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Richard Patton #2
Still Life With Pistol
A still life and a dead man…
Richard Patton and his wife, Amelia are heading to an exclusive two-week art retreat run by Bruno Fillingley.
A talented artist in his own right, Bruno’s reputation in the art world is more infamous than famous.
As Richard knows all too well, Bruno’s actual talent lies in forgery, but what stops him from being a true forger is that Bruno doesn’t sell any of his copies.
Instead, he exhibits them in his manor – and in their midst, he hangs real genuine pieces to see if visitors can tell the difference.
Very few ever have.
To make ends meet, Bruno set up his retreat course and at an extraordinary fee, anyone from budding new talents to amateurs and hobbyists are welcomed.
As Amelia is the artist out of the two, Richard has little to do – and as a retired ex-detective, he can’t help but notice the oddness of the other guests.
There’s Samantha Penney, a shy and private young woman, who appears to have come to the retreat more for company than any self-improvement.
Then the Inskip’s – Bert and Veronica – a married couple in name only, what with their separate cars, separate rooms and separate mediums.
Lewis Hately, a strange and angry man, whose modern style of oil painting sets him apart from the rest.
There’s Rex Lightfoot, charming and easily distracted from his work by his own Lothario tendencies.
Although he seems immune to Carla Race, who presence is only to discomfort and harass one particular guest: Roy Towers.
If Richard’s intuition is still sharp and Carla’s seething comments are true then Roy was once a policeman – a corrupt one.
But Roy is also a deeply talented artist, choosing to work in the studio only at night, on what he calls his Still Life With Pistol.
To make matters worse for Roy, his estranged wife Marion managed to sneak on estate to confront him.
Then one night, unable to sleep and disturbed by a shadowy figure, Richard finds Roy in the studio, slumped in front of his canvas.
Richard may be retired, but he still knows a dead body when he sees one.
And, as he soon chillingly realises, only someone on the retreat could’ve killed Roy…
Where art meets murder, Still Life With Pistol is a thrilling and suspenseful mystery.
Praise for Roger Ormerod
"Eclectic, underrated Ormerod can be relied upon to come up with the startling goods" -Sunday Times
"I am glad to announce that the detective novel is still alive and well in Mr Ormerod's skillful hands " - The Spectator
"Fast-moving, with well-orchestrated jiggery-pokery; not unlike an early Dick Francis in tone and method” - Times Literary Supplement
Roger Ormerod (1920-2005) was a prolific writer of ingenious and densely plotted crime novels - some 35 in all - which were published in the UK and the USA. He lived in Wolverhampton and amongst other things worked as a civil servant.
Richard Patton and his wife, Amelia are heading to an exclusive two-week art retreat run by Bruno Fillingley.
A talented artist in his own right, Bruno’s reputation in the art world is more infamous than famous.
As Richard knows all too well, Bruno’s actual talent lies in forgery, but what stops him from being a true forger is that Bruno doesn’t sell any of his copies.
Instead, he exhibits them in his manor – and in their midst, he hangs real genuine pieces to see if visitors can tell the difference.
Very few ever have.
To make ends meet, Bruno set up his retreat course and at an extraordinary fee, anyone from budding new talents to amateurs and hobbyists are welcomed.
As Amelia is the artist out of the two, Richard has little to do – and as a retired ex-detective, he can’t help but notice the oddness of the other guests.
There’s Samantha Penney, a shy and private young woman, who appears to have come to the retreat more for company than any self-improvement.
Then the Inskip’s – Bert and Veronica – a married couple in name only, what with their separate cars, separate rooms and separate mediums.
Lewis Hately, a strange and angry man, whose modern style of oil painting sets him apart from the rest.
There’s Rex Lightfoot, charming and easily distracted from his work by his own Lothario tendencies.
Although he seems immune to Carla Race, who presence is only to discomfort and harass one particular guest: Roy Towers.
If Richard’s intuition is still sharp and Carla’s seething comments are true then Roy was once a policeman – a corrupt one.
But Roy is also a deeply talented artist, choosing to work in the studio only at night, on what he calls his Still Life With Pistol.
To make matters worse for Roy, his estranged wife Marion managed to sneak on estate to confront him.
Then one night, unable to sleep and disturbed by a shadowy figure, Richard finds Roy in the studio, slumped in front of his canvas.
Richard may be retired, but he still knows a dead body when he sees one.
And, as he soon chillingly realises, only someone on the retreat could’ve killed Roy…
Where art meets murder, Still Life With Pistol is a thrilling and suspenseful mystery.
