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Inspector Alvarez #6
Unseemly End
Dolly Lund – widow of a scrap metal merchant and thrower of flauntingly vulgar parties – may be one of the wealthiest women on Mallorca. But she certainly isn’t the most popular…
When Dolly unexpectedly dies after a night of overindulgence at one of her extravaganzas, few on the island shed a tear.
Her young lover Mark Erington inherits virtually everything and that’s the end of that.
Or it would it have been, if the doctor hadn’t suggested that Señora Lund may not have died naturally, suddenly piling a murder case on Inspector Alvarez’s desk.
The principal beneficiary becomes the number one suspect.
Only he happened to have been in England on the night of her party, and has an alibi to prove it.
As the summer heat begins to sap all remaining dregs of energy from the island, Alvarez’s efforts to trace Erington’s movements seem nothing but a waste of time.
Like speculating why Dolly had a left a battered cigarette case to a young man she hardly knew.
And why her Spanish gardener had it in for her.
Or why her daughter’s pleas for financial help had been ignored.
Weaving between locals and holidaymakers alike, the inspector finds plenty to interest him in the questionable lives and habits of the English colony on Mallorca.
But with another body thrown into the mix, unearthing island gossip is not enough. Will he unearth the island murderer?
Unseemly End is an engrossing thriller filled with mystery and suspense.
When Dolly unexpectedly dies after a night of overindulgence at one of her extravaganzas, few on the island shed a tear.
Her young lover Mark Erington inherits virtually everything and that’s the end of that.
Or it would it have been, if the doctor hadn’t suggested that Señora Lund may not have died naturally, suddenly piling a murder case on Inspector Alvarez’s desk.
The principal beneficiary becomes the number one suspect.
Only he happened to have been in England on the night of her party, and has an alibi to prove it.
As the summer heat begins to sap all remaining dregs of energy from the island, Alvarez’s efforts to trace Erington’s movements seem nothing but a waste of time.
Like speculating why Dolly had a left a battered cigarette case to a young man she hardly knew.
And why her Spanish gardener had it in for her.
Or why her daughter’s pleas for financial help had been ignored.
Weaving between locals and holidaymakers alike, the inspector finds plenty to interest him in the questionable lives and habits of the English colony on Mallorca.
But with another body thrown into the mix, unearthing island gossip is not enough. Will he unearth the island murderer?
Unseemly End is an engrossing thriller filled with mystery and suspense.
- GenresMystery
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1982
10 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Roderic Jeffries
134 books19 followersaka Peter Alding, Jeffrey Ashford, Roderic Graeme, Graham Hastings.
Son of Graham Montague Jeffries
Roderic Jeffries was born in London in 1926 and was educated at Harrow View House Preparatory School and the Department of Navigation, University of Southampton.
In 1943 he joined the New Zealand Shipping Company as an apprentice and sailed to Australia and New Zealand, but later transferred to the the Union Castle Company in order to visit a different part of the world.
He returned to England in 1949 where he was admitted to the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn and read for the Bar at the same time as he began to write. He was called to the Bar in 1953, and after one year's pupilage practiced law for a few terms during which time there to write full time.
His first book, a sea story for juveniles, was published in 1950.
His books have been published in many different countries and have been adapted for film, television, and radio.
He lived for a time in the country in a 17th century farmhouse, almost, but not quite overlooking Romney Marsh before he and his wife moved to Mallorca. They have two children.
Son of Graham Montague Jeffries
Roderic Jeffries was born in London in 1926 and was educated at Harrow View House Preparatory School and the Department of Navigation, University of Southampton.
In 1943 he joined the New Zealand Shipping Company as an apprentice and sailed to Australia and New Zealand, but later transferred to the the Union Castle Company in order to visit a different part of the world.
He returned to England in 1949 where he was admitted to the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn and read for the Bar at the same time as he began to write. He was called to the Bar in 1953, and after one year's pupilage practiced law for a few terms during which time there to write full time.
His first book, a sea story for juveniles, was published in 1950.
His books have been published in many different countries and have been adapted for film, television, and radio.
He lived for a time in the country in a 17th century farmhouse, almost, but not quite overlooking Romney Marsh before he and his wife moved to Mallorca. They have two children.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 27, 2019
Leisurely Inspector Alvarez entry, the sixth in the series, featuring the Mallorcan detective investigating two murders, one of which–or both–may not be murders. Alvarez is an engaging and charming character, an antithesis to the brilliant detective type. He stumbles along in tentative fashion, flip-flopping on his deductions and enduring harassment and disrespect on the job and at home. He is persistent however, never allowing an opponent to push him around and he eventually ferrets out the solution to the mysteries surrounding the death of a particularly obnoxious member of the English expatriate community.
Unseemly End is a light entertainment murder mystery featuring gentle ironic humor. The story's resolution is more about justice based upon humanitarian issues than upon legal ones. The story is well-plotted: Alvarez bounces back and forth between suspects, but this is natural to the situation: situations change, newly emerge, or Alvarez has come to interpret them differently so he must revisit everyone and have another go at it. The dialogue is crisp and the characters are well-defined, each being easily distinguishable from both each other and common stereotypes. Unfortunately the book does not become all that intriguing until the end: 95% of the book is relatively transparent and it is too easy for the reader to be ahead of Alvarez until the very end when–as if out of a hat–the solution is revealed. Not fair play and neither entertaining nor exciting enough to get away with it.
Unseemly End is a light entertainment murder mystery featuring gentle ironic humor. The story's resolution is more about justice based upon humanitarian issues than upon legal ones. The story is well-plotted: Alvarez bounces back and forth between suspects, but this is natural to the situation: situations change, newly emerge, or Alvarez has come to interpret them differently so he must revisit everyone and have another go at it. The dialogue is crisp and the characters are well-defined, each being easily distinguishable from both each other and common stereotypes. Unfortunately the book does not become all that intriguing until the end: 95% of the book is relatively transparent and it is too easy for the reader to be ahead of Alvarez until the very end when–as if out of a hat–the solution is revealed. Not fair play and neither entertaining nor exciting enough to get away with it.
May 19, 2017
I got unseemly end via NETGALLEY.
The book was so boring.
The story didn't interest me which shows how boring it was because there are a victim and a murder here. I should be very curious, right?!
I was lost. I had to reread some pages to understand what they're talking about. The writer was jumping from one scene to another.
He was describing many things that didn't matter to me like the garden and the name of the trees. I lost interest in the whole book.
The book was so boring.
The story didn't interest me which shows how boring it was because there are a victim and a murder here. I should be very curious, right?!
I was lost. I had to reread some pages to understand what they're talking about. The writer was jumping from one scene to another.
He was describing many things that didn't matter to me like the garden and the name of the trees. I lost interest in the whole book.
November 17, 2017
I really enjoy this detective
September 17, 2022
Still enjoying this Majorca-based mystery series… I’m always kept guessing and enjoy the sense of justice of the inspector.
April 10, 2017
i received an arc from the publisher via Netgalley.
A mediocre police mystery. Didn't grab my attention.
A mediocre police mystery. Didn't grab my attention.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews