What do you think?
Rate this book
The Romney and Marsh Files #5
Particular Stupidities
A rotting corpse is discovered in one of Kent’s old coal mining communities. In their search to uncover the identities of the victim and those responsible for the death and concealment of the body, DI Romney and his team must confront and deal with issues of prejudice, bias, loyalty and betrayal (and that’s just amongst themselves).
The fifth Romney and Marsh File sees Dover CID taken to the outskirts of their jurisdiction, the edge of reason and the brink of self-destruction.
***
The Romney and Marsh Files now number six (nearly seven). They don’t have to be read in order; they do all work as stand-alone novels. However, to get the most out of each it is recommended that they are consumed in the order in which they were prepared, a bit like the courses of a good meal. (Who wants to eat ice-cream before a bowl of soup?)
Here are the books of the series in order:
#1 Rope Enough
#2 Making a Killing
#3 Joint Enterprise
#4 A Dog’s Life
#5 Particular Stupidities
#6 Unhappy Families
#7 A White-Knuckle Christmas (In production.)
***
The fifth Romney and Marsh File sees Dover CID taken to the outskirts of their jurisdiction, the edge of reason and the brink of self-destruction.
***
The Romney and Marsh Files now number six (nearly seven). They don’t have to be read in order; they do all work as stand-alone novels. However, to get the most out of each it is recommended that they are consumed in the order in which they were prepared, a bit like the courses of a good meal. (Who wants to eat ice-cream before a bowl of soup?)
Here are the books of the series in order:
#1 Rope Enough
#2 Making a Killing
#3 Joint Enterprise
#4 A Dog’s Life
#5 Particular Stupidities
#6 Unhappy Families
#7 A White-Knuckle Christmas (In production.)
***
- GenresMysteryProcedural
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 30, 2015
About the author
Oliver Tidy
21 books79 followersCrime and thriller fiction.
My website is the best place to find me.
http://olivertidy.com
I enjoy communicating with readers of my books, so please, if you have any comments or questions, get in touch.
My website is the best place to find me.
http://olivertidy.com
I enjoy communicating with readers of my books, so please, if you have any comments or questions, get in touch.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 5, 2015
4.5 Stars
I'd have given this five stars if DI Romney, a seen it all copper, had been a little bit less of an arse. While his particular personality gives this series its flavor, it just rubbed at me a bit too much in book #5. Made me feel like stabbing a few of his tyres/tires myself at times. X
I'd have given this five stars if DI Romney, a seen it all copper, had been a little bit less of an arse. While his particular personality gives this series its flavor, it just rubbed at me a bit too much in book #5. Made me feel like stabbing a few of his tyres/tires myself at times. X
July 10, 2017
There were moments in this book I felt things had gone too far into the slapstick realm, but I kept reading and was richly rewarded with many chuckles. I was not fond of the speech impairment assigned to Grimes while he was wearing temporary caps. A little of it went a very long way.
Interesting crime investigations, new towns to visit, appearance of Romney's old flame, the decision to buy a flat for Joy Marsh as she grows into her own in this book, public humiliation for Tom Romney at a town meeting devised by his Super and the organization by Joy Marsh to save Tom Romney's career.
Not to be missed: Discussion re: Gardner's theories of intelligence vs Romney's theories of stupidity
Available through Kindle Unlimited
Interesting crime investigations, new towns to visit, appearance of Romney's old flame, the decision to buy a flat for Joy Marsh as she grows into her own in this book, public humiliation for Tom Romney at a town meeting devised by his Super and the organization by Joy Marsh to save Tom Romney's career.
Not to be missed: Discussion re: Gardner's theories of intelligence vs Romney's theories of stupidity
Available through Kindle Unlimited
August 2, 2015
Really good, I like the way that Romneys chauvinism is balanced by Joy Marshes pragmatic attitude to an outdated male, the story is good and the development of the team really good.
August 6, 2015
Another great story from Oliver Tidy.
Romney and Marsh are working on another series of crimes in Dover: a dead body in a freezer and missing lead from area churches. As expected, from Detective Grimes we get both silly antics and solid police work. And, also as expected, the reader will have mixed feelings about Romney. Do the ends justify his means? Joy Marsh is still trying to decide where she fits in Dover.
Don't be misled by the fact that this is a self-published series. The quality of the writing is excellent. If you are a writer, you might want to follow the author's blog on wordpress.
Be sure to read this series in order. The first one is free on Amazon.
Romney and Marsh are working on another series of crimes in Dover: a dead body in a freezer and missing lead from area churches. As expected, from Detective Grimes we get both silly antics and solid police work. And, also as expected, the reader will have mixed feelings about Romney. Do the ends justify his means? Joy Marsh is still trying to decide where she fits in Dover.
Don't be misled by the fact that this is a self-published series. The quality of the writing is excellent. If you are a writer, you might want to follow the author's blog on wordpress.
Be sure to read this series in order. The first one is free on Amazon.
August 5, 2015
Oliver Tidy
Book 5.
PARTICULAR STUPIDITIES
This is the 5th book in the Romney and Marsh series, when a decomposed body is found rotting in a freezer inside a container Tom Romney and Joy Marsh have been tasked to find out who is it and who put the body there. As with all R&M books the humour is excellent. You will really enjoy this book and the pace it goes at. Highly recommended read.
5* 4th August 2015.
Book 5.
PARTICULAR STUPIDITIES
This is the 5th book in the Romney and Marsh series, when a decomposed body is found rotting in a freezer inside a container Tom Romney and Joy Marsh have been tasked to find out who is it and who put the body there. As with all R&M books the humour is excellent. You will really enjoy this book and the pace it goes at. Highly recommended read.
5* 4th August 2015.
March 24, 2016
Thank heavens for the inspiring character of DS Joy Marsh! She offsets DI Romney's rather unpleasant, out-dated, misogynistic character at last, as he stumbles through his own particular stupidity. What a pompous old fool! But it was nice to see the CID team's solidarity enhanced.
The plot was good but a little slow in getting underway, largely due to the couple of soapbox social philosophies included which, in my opinion, could have been dispensed with.
The plot was good but a little slow in getting underway, largely due to the couple of soapbox social philosophies included which, in my opinion, could have been dispensed with.
October 5, 2016
Another enjoyable book in this series
November 6, 2017
When a dead body turns up in a freezer inside a storage unit leased by the local PTA, Romney and Marsh have their work cut out for them. The owners of the storage unit are very shady characters. The school is just next door and is currently headed by Romney's ex. The victim has some less than stellar associates as well. The case isn't at all straightforward.
In this one, we see Romney at his absolute worst with moments of the good man shining through. He gets himself into a career-threatening situation and it looks like the end of his life as a copper. It's fascinating to watch him go from one low to another, then have these sudden moments of brilliance. Marsh is really growing as a character and I have to admit, I love her strength and morality. Add to the mix the comedy antics of Grimes and Spicer (aka around the station as Laurel and Hardy) and you have a great mystery.
In this one, we see Romney at his absolute worst with moments of the good man shining through. He gets himself into a career-threatening situation and it looks like the end of his life as a copper. It's fascinating to watch him go from one low to another, then have these sudden moments of brilliance. Marsh is really growing as a character and I have to admit, I love her strength and morality. Add to the mix the comedy antics of Grimes and Spicer (aka around the station as Laurel and Hardy) and you have a great mystery.
October 1, 2017
He's only gone and done it again
Mr Tidy caught me out before with the little surprise at the end, and he only went and done it again!
Aside from that, this is my favourite Romney and Marsh book so far. With every book the writing has more clever turns of phrase and less totally crazy metaphors that littered the earlier books.
Enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and keep you gripped. Plenty of humour too. I found myself really disliking Romney thought this book but he turns it around in the end.
Mr Tidy caught me out before with the little surprise at the end, and he only went and done it again!
Aside from that, this is my favourite Romney and Marsh book so far. With every book the writing has more clever turns of phrase and less totally crazy metaphors that littered the earlier books.
Enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and keep you gripped. Plenty of humour too. I found myself really disliking Romney thought this book but he turns it around in the end.
February 11, 2018
Laughed out loud several times in this book. Some very funny moments, some farcical moments from DI Romney but tempered with maturity from DS Marsh. The team are settling well together and even protect Romney when he thinks all is lost. DS Marsh has more and more of a voice and also the respect of the team which is great to see. Best book so far in the series for me.
September 20, 2018
Another very good Romney & Marsh
I've read all 5 in the series, with the other 2 lined up. Loved this one as much as the others. Plenty of funny one liners from Romney. Was good bringing Julie back into it. Marsh gets a bigger role in it. Highly recommend the whole series.
I've read all 5 in the series, with the other 2 lined up. Loved this one as much as the others. Plenty of funny one liners from Romney. Was good bringing Julie back into it. Marsh gets a bigger role in it. Highly recommend the whole series.
October 22, 2017
Better than number 4
Tighter writing, a better plot overall. We finally find out who the mysterious Zara is. Well drafted, the characters more human.
Tighter writing, a better plot overall. We finally find out who the mysterious Zara is. Well drafted, the characters more human.
Read
June 23, 2016WOW, THIS BOOK...