Praise for Roger Ormerod
"Eclectic, underrated Ormerod can be relied upon to come up with the startling goods" -Sunday Times
"I am glad to announce that the detective novel is still alive and well in Mr Ormerod's skillful hands " - The Spectator
"Fast-moving, with well-orchestrated jiggery-pokery; not unlike an early Dick Francis in tone and method” - Times Literary Supplement
Roger Ormerod (1920-2005) was a prolific writer of ingenious and densely plotted crime novels - some 35 in all - which were published in the UK and the USA. He lived in Wolverhampton and amongst other things worked as a civil servant.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Roger Ormerod
87 books9 followersRoger Ormerod was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. He worked as a county court officer, an executive officer in the Department of Social Security, a postman, and a shop loader in an engineering factory.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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June 7, 2019I found more than a few confusing aspects to this story to the extent that I ended up flicking back and forth several times to check whether I had missed something.
The first part was where Amelia and Richard arrive at the Manor and Amelia says: (page 87)"I wonder where the red Fiesta's disappeared to." WHAT red Fiesta?? I spent several minutes searching for ANY reference to a red Fiesta in the preceding pages... but nothing!
At page 181 we are finally given an explanation, (sort of 'off stage and more than a bit 'iffy') but by then I was more than a little leery of the story.
Later on there was another ??? moment where Richard (wearing a dressing gown) goes to help Samantha who 'removed her hands from her face and flung them around me and threw herself against my chest, her arms enclosing me, and sobbing frantically.'
And then he returns to his room to examine the scratches Sam had inflicted on my chest. WHAT scratches??
I liked the characters and the overall 'feel' of the story, but there was a sense that this hadn't been proof-read or edited and so I stopped reading.
Not rating at this moment. I might look for the first one in the series and try that.
The first part was where Amelia and Richard arrive at the Manor and Amelia says: (page 87)"I wonder where the red Fiesta's disappeared to." WHAT red Fiesta?? I spent several minutes searching for ANY reference to a red Fiesta in the preceding pages... but nothing!
At page 181 we are finally given an explanation, (sort of 'off stage and more than a bit 'iffy') but by then I was more than a little leery of the story.
Later on there was another ??? moment where Richard (wearing a dressing gown) goes to help Samantha who 'removed her hands from her face and flung them around me and threw herself against my chest, her arms enclosing me, and sobbing frantically.'
And then he returns to his room to examine the scratches Sam had inflicted on my chest. WHAT scratches??
I liked the characters and the overall 'feel' of the story, but there was a sense that this hadn't been proof-read or edited and so I stopped reading.
Not rating at this moment. I might look for the first one in the series and try that.
July 30, 2019
No doubt most of us are familiar with classic mystery plot where a group of persons for some reason find themselves in the same place at the same time; a murder is committed (which means everybody in the group is a suspect); one of the group is a detective who investigates; and at the end the detective identifies the murderer (surprise!) and explains how he solved the crime.
It is a tried-and-true formula. Roger Ormerod does a nice job with it in STILL LIFE WITH PISTOL. He provides additional interest through his main characters, Richard Patton, a retired British detective, and his younger wife, Amelia, and the setting, which is an artists’ workshop in the country. This provides material for subplots about intergenerational relationships and discussion about art.
Omerud provides a number of twists and turns to the plot that helps to keep the story moving along and ends in the traditional way: The detective identifies the murderer (surprise!) and explains how he solved the crime.
It is a tried-and-true formula. Roger Ormerod does a nice job with it in STILL LIFE WITH PISTOL. He provides additional interest through his main characters, Richard Patton, a retired British detective, and his younger wife, Amelia, and the setting, which is an artists’ workshop in the country. This provides material for subplots about intergenerational relationships and discussion about art.
Omerud provides a number of twists and turns to the plot that helps to keep the story moving along and ends in the traditional way: The detective identifies the murderer (surprise!) and explains how he solved the crime.
October 13, 2025
A very complicated case at an artist retreat to which Richard and Amelia had been invited. Richard then finds a dead body and this is where the complications begin. Whodunnit?
Many twists and turns and red herrings that Richard, now retired, sorts through to find the killer and more importantly, why they did it.
The author certainly knows how to make a murder into a long path to get to the truth!!
Many twists and turns and red herrings that Richard, now retired, sorts through to find the killer and more importantly, why they did it.
The author certainly knows how to make a murder into a long path to get to the truth!!
May 7, 2019
Retired D.I. Richard Patton and his wife, Amelia have booked a fortnight artists retreat, run by Bruno Fillingley. But once all the guests have arrived, one night when he was unable to sleep Patten on his walk discovers a body.
An enjoyable well-written mystery
An enjoyable well-written mystery
May 25, 2017
Still Life With Pistol by Roger Ormerod.
Richard Patton and his wife Amelia are spending two weeks