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Anything for a Quiet Life: And Other New Mystery Stories
A collection of tales of mystery and intrigue centers around Jonas Pickett, a retired London solicitor whose legal skills repeatedly involve him in odd and dangerous cases
222 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1990
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Michael Gilbert
143 books92 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 12, 2021
Jonah Pickett leaves the pressures of the big city and, aiming at moving into semi retirement, sets up his solicitors’ office in the small town of Shackleton-on-Sea. His hopes for a quiet life disappear as cases are constantly brought to him. A collection of short stories that make up a complete whole. Gentle mysteries (‘mysteries’ being a little too strong a word for them) that are less important than the development of the characters and description of the life of the small town. Enjoyable but probably best listened to while doing something else.
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January 24, 2025OK collection of crime/espionage stories but not as good as Calder and Behrens.
May 23, 2020
Jonah Pickett moves his solicitor office to a quiet Sussex town, Shackleton-on-Sea, as a compromise between his London workload and retirement. He plans to take on just a few clients and enjoy the small-town life. But trouble has a way of finding Jonah--whether in the form of clients with difficult problems, clients who are difficult problems, or problems within the town itself. Fortunately, he has his acerbic partner Sabrina, his beautiful secretary Claire, and Sam, a former circus strongman who acts as his man-of-all-work to help him.
April 2, 2021
Exceedingly pleasant stories, leaning toward mysteries, but really more crime/adventure on a gentle, semi-retired lawyer scale, along the southern coast of England. Not that reality, violence, murder, suicide, politics, and natural disasters aren’t part of this world—it’s just that this world is stronger than all of that. Did you ever watch Doc Martin? This is like that.
February 26, 2020
Now that I've read several books by Gilbert I have to say that I doubt very much whether he was capable of writing a bad novel or a bad story. He's perhaps the most consistently good of 20th century mystery writers.
August 2, 2021
This witty and fun short story collection featuring a solicitor who has semi-retired to a rural town where trouble keeps finding him was a great introduction to a new-to-me-author. I promptly sought out more Gilbert.
December 25, 2023
Very pleasant. Doesn't quite come off--the lawyer and his associates don't quite become fully realised characters, and the small town in which he retires to practice doesn't have many coherently quirky inhabitants. The series of case-vignettes is a bit murdery and a bit brimfull of local prejudice against gypsies, could use more variety. But the idea is sound--big-city lawyer retires to a small town and drums up a variety of local business, solving people's problems. Can't even say he solves them, mostly. But they get solved.
March 8, 2021
Gilbert is a superb storyteller. This collection of short stories is an excellent one. The plotting, writing, characters, pacing, the characters that might-or-not-make-it to the end. Unexpected endings.
After a series of bad to awful books, this further stands as a gem.
Again, here is a seasoned author that knows how to write succinctly and not the contemporary waste of effort covering hundreds of pages to describe the same thing. Current writers should note writers, like Gilbert, and work to write better and not more.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. Ten out of ten points.
After a series of bad to awful books, this further stands as a gem.
Again, here is a seasoned author that knows how to write succinctly and not the contemporary waste of effort covering hundreds of pages to describe the same thing. Current writers should note writers, like Gilbert, and work to write better and not more.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. Ten out of ten points.
January 12, 2020
I enjoyed these experiences of a semi-retired solicitor in a small village.
September 5, 2025
This book of short stories had great potential. A 60+ lawyer semi-retires to a seaside English market town. Shackleton is exactly the sort of place I would like to spend some time wandering around in. If not in person, at least vicariously. Unfortunately this book is thoroughly mediocre and painfully boring.
The lead character, Jonas Pickett, does not so much as solve mysteries as sort of sits around as they happen. Pickett, a lifelong bachelor, is extremely boring, one of the most vanilla characters I have ever read. And just about every conversation he is involved in is boring, tedious, or both. Perry Mason this guy ain't. Now an author could have a lot of fun with a boring character; vanilla can be amazing. Michael Gilbert didn't.
Usually at least once, if not more, in every story we are told how everyone respects Pickett for how smart and clever he is. We keep getting fed this statement despite receiving extremely little evidence to support it. It's like reading a Janet Evanovich book when she is at her worst. There are points where you have to set the book aside because the writing is so weak and frustrating. There were many "why the hell am I still reading this" moments.
Contrary to what it says on the cover, for the most part the stories are not mysteries. Most of the stories, in theory, are actually interesting, which is why I kept reading it, but the execution is dullsville.
I have read a lot, a lot of English books, and have seen a lot of English television. Now it's possible that this book might be the most English thing ever written and the conversations are brilliant and not boring, and me being an American in 2015, I don't really get it. I find that unlikely, but leave it as a possibility.
ABOUT MY COPY
This book was published in 1990. A sticker implies I bought this off a clearance table, probably in 1991. Which means I have probably owned this book for 24 years and 4 homes before finally reading it as part of my read every book we own project. There have been some great finds hiding on our bookshelves. This was not one of them. This book will not see a 25th year with me.
UPDATE
It's almost exactly a year later. I still didn't really enjoy reading this book that much, but its sense of location (English seaside town) and moment in time (the late 1960s) surprisingly has lingered with me. I don't think that will cause me to read any more Michael Gilbert books if I were to ever stumble across any.
The lead character, Jonas Pickett, does not so much as solve mysteries as sort of sits around as they happen. Pickett, a lifelong bachelor, is extremely boring, one of the most vanilla characters I have ever read. And just about every conversation he is involved in is boring, tedious, or both. Perry Mason this guy ain't. Now an author could have a lot of fun with a boring character; vanilla can be amazing. Michael Gilbert didn't.
Usually at least once, if not more, in every story we are told how everyone respects Pickett for how smart and clever he is. We keep getting fed this statement despite receiving extremely little evidence to support it. It's like reading a Janet Evanovich book when she is at her worst. There are points where you have to set the book aside because the writing is so weak and frustrating. There were many "why the hell am I still reading this" moments.
Contrary to what it says on the cover, for the most part the stories are not mysteries. Most of the stories, in theory, are actually interesting, which is why I kept reading it, but the execution is dullsville.
I have read a lot, a lot of English books, and have seen a lot of English television. Now it's possible that this book might be the most English thing ever written and the conversations are brilliant and not boring, and me being an American in 2015, I don't really get it. I find that unlikely, but leave it as a possibility.
ABOUT MY COPY
This book was published in 1990. A sticker implies I bought this off a clearance table, probably in 1991. Which means I have probably owned this book for 24 years and 4 homes before finally reading it as part of my read every book we own project. There have been some great finds hiding on our bookshelves. This was not one of them. This book will not see a 25th year with me.
UPDATE
It's almost exactly a year later. I still didn't really enjoy reading this book that much, but its sense of location (English seaside town) and moment in time (the late 1960s) surprisingly has lingered with me. I don't think that will cause me to read any more Michael Gilbert books if I were to ever stumble across any.
July 8, 2021
A brilliant way to side step the short story genre. Michael Gilbert presents solicitor Jonas Pickett who moves away from the rat trap life in London to the seaside town of Shackleton-on-Sea. He persuades his legal partner, Sabrina Mountjoy to move with him and they are joined by secretary Claire Easterbrook and dogsbody Sam Conybeare. Each chapter is self contained but a number regulars appear throughout the book while gently taking the mick out of narrow minded locals. If you like the novels of vet James Herriot and Nicholas Rhea's constable tales this does the same for the solicitor. Gentle fun.
July 12, 2020
Beautifully read short story collection . The stories were not extraordinary individually but provided good entertainment as a whole.Excellent prose style coupled with skill in storytelling made it great.
December 5, 2025
Sadly, Jonas Pickett's adventures are rather dull. The spy work and criminal chasing feel shallow and half-hearted. If I had read one of these stories in an anthology, I might have thought it is nice but when read together back to back, they are not fun.
February 6, 2025
Always a pleasure to read his books.
July 30, 2016
This book of short stories had great potential. A 60+ lawyer semi-retires to a seaside English market town. Shackleton is exactly the sort of place I would like to spend some time wandering around in. If not in person, at least vicariously. Unfortunately this book is thoroughly mediocre and painfully boring.
The lead character, Jonas Pickett, does not so much as solve mysteries as sort of sits around as they happen. Pickett, a lifelong bachelor, is extremely boring, one of the most vanilla characters I have ever read. And just about every conversation he is involved in is boring, tedious, or both. Perry Mason this guy ain't. Now an author could have a lot of fun with a boring character; vanilla can be amazing. Michael Gilbert didn't.
Usually at least once, if not more, in every story we are told how everyone respects Pickett for how smart and clever he is. We keep getting fed this statement despite receiving extremely little evidence to support it. It's like reading a Janet Evanovich book when she is at her worst. There are points where you have to set the book aside because the writing is so weak and frustrating. There were many "why the hell am I still reading this" moments.
Contrary to what it says on the cover, for the most part the stories are not mysteries. Most of the stories, in theory, are actually interesting, which is why I kept reading it, but the execution is dullsville.
I have read a lot, a lot of English books, and have seen a lot of English television. Now it's possible that this book might be the most English thing ever written and the conversations are brilliant and not boring, and me being an American in 2015, I don't really get it. I find that unlikely, but leave it as a possibility.
ABOUT MY COPY
This book was published in 1990. A sticker implies I bought this off a clearance table, probably in 1991. Which means I have probably owned this book for 24 years and 4 homes before finally reading it as part of my read every book we own project. There have been some great finds hiding on our bookshelves. This was not one of them. This book will not see a 25th year with me.
UPDATE
It's almost exactly a year later. I still didn't really enjoy reading this book that much, but its sense of location (English seaside town) and moment in time (the late 1960s) surprisingly has lingered with me. I don't think that will cause me to read any more Michael Gilbert books if I were to ever stumble across any.
The lead character, Jonas Pickett, does not so much as solve mysteries as sort of sits around as they happen. Pickett, a lifelong bachelor, is extremely boring, one of the most vanilla characters I have ever read. And just about every conversation he is involved in is boring, tedious, or both. Perry Mason this guy ain't. Now an author could have a lot of fun with a boring character; vanilla can be amazing. Michael Gilbert didn't.
Usually at least once, if not more, in every story we are told how everyone respects Pickett for how smart and clever he is. We keep getting fed this statement despite receiving extremely little evidence to support it. It's like reading a Janet Evanovich book when she is at her worst. There are points where you have to set the book aside because the writing is so weak and frustrating. There were many "why the hell am I still reading this" moments.
Contrary to what it says on the cover, for the most part the stories are not mysteries. Most of the stories, in theory, are actually interesting, which is why I kept reading it, but the execution is dullsville.
I have read a lot, a lot of English books, and have seen a lot of English television. Now it's possible that this book might be the most English thing ever written and the conversations are brilliant and not boring, and me being an American in 2015, I don't really get it. I find that unlikely, but leave it as a possibility.
ABOUT MY COPY
This book was published in 1990. A sticker implies I bought this off a clearance table, probably in 1991. Which means I have probably owned this book for 24 years and 4 homes before finally reading it as part of my read every book we own project. There have been some great finds hiding on our bookshelves. This was not one of them. This book will not see a 25th year with me.
UPDATE
It's almost exactly a year later. I still didn't really enjoy reading this book that much, but its sense of location (English seaside town) and moment in time (the late 1960s) surprisingly has lingered with me. I don't think that will cause me to read any more Michael Gilbert books if I were to ever stumble across any.
November 15, 2023
Nine interlocking stories about a British solicitor who semi-retires to a seaside town and encounters some curious criminal cases. Gilbert downplays action and melodrama in favor of character and personality. The development is leisurely, the style elegant. This emphasis will lead some (at least one reviewer here) to fault him for dullness, but if you take the writings on their own and realize that not every writer desires to be John Grisham, considerable enjoyment awaits.
August 13, 2016
Excellent collection about a lawyer who has retired to a small town in England.
January 4, 2016
I found this very entertaining. The stories centered around a lawyer who semi-retires and moves to the country to ease into retirement. Fun stories about his new home.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews