all the way to the last sentence with Barnard for that final twist. I was 170 pages in before anyone was murdered, but the mystery building up to it was sufficiently enthralling to keep me going (unlike some reviewers I know who have dropped books for not enough bloodshed - you know who you are!). And the twist makes for a great discussion.
A well-loved teacher and school head has died and her daughter has come home to make arrangements. Eve finds a letter to her mother that makes her question her knowledge of who her parents were. Is her father really dead? Was her mother a closeted lesbian? Who's gonna die?!
Barnard ties up loose ends yet leaves many questions unanswered and an ending that makes you wonder What will happen next?
Oh, on the one hand you have a self-justifying murderer who thinks killing is just part of the service - but very few involved really come away unstained.
The romance is unusual, one party being strangely passive until unleashed. Eve seems to move fast, and I'm no one to point fingers.
Still, very enjoyable.

Re-read the large print version, so the murder comes at a different page. Heh! Could remember nothing of the plot, except the "Gee, this is familiar" feeling, except the last page twist.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book of Barnard's that I found too gradual, too calm, improbable in the romantic offering and slightly unrealistic in the character line up while it entirely lacked the usual satire I so enjoy in RB's writing style.

However the concept was a good one and the misfire is disappointing while still interesting in a way.

It's as if he had this one great 'twist' idea but lacked the willingness to access the emotional depths required to stir this one up, possibly due to his own cultural and personal emotional make-up. He clearly knows people like these characters, but just doesn't get inside them in a genuine way.

I tend to agree with those who found it a serious sleeper...with a 'yikes' ending literally on the last page which leaves one totally discombobulated.

However, I suppose as one reviewer put it: makes for a good discussion afterwards.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, I had such high hopes for this book based upon the cover and the jacket blurb but that was the high point and it was all downhill from there. They must have quite different tastes over in the UK because although this author has received some awards and such, I found his style extremely boring and too formal. No one I know talks like any of the characters in this novel. And the fact that the subtitle is "a novel of suspense" means nothing. This book attempted to be suspenseful but came up short. It was difficult muddling through the story and I have no desire to read anything else this author has written.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A top British mystery writer’s new novel unravels the secret of a woman’s recently deceased mother. Eve McNabb returned to her mothers house to put affairs in order upon her mother's death. Mary McNabb was a well-respected school administrator who had raised Eve by herself after the death of her husband. But while Eve was reading condolence letters, she discovers a note that implies a lesbian affair in her mother's past. And as she hunts down the letter's author, she discovers the truth about her father, also.
Barnard, a Diamond Dagger award winner and author of more than 2 dozen mysteries, does not disappoint.

[Calilibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Post started out slow, then picked up when the heroine met her future lover, a detective by the name of Rani. It slowed again before the murder which was the crux of the book and which came rather late. The dual storylines of the romance and the mystery didn't mesh as well as I'd hoped and I found myself bored and left without the detail that I'd hoped to get.
Hope you enjoy your next book!
Rochelle

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. Robert B is supposed to be a big deal over in the UK, and Kirkus reviews trips over themselves to review each latest title by the author when it comes out.

But, frankly this was neither suspenseful or all that exciting. Typical British whodunit - lots of talking heads and no action. The actual murder didn't even take place until the last 1/3 of the book.

Readers, such as my friend Jill, who can power through a book should be able to sleep through this in less than a day.

[Eva Mitnick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an oddly lukewarm book. The characters talk about their emotions without seeming to feel them, there is a totally unbelievable sudden romance, and an old-fashioned, restrained, matter-of-fact tone is maintained throughout. The plot is unexciting, the pacing is strange, there is no suspense whatsoever, and the last page is simply weird. That said, I was in the mood for a book in which turbulent emotions are expressed in a calm and British fashion - so I read the whole thing.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Your parents are anything but what you think they are or were!
A somewhat cautionary tale of trawling through the past. The main protagonist is sent a letter that intimates her mother may have been a lesbian and very briefly mentions her father. She sets out to find what happened and if indeed her father is as dead as she has believed all her life.

[Loobylou · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather gentle book. I think calling it a novel of suspense is exaggerating quite alot. The only murder takes place "off page" and takes place about two thirds through the book. I did like the twist in the final paragraph.
Hasn't put me off trying another of his books but I'm not rushing out to get them.

[judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't be typical or he wouldn't have honors up the wazoo. It felt almost like a throwaway he knocked out quickly on a whim. The good news is modern writers are no longer conforming to what we expect. Endings don't have to end well or even be satisfactory. Justice doesn't always get served. Evil can triumph. Deal with it.

[M. Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I enjoy Robert Barnard's mysteries although they're not among my top choices. This one was disappointing. The main character, Eve, struck me as shallow and somewhat self-absorbed. Her quick attraction to a married Indian policeman nine years her junior seemed so unwarranted -- and almost predatory -- that I kept expecting a twist. There was none. The mystery was okay but slow.

[Cathie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the slowest book I have ever read. I really had to force myself to finish it. The murder didn't take place til 2/3rds of the way thru. The characters were flat & one dimensional & completely un-likeable. I doubt I would ever read anything else by this author.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, quick read. Fun little mystery.