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Murder is on the cards…
When Arnold Peabody dies, nobody but his grasping cousin Edith takes much notice.
A quiet, ineffectual little man, he was lost following the death of his domineering mother — and took his own life shortly after her demise.
The death of Mildred Hewitt, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.
A pillar of society and formidable matriarch in Avenridge, Mildred falls to her death from a local beauty spot one snowy night a few weeks after Arnold’s death.
Like Arnold, her son Gilbert is helpless without the commanding presence of his mother…but Gilbert goes even more spectacularly off the rails.
Puffed up with his own sense of self-importance and twisted sense of reality, Gilbert is entirely incapable of life on his own.
He decides, as Arnold had done, to visit a local medium in the hope of obtaining some contact with his mother from beyond the grave — something, anything, that will tell him what to do.
There he meets the mysterious Veronica, who quickly becomes his guardian angel…or does she have a more sinister motivation for inserting herself into Gilbert’s life?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont, a frequent visitor to Avenridge since his years there as an evacuee, finds himself increasingly involved in the Hewitt case — which smells of murder.
The case of Arnold Peabody, and its similarity to the Hewitt case, flickers at the back of his mind and Henry begins to wonder if the two deaths are not connected.
Incidents from his childhood, blurred by time, return to haunt him as Gilbert spirals into madness, stirring up memories of old scandals and bringing long-forgotten people back into play.
As Henry unpeels layer upon layer of old scandal and undreamed-of connections, Veronica becomes ever more elusive, leading him to wonder if he can find her before tragedy strikes yet again…
Tangle is a thrilling murder mystery novel, so full of drama and suspense that you won’t be able to put it down.
Meg Elizabeth Atkins has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain , Palimpsest and Tangle , she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences. Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door , Cruel As The Grave and Samain .
When Arnold Peabody dies, nobody but his grasping cousin Edith takes much notice.
A quiet, ineffectual little man, he was lost following the death of his domineering mother — and took his own life shortly after her demise.
The death of Mildred Hewitt, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.
A pillar of society and formidable matriarch in Avenridge, Mildred falls to her death from a local beauty spot one snowy night a few weeks after Arnold’s death.
Like Arnold, her son Gilbert is helpless without the commanding presence of his mother…but Gilbert goes even more spectacularly off the rails.
Puffed up with his own sense of self-importance and twisted sense of reality, Gilbert is entirely incapable of life on his own.
He decides, as Arnold had done, to visit a local medium in the hope of obtaining some contact with his mother from beyond the grave — something, anything, that will tell him what to do.
There he meets the mysterious Veronica, who quickly becomes his guardian angel…or does she have a more sinister motivation for inserting herself into Gilbert’s life?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont, a frequent visitor to Avenridge since his years there as an evacuee, finds himself increasingly involved in the Hewitt case — which smells of murder.
The case of Arnold Peabody, and its similarity to the Hewitt case, flickers at the back of his mind and Henry begins to wonder if the two deaths are not connected.
Incidents from his childhood, blurred by time, return to haunt him as Gilbert spirals into madness, stirring up memories of old scandals and bringing long-forgotten people back into play.
As Henry unpeels layer upon layer of old scandal and undreamed-of connections, Veronica becomes ever more elusive, leading him to wonder if he can find her before tragedy strikes yet again…
Tangle is a thrilling murder mystery novel, so full of drama and suspense that you won’t be able to put it down.
Meg Elizabeth Atkins has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain , Palimpsest and Tangle , she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences. Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door , Cruel As The Grave and Samain .
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 16, 2019
EXCERPT: ... on a bitter day in January, darkness came early to Avenridge, and finally to Mildred Hewitt. When the manner of her death became known, it sent shock waves through the town; there was gossip, speculation, bewilderment. Mildred Hewitt was a widow of excellent reputation and social prominence, strenuous in charitable work, a devoted mother, a scrupulous businesswoman, and a nerve-wracking snob. The name of Hewitt stood well in Avenridge, they had lived there for four generations, establishing their business - Hewitt's High Class Printers - going about their respectable, mundane affairs, consolidating their modest fortune. Mildred Hewitt's pride in them, in her status, gave her charm its ruthless quality and set an edge of arrogance to her general resolution.
But Mildred Hewitt had a secret, and it was because of the secret that she died.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: When Arnold Peabody dies, nobody but his grasping cousin Edith takes much notice.
A quiet, ineffectual little man, he was lost following the death of his domineering mother — and took his own life shortly after her demise.
The death of Mildred Hewitt, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.
A pillar of society and formidable matriarch in Avenridge, Mildred falls to her death from a local beauty spot one snowy night a few weeks after Arnold’s death.
Like Arnold, her son Gilbert is helpless without the commanding presence of his mother…but Gilbert goes even more spectacularly off the rails.
