Stiff News: A Mystery

Inspector Sloan #17

by Catherine Aird

A letter received by an old woman's son after her death alerts Detective Inspector C. D. Sloane that one woman's death by natural causes in a local nursing home may actually be murder. But that is just the beginning of the odd goings-on in this nursing home catering to former members of a WWII regiment.
"Intricate, witty, and thoughtfully delightful . . ."--Publishers Weekly on A Going Concern

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature, Cozy Mystery, Detective

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, known professionally as Catherine Aird, was an English novelist. She was the author of more than twenty crime fiction novels and several collections of short stories. Her witty, literate, and deftly plotted novels straddle the "cozy" and "police procedural" genres and are somewhat similar in flavour to those of Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham, M.C. Beaton, Margaret Yorke, and Pauline Bell. Aird was inducted into the prestigious Detection Club in 1981, and is a recipient of the 2015 Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this mystery which kept me guessing. Catherine Aird is a creative writer with a sly wit and the narrator is well chosen for this series. The characters that inhabit the story are interesting and I enjoyed the banter between Sloan and Crosby as usual.

My favorite passage refers to a war veteran who plans a meeting to tell his daughters about his pending remarriage to a woman other than their mother: "A domestic encounter shouldn't have held too many terrors for him. Perhaps not. In wartime, though, a man at least usually knew where the enemy lay. The placing of minefields and tank traps on the home front was never quite so straightforward. Sloan would have been the first to advise against any family meeting so very tightly structured. Asking for trouble, he would have said that was."

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Aird is a master of the humorous, cozy mystery.  The author herself is a fascinating person.  She intended to be a physician (like her father) but ill health intervened.  She is one of the most well-read authors around (meaning that she has forgotten more literature than most of us have read).  She flings out lines from Shakespeare, the Bible, famous, and obscure poets with relish.  She is also an extremely wry wit; we are blessed that she writes novels.

I knew we were going to have fun when Inspector Sloan asks for Crosby (no one asks for Crosby; he's the most obtuse constable in English history).  When the Superintendent is horrified that Crosby is chosen, Sloan explains that that is the only way he can get to the funeral before the body is interred (a funeral is occurring at present).  Crosby is notorious for having the heaviest foot in the county.  In fact, his greatest wish is to join the Traffic Division, but Inspector Harpe has more sense than most.  He ignores each of Crosby's requests to join his force.

The deceased sent a letter to her son (to be received on the day of her funeral), notifying him that she'd been murdered.  Mrs. Powell's son rushed to the police officers and they interrupted the burial.  The rest of the book, it seemed to me, to be dozens of red herrings flung about on the pages until the end.  The author had a great time with all the oldsters at a retirement home;  the eccentrics outnumber the keepers.

Sloan & Crosby Mysteries
-- skipped many --
13.The Body Politic (1990)
14. AGoing Concern (1993) 
15.Injury Time (1994)
 16. AfterEffects (1996) 
** 17. StiffNews (1998) 
18. LittleKnell (2000) 

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars but with a re-read, I might rate it higher. This is #17 in the series but is the first Catherine Aird with DI Sloan book I've read. It has a typical English mystery background and plot that are appealing. I struggled with the first half that is slow to get off the ground with the same conversations occurring repeatedly; however, the second half definitely improves with clever dialog. I'm curious about Catherine Aird and her past novels with the first one published in 1966. She has been writing this series up to the present time (she's 85). This book probably would flow better for me if I'd read the earlier ones. Aird is an amazing writer, but to fully appreciate it, readers must become acquainted with the rhythms of her storytelling style. Her policemen pairing is humorous with analytical business-like Sloan and laid back but occasionally impatient young Crosby. I loved the characterizations of the individual elderly patients and staff in the retirement home.

[Katie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of this series, Stiff News is a pleasant, easy read with a simple mystery and engaging characters. I especially liked the setting of this installment - a regimental nursing home for the officers and widows of a particular unit. And the inhabitants of the home were great.

[Ram Kaushik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average page turner with pretensions to be better.

[Liz Estrada · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. This is what sometimes happens when you run out of books and rely on used bookstores. Most of the time I find great books and other times I get this. An uninteresting detective story but served it's purpose as beach read. Now off to read what seems like much better find: The Paris Wife.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable read - whether or not you have seen the television series. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from NetGalley.

have been reading Catherine Aird's books for many years and have enjoyed all of them. I think Sloan and Crosby have to be one of the most amusing duos in crime fiction. Crosby is always catching the reader out as well as Sloan because even though many of his utterances are superfluous every so often he hits the nail on the head and provides the inspiration which solves the case.

In this book Crosby's dubious driving skills are needed to help Sloan stop a funeral so that a post mortem can be carried out on the corpse who believed someone would murder her. The book is mainly set in a retirement home allowing the author free rein with the eccentric characters. The writing is as ever amusing with plenty of irony and little asides from Sloan about what he would have liked to say in the circumstances presented to him.