... is a HUGE step forward for Mr. Tidy (now, his last name is PERFECT), This already demonstrably and tremendously talented, wise, and prolific author displays a new (to me) effortlessness; a fascinating, sometimes even courageous book - courageous in how closely and honestly he explores the human condition. His river-like, flowing prose, his almost sneaky (in it's confident non-use of a hammer to the reader's head), plot development, his always appropriate use of humor, make him, and I do not say this lightly, my idea of the perfect author. He, with "Particular Stupidities (THANK you, Mr. Tidy, for the non-generic crime fiction title!) has, in my opinion (having read and enjoyed three others of his books), reached a new dazzling new height, a startlingly new level, combining ease of execution, literary sophistication, editorial economy - not a WORD in this book is superfluous - and a thrilling sense of a writer's freedom, displaying an enveloping CONFIDENCE that impacts this dazzling novel in every possible way, making it both wildly entertaining and true literature. His characters - ALL of them - are finely observed, delightfully complex, VERY different from each other (yet living in the same world), ALL while being almost scientifically consistent AND surprising. His people are strong, vulnerable, flawed, HEROIC, amusing, conflicted, profound when need be, and are as REAL TO LIFE as any fictional characters I have had the pleasure to live among. Further, the seemlessness of his plot, of his character's interactions, the often striking and brave differences within them and between them make quite moving the loyalty they are called upon to, without pause, display. "Partiular Stupidities (perfect title, as well), is both intellectually diverting and emotionally engaging. It is formidably involving (I read it in one sitting. Well, one lounging), and it is non-manipulatively moving, deeply surprising and irrevocably, in every way, just RIGHT. Even the ENDING, which so many crime writers botch, is both perfect and happy-tear-inducing, again; WITHOUT CHEAP MANIPULATION! This book, astonishingly, and seemingly effortlessly, strikes a perfect balance between clear, plausible, and always both interesting and pertinent information (plot) and what is, for the first time in my opinion, an UNOBTRUSIVE, even graceful deployment of this author's truly unique, and legitimately laugh-out-loud sense of humor. As they say; "I laughed, I cried". All of these exemplary qualities make "Particular Stupidities" an infinitely delight "read" as well as novel of true literary merit. Need I even say that I have a new favorite book? And, I read five or six novels, of all genres, a week. I now ALSO have a Christmas gift for EVERYONE on my list. Bravo, Oliver Tidy! You have created something of true, honest, life-affirming value - that will LAST.
... is a HUGE step forward for Mr. Tidy (now, his last name is PERFECT), This already demonstrably and tremendously talented, wise, and prolific author displays a new (to me) effortlessness; a fascinating, sometimes even courageous book - courageous in how closely and honestly he explores the human condition. His river-like, flowing prose, his almost sneaky (in it's confident non-use of a hammer to the reader's head), plot development, his always appropriate use of humor, make him, and I do not say this lightly, my idea of the perfect author. He, with "Particular Stupidities (THANK you, Mr. Tidy, for the non-generic crime fiction title!) has, in my opinion (having read and enjoyed three others of his books), reached a new dazzling new height, a startlingly new level, combining ease of execution, literary sophistication, editorial economy - not a WORD in this book is superfluous - and a thrilling sense of a writer's freedom, displaying an enveloping CONFIDENCE that impacts this dazzling novel in every possible way, making it both wildly entertaining and true literature. His characters - ALL of them - are finely observed, delightfully complex, VERY different from each other (yet living in the same world), ALL while being almost scientifically consistent AND surprising. His people are strong, vulnerable, flawed, HEROIC, amusing, conflicted, profound when need be, and are as REAL TO LIFE as any fictional characters I have had the pleasure to live among. Further, the seemlessness of his plot, of his character's interactions, the often striking and brave differences within them and between them make quite moving the loyalty they are called upon to, without pause, display. "Partiular Stupidities (perfect title, as well), is both intellectually diverting and emotionally engaging. It is formidably involving (I read it in one sitting. Well, one lounging), and it is non-manipulatively moving, deeply surprising and irrevocably, in every way, just RIGHT. Even the ENDING, which so many crime writers botch, is both perfect and happy-tear-inducing, again; WITHOUT CHEAP MANIPULATION! This book, astonishingly, and seemingly effortlessly, strikes a perfect balance between clear, plausible, and always both interesting and pertinent information (plot) and what is, for the first time in my opinion, an UNOBTRUSIVE, even graceful deployment of this author's truly unique, and legitimately laugh-out-loud sense of humor. As they say; "I laughed, I cried". All of these exemplary qualities make "Particular Stupidities" an infinitely delight "read" as well as novel of true literary merit. Need I even say that I have a new favorite book? And, I read five or six novels, of all genres, a week. I now ALSO have a Christmas gift for EVERYONE on my list. Bravo, Oliver Tidy! You have created something of true, honest, life-affirming value - that will LAST.
August 5, 2015
This is a disappointing book because of endless philosophic discussions, grating dental problems, and most of all Romney's blindness which almost results in a tragic mistake before an incredible "coincidence" makes the truth known.
August 9, 2015
Book 5 did not disappoint
I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a series as much as I have enjoyed this one. I took a chance on an unknown author and was amply rewarded. Not great literature but interesting plots and great characters.
I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a series as much as I have enjoyed this one. I took a chance on an unknown author and was amply rewarded. Not great literature but interesting plots and great characters.
January 2, 2016
The plot of this book is ok as are the characters. However, the author consistently launches into a polemic in each book that has nothing to do with either. It is done twice in this book, once on the subject that is the book title.
January 22, 2016
I'm hooked
The writing is good, some very minor typos, less than 5 more than 2.
I like the characters. They are real and believable.
I'm on to the next book.
The writing is good, some very minor typos, less than 5 more than 2.
I like the characters. They are real and believable.
I'm on to the next book.
April 2, 2016
Full of all the things ive come to
Expect from this author a well written story with lots of humour
Expect from this author a well written story with lots of humour
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews