Not That Kind of Place

Helen West #2

by Frances Fyfield

Crown Prosecutor Helen West and Detective Superintendent Geoffrey Bailey investigate the discovery of a naked body in the woods and uncover a hidden world of envy, greed, lust, and rage in a tiny hamlet

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Aka Frances Hegarty.

Frances Fyfield is a criminal lawyer, who lives in London and in Deal, by the sea which is her passion. She has won several awards, including the CWA Silver Dagger.

She grew up in rural Derbyshire, but spent most of her adult life in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. She was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English at Newcastle University and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. She also worked for the Metropolitan Police.

Years later, writing became her real vocation. She also writes short stories for magazines and radio and is occasionally a contributor to Radio 4, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave.

Reviews

[Cheryl M-M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fyfield’s writing is quite busy, often overladen with description or dialogue when less could be more. It is also quite dry and drawn out. What it lacks it literary prowess it makes up for in solid plot. The murder and subsequent revelation of the murderer is very well done.

Living together in the suburbs is an experiment for the couple. Bailey enjoys the housewife mode Helen has slipped into and Helen seems to think acting like an overpaid maid equals a successful relationship.

I mean come on, who waits up till nearly midnight to run their man a bubble bath and make them dinner? Not exactly realistic and certainly bound to end up making someone unhappy.

You can almost see the cracks in their relationship starting to appear, during the duration of the case and certainly towards the end. Bailey speaks to Helen, as if she were a disruptive little housewife who can’t behave properly in society.

It is hard to understand why Helen is completely passive in her job and relationship, despite her abilities, education and intelligence. Instead of acting upon her instincts she chooses to make half-baked attempts at solving this crime. She happens to stumble upon the right answer and ends up putting herself in extreme danger.

I enjoyed the way Fyfield constructed a very subtle net around the killer. I t isn’t until the last moment that the reader sees the net being drawn in around the person and various other leads are cut from the tangle of clues.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Edelweiss.

[Kristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Witness Impulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

At first I couldn't find any information on this book but then realised that it was originally published under the name Not That Kind of Place in 1990. This book is book two in the Helen West Mystery series.

I really struggled with this book. It took me many attempts just to get past the first few pages. The writing style is definitely not for me. I found it dull and boring and it jumped around way too much. Perhaps this was the reason that I struggled getting into the story. The writing made it hard for the story to grab me and make me want to read more.

There is a decent mystery within the pages but unfortunately for me it got a little lost in the words. There is no denying that Fyfield is a talented writer that I'm sure many others will enjoy but not me. I couldn't relate to the characters and there were too many times that I was tempted to give up on the book. Perhaps it was my mood at the time I read it...I don't know. Maybe I will attempt another book of hers in the future but not any time soon.

[Franziska Self Fisken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent crime story. I guessed who the murderer was before the end of the book.

[Maryann MJS1228 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that makes me believe any "first in a series" book is bound to be overburdened with exposition, backstory and more backstory. Then I remember glorious examples like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Game of Kings and remember what a little restraint can do. A reader shouldn't be sick to death of the heroine and hero of a mystery novel let alone a series by chapter 3 but that's exactly where this one left me. Helen West comes across as a self-absorbed, self-satisfied jerk. Geoffrey Bailey fares slightly better though add in the wimp factor and he's similarly unwelcome by page 50 or so. The mystery itself is interesting enough and might have been quite good had the author spent more time on the victim, the suspect, their friends and family instead of droning on about Helen, her boyfriend (not her husband as we're told a dozen times per chapter!) and equally annoying policewoman Amanda.

None of the characters is particularly likable which makes for a tiring read. And they can barely tolerate each other. West and Bailey feel superior to the family that owns the pub. Bailey feels superior to his subordinate Amanda. West feels superior to pretty much everyone else in town and certainly to every established institution. And we're treated to a ringside seat on all this because West and Bailey's internal monologues fill page after page.

The ending, however, is what made me yearn to slap these two. An "innocent" is killed, a man was wrongly accused, someone is fired and lives are damaged all around. But despite escaping unharmed except for a dirty jacket, West and Bailey whine and whine and whine to themselves and each other. It's all about them. They feel guilty. They feel disillusioned. They are oppressed by life in the 'burbs. They need a new place to live.

They need to get a grip.

[Hortensia · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sé que pensar de este libro. Me gustó pero a la vez me pareció previsible y en ocasiones se tornó tan absurdamente lento, que me costó más del tiempo que usualmente tardo en leer una novela de esta longitud.

Y ese ritmo pausado en el desarrollo de una trama que a todas luces se sabía cómo iba a terminar, no lo hizo en absoluto desagradable, pues esa parsimonia se debe a un trabajo descriptivo absolutamente asombroso, y este asombro puede ser tanto positivo como negativo, porque mucha de ese detalle, se podría haber obviado haciendo más ágil la lectura, pero quizá no se hubiera logrado la profundidad que se requería.

Después de todo, la autora logró que me adentrara en la vida y en la mente de los protagonistas, frustrándome con cada escollo, con cada indiferencia y con cada manía.

Las tres estrellas son porque a pesar de ser bueno, deseé que se terminara pronto.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real mixed bag. Fyfield clearly has a gift for description, but in a crime thriller that can get in the way. Ideally, such a book should be taut, lean, and packing a punch in the moments of danger. This book is none of those things. The plot is good (though it becomes fairly obvious early on who is to blame for the events in the novel), but while the descriptive passages are excellent, they detract. One example of many - one of the crucial scenes in the book is a meeting on a London Underground train, yet that meeting occurs after a dozen pages of description of a protagonist's day trip to London shopping. We don't need to know what shops she went into or how she was feeling as she was trying on clothes - it's completely irrelevant to the story.

The concluding section of the book is equally cumbersome, taking several pages over two lengthy internal monologues. On the other hand, these monologues are a microcosm of the problems the lead characters in the story have: they don't talk to each other, keeping everything inside. This, though important to the plot, is a major problem with the book. These people aren't coping with life, and - to be honest - aren't really that likeable. It's difficult to feel much emotion for anyone in the book, which is a secondary reason why I found it hard to connect with the action.

Overall, then, a good plot and a good writer failing to really gel into a good novel, but with enough positives to save it from a lower rating.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series, which has now been called Not That Kind of Place . This author is very wordy and this is more of a thinking book. I like the character of Helen West, although I can understand that some may not. All the characters I thought were believable, and the portrayal of a town dominated by people who had moved out of London , was very well done, having done that myself.
I have read books 4 and 5 in this series and wasn't until I started this that I found I do have book 1, so that will be my next read . Looking forward to getting a bit more backstory in that one.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, like the first, is a thinking rather than doing mystery. Descriptions seem to be as much about thoughts and relationships as about places and things. I did figure out the killer very early on but I'm not sure it was the point for it to be a mystery.

[Helen Mcglaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and powerful writing

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mystery.

[Fairport Public Library]

October 2009, Tori R, Fiction

[Amanda Goldsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story in the end. it took me a minute to get into it, but by chapter 7 i couldnt put it down. I found it in a charity shop.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Helen West book, and I enjoyed it greatly too. She words some things like no one else I've ever read and captures in a few sentences a great deal:

"Let him win for now; she would not disturb the peace with talk of Blundells and Sumners, murders and lawyers. Dangerous ground, a smooth-surfaced cesspit. Varnish it with laughter, while in her mind there grew a dull sense of compromise. It had been the love affair to end all others; it was beginning to slip, the way of all others." [p. 77:]

And I really loved this line: "I am less of a stranger with you than with anyone else." [p. 213:]

The rest of the books in the series now have a hold placed on them for me in the Austin Public Library system.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rilettura deludente. Sufficiente ma non basta.
Non è un thriller procedurale perché il processo è solo nello sfondo. Non è un thriller investigativo perché non ci sono interrogatori, nemmeno al presunto colpevole, non c’è porta a porta, non ci sono indiziati e non c’è indagine. Forse è un romanzo d’amore e allora si, l’ultima pagina è commovente. Ma nel mezzo mille elucubrazioni sull’affievolirsi dell’amore perfetto perché avendo i due protagonisti ruoli diversi, non si dicono tutto ma proprio tutto tutto come invece dovrebbe fare una coppia perfetta. Snervante e stancante perché, come cantava Finardi, “l’amore è fatto di gioia ma anche di noia”.

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was the first of the series, but I still have an earlier one to find. This one is about a murdered woman whose lover is arrested for killing her, but the clues don't add up completely. Her husband & daughter are not exactly mournful; they're angry. The daughter is also a bit of a psycho...

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another book that has waited patiently for me to read it, and thankfully it was worth the wait.
I bought the book on publication and never got round to reading it. Stupid really..
It didn’t disappoint. Sure, it’s dated a little mainly in style but in essence this author always had the goods that has sadly been neglected by too many. Read this author - there is something special about her.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Kept my interest. I love reading novels about mysteries in England..

[Amélie Rêverie]

2 in series

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

AKA Trial by Fire

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frances Fyfield always tells an engrossing tale; this audio edition was well read.

[Deborah J · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little far fetched, but Fyfield can write. I loved the observation of the London overflow to the end of the Central line. An easy read.

[lethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review 1996:
Spannend, ondanks de wat irritante schrijfstijl.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the style, unusual as it was, but it was an interesting murder mystery.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weak writing, weak plot, weak read.