If you enjoy cosy crime novels then try Catherine Aird. The series can be read in any order.

[Yibbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four stars for plot potential, characters, and general setting. One star for the flat conclusion. I guess no author can create a great book every time. With such a depth of backstory for all the involved characters, and possibilities of great twists and revelations it kept me interested, and guessing for most of the book. It was just that her conclusion was just wildly flat compared to the possibilities. Then the ending was startlingly abrupt. It left the book feeling a little unfinished. Not my favorite of her books.
There were a couple of curse words, and the wild past of one of the characters is hinted at frequently, but delicately.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's been a death at the Manor. That's not particularly a surprise as it is a nursing home. This one is unusual in the fact that all of the residents had either been stationed in Egypt a long time ago or were the widows of such. One son, Lionel Powell, is particularly worried about his mother's death.
It seems that Gertie was something of a popular girl who liked the good life. Does it matter? Well, maybe since her will implies there may be other children that could inherit. So DC Sloane is brought in to discover why there seems to be unrest. Does it have anything to do with old grudges?

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 2 out of 5]

A burial of a woman is stopped when her son presents a letter she sent saying someone had killed her.

Sloan and Crosby enter the fray and start to investigate. However, it seems that there’s not much discovery about until the end and even then it feels muddled. There were some really interesting points that could have been made and explored— but I feel they were sidelined by keeping the story on a more humorous level which is too bad. All right, but not one of the best in the series.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old lady writes a letter to be mailed after her death - implying that her death, whenever it occurs, is not natural, but murder. This brings the police to her nursing home ... investigating what? Was it murder? And since the home is dedicated to the care of the men who served in a particular regiment, and their wives - what really happened in that one battle in World War II? And who was the deceased old lady's second husband?

Light, quick read. Solutions all over the place ....

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patients at the Almstone Manor home for the aged and ill are expected to die. The most recent death is a little different from most. The patient sent a letter to her son that she was about to be murdered. Once the police become involved, they see a whole series of odd events. Almstone Manor appears to give better-than-average care, so why the air of secrecy?

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like her writing style: crisp and elegant, and quite funny. But her mysteries wrap up so fast and sometimes rely on stuff the reader couldn't know. Seems unfair. Still, her mysteries are well worth reading.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving the Inspector Sloan series, and the witty writing of Catherine Aird. In this instalment, the inhabitants of Almstone Manor are dying off -- mostly from old age, but others mysteriously -- and Sloan investigates.

[Nichola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just checking that I didn't miss anything but there *technically* wasn't a murder?


Or rather there were several but none of them occurred on the page?

Either way, I think Aird is one of my favourite Golden age authors just for her sense of humour. What a good romp.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my favorite series

So relaxed and easy going, no big tension or suspense and no violence beyond the obligatory death. I really enjoy the way the author writes. Clever rather than shocking.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is relatively new to me but I am enjoying them. Well written with perceptive and humorous observations . This one , set in a nursing home, has an interesting plot and characters

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first experience with this author and series. Loved it

[Jo Bujarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good, always know what to expect.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this one and was a bit distracted. I had a hard time keeping up with all the senior citizens names so it wasn’t as meaningful for me.

[Helen O'Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable Catherine Aird audio recording 😀.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5 stars. Not the best book in this series, it is still full of very dry, pithy British humor. Enjoyable, quick read.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author’s interesting plot, accurate history, and engaging characters. Clean. Well and entertainingly narrated.

[Kelly Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy this series and I definitely enjoyed Stiff News!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not surprising when someone dies in a nursing home, but Gertrude Powell leaves a letter for her son, saying that someone has murdered her. Of course, the case comes to Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan, who stops the funeral and orders an autopsy. Meanwhile, he finds other problems arising at Almstone Manor, which was left to the Fearnshires for the care of retired officers and their families.

[Kwoomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

British mystery starring detective CD Sloan. generally, that would be enough for me to like a book. But not so much here. There's the mysterious death, which the coroner lists as death by natural cause. Sloan investigates anyway on a hunch. Lots of sub-plots and past connections between/among the suspects who are elderly residents in a nursing home. No need to read anymore CD Sloan.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable cozy from a master of the genre. Superintendent Leyes, D.I. Sloan, and Constable Crosby are their usual idiosyncratic selves. The retirement manor where the action takes place is full of eccentrics of the military bent. If you haven't tried Catherine Aird, her books are well worth the effort.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a cozy. The atmosphere is great, but I knew who done it early. I still enjoyed it. A woman is to be buried today, but her son receives a letter from beyond the grave saying she may have been murdered. A Nice visit with Seedy Sloan and Crosby.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of her series.

[Kay]

another good read from catherine aird. Love the superintendent, may never look at adult ed classes in the same way again.