Puffed up with his own sense of self-importance and twisted sense of reality, Gilbert is entirely incapable of life on his own.
He decides, as Arnold had done, to visit a local medium in the hope of obtaining some contact with his mother from beyond the grave — something, anything, that will tell him what to do.
There he meets the mysterious Veronica, who quickly becomes his guardian angel…or does she have a more sinister motivation for inserting herself into Gilbert’s life?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont, a frequent visitor to Avenridge since his years there as an evacuee, finds himself increasingly involved in the Hewitt case — which smells of murder.
The case of Arnold Peabody, and its similarity to the Hewitt case, flickers at the back of his mind and Henry begins to wonder if the two deaths are not connected.
Incidents from his childhood, blurred by time, return to haunt him as Gilbert spirals into madness, stirring up memories of old scandals and bringing long-forgotten people back into play.
As Henry unpeels layer upon layer of old scandal and undreamed-of connections, Veronica becomes ever more elusive, leading him to wonder if he can find her before tragedy strikes yet again…
MY THOUGHTS: It took me a little to get into this book. At first it appeared pretentious, but soon the machinations of the characters and the nature of the mystery had me engrossed.
Set in the early 1970's, before mobile phones and computers, it all now seems a little old-world, and it seemed to me that it could have been set much earlier than that. Even the characters seem a little old fashioned, a little more old world than I would have expected for this time period. It could easily have been set in the 1950's, or even earlier. But in no way is this a criticism.
The author has taken time to develop her characters into a very interesting bunch. My particular favorite is Emmeline ...'Emmeline's pullover was on inside out and she had lost the buttons of her shirt sleeves. Or someone's shirt, it was far too big for her and could have been one of her father's. ...It simply doesn't occur to her she might look as if she's just cleaned out the cellar.' A little fey, a lot unconventional, Emmeline shines.
An intriguing mystery peppered with interesting characters. I will be reading more by this author.
****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Meg Elizabeth Atkins has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain, Palimpsest and Tangle, she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences.
Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door, Cruel As The Grave and Samain.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Endeavour Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Tangle by Meg Elizabeth Atkins for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on my webpage sandysbookaday/wordpess.com This review and others also appear on Twitter, Amazon, and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
But Mildred Hewitt had a secret, and it was because of the secret that she died.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: When Arnold Peabody dies, nobody but his grasping cousin Edith takes much notice.
A quiet, ineffectual little man, he was lost following the death of his domineering mother — and took his own life shortly after her demise.
The death of Mildred Hewitt, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.
A pillar of society and formidable matriarch in Avenridge, Mildred falls to her death from a local beauty spot one snowy night a few weeks after Arnold’s death.
Like Arnold, her son Gilbert is helpless without the commanding presence of his mother…but Gilbert goes even more spectacularly off the rails.
Puffed up with his own sense of self-importance and twisted sense of reality, Gilbert is entirely incapable of life on his own.
He decides, as Arnold had done, to visit a local medium in the hope of obtaining some contact with his mother from beyond the grave — something, anything, that will tell him what to do.
There he meets the mysterious Veronica, who quickly becomes his guardian angel…or does she have a more sinister motivation for inserting herself into Gilbert’s life?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont, a frequent visitor to Avenridge since his years there as an evacuee, finds himself increasingly involved in the Hewitt case — which smells of murder.
The case of Arnold Peabody, and its similarity to the Hewitt case, flickers at the back of his mind and Henry begins to wonder if the two deaths are not connected.
Incidents from his childhood, blurred by time, return to haunt him as Gilbert spirals into madness, stirring up memories of old scandals and bringing long-forgotten people back into play.
As Henry unpeels layer upon layer of old scandal and undreamed-of connections, Veronica becomes ever more elusive, leading him to wonder if he can find her before tragedy strikes yet again…
MY THOUGHTS: It took me a little to get into this book. At first it appeared pretentious, but soon the machinations of the characters and the nature of the mystery had me engrossed.
Set in the early 1970's, before mobile phones and computers, it all now seems a little old-world, and it seemed to me that it could have been set much earlier than that. Even the characters seem a little old fashioned, a little more old world than I would have expected for this time period. It could easily have been set in the 1950's, or even earlier. But in no way is this a criticism.
The author has taken time to develop her characters into a very interesting bunch. My particular favorite is Emmeline ...'Emmeline's pullover was on inside out and she had lost the buttons of her shirt sleeves. Or someone's shirt, it was far too big for her and could have been one of her father's. ...It simply doesn't occur to her she might look as if she's just cleaned out the cellar.' A little fey, a lot unconventional, Emmeline shines.
An intriguing mystery peppered with interesting characters. I will be reading more by this author.
****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Meg Elizabeth Atkins has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain, Palimpsest and Tangle, she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences.
Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door, Cruel As The Grave and Samain.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Endeavour Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Tangle by Meg Elizabeth Atkins for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on my webpage sandysbookaday/wordpess.com This review and others also appear on Twitter, Amazon, and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
July 31, 2016
Arnold Peabody takes his own life … maybe …. After the death of his mother. No one is really concerned except for his cousin Edith … and she’s only irate because he left his small fortune to some woman he had met a few weeks before he killed himself.
A few weeks later, Mildred Hewitt falls to her death. There were no witnesses .. an accident?
Her son, Gilbert, is completely lost without his mother. Lost like entirely unable to face life without her.
The only commonality between these two is that both sons have visited a local medium. Even a voice from beyond the grave might go a long way in calming their fears about a motherless future.
But then Gilbert meets Veronica … a God-send so he thinks. Is this the same woman that Arnold Peabody met before his untimely death? And is there a sinister reason why she has played some part in their lives?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont notices the similarity of these cases. One plus one equals murder, especially when Veronica disappears.
This seemed to move at a slower pace, but It was steady. The author took time to forge character identities and most of them were rather intriguing, some a bit on the quirky side. CI Beaumont reminded me a bit of Columbo, never seeming in any real hurry, never getting upset or angry, and having a mind that just never shut off.
Tangle is a very good mystery, with a touch of suspense.
Many thanks to the author / Endeavour Press / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
A few weeks later, Mildred Hewitt falls to her death. There were no witnesses .. an accident?
Her son, Gilbert, is completely lost without his mother. Lost like entirely unable to face life without her.
The only commonality between these two is that both sons have visited a local medium. Even a voice from beyond the grave might go a long way in calming their fears about a motherless future.
But then Gilbert meets Veronica … a God-send so he thinks. Is this the same woman that Arnold Peabody met before his untimely death? And is there a sinister reason why she has played some part in their lives?
Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont notices the similarity of these cases. One plus one equals murder, especially when Veronica disappears.
This seemed to move at a slower pace, but It was steady. The author took time to forge character identities and most of them were rather intriguing, some a bit on the quirky side. CI Beaumont reminded me a bit of Columbo, never seeming in any real hurry, never getting upset or angry, and having a mind that just never shut off.
Tangle is a very good mystery, with a touch of suspense.
Many thanks to the author / Endeavour Press / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
October 20, 2016
MURDER MYSTERY WITH A REAL TWIST:
An enjoyable novel for anyone looking for a light read but a novel which I find difficult to define. It's a murder mystery which includes some delightful prose and observational passages of good humour. An easy to read, short novel set in the village of Avenridge with only a limited number of characters to remember and a flowing narrative which sweeps you to the surprise conclusion. However I found the murder mystery plot a shade dated but have to hand it to the author: I never would have predicted the end.
If you like Agatha Christie I am sure you will enjoy this book.
(My review was based on an eBook file provided to me free of charge by the publisher. My review is independent and not influenced by the publisher.)
An enjoyable novel for anyone looking for a light read but a novel which I find difficult to define. It's a murder mystery which includes some delightful prose and observational passages of good humour. An easy to read, short novel set in the village of Avenridge with only a limited number of characters to remember and a flowing narrative which sweeps you to the surprise conclusion. However I found the murder mystery plot a shade dated but have to hand it to the author: I never would have predicted the end.
If you like Agatha Christie I am sure you will enjoy this book.
(My review was based on an eBook file provided to me free of charge by the publisher. My review is independent and not influenced by the publisher.)
March 16, 2017
Another cozy crime from the pen of Meg E Atkins. I enjoyed her twists and turns as the plot unfolds. Great ending.
January 25, 2025
Could not put it down. Literally read it in 6 hours.
September 8, 2016
Lonely Arnold Peabody kills himself after the death of his mother. Later did Mildred Hewitt also commit suicide. Is there a connection between these people and who or what is it. Chief Inspector Henry Beaumont decides to unofficial investigate the mystery. (Originally published in 1988).
I found the flow of the story a bit too slow and none of the characters were really appealing or that interesting. Which is a pity as I have enjoyed other books by Ms Atkins.
A NetGalley Book
I found the flow of the story a bit too slow and none of the characters were really appealing or that interesting. Which is a pity as I have enjoyed other books by Ms Atkins.
A NetGalley Book
August 14, 2016
Thank you to the author / Endeavour Press / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I was looking forward to reading this book but for me this book was unnecessarily over-complicated and slow and it just failed to grab my interest. I just didn't care enough for the characters and couldn't wait for it to end.
I was looking forward to reading this book but for me this book was unnecessarily over-complicated and slow and it just failed to grab my interest. I just didn't care enough for the characters and couldn't wait for it to end.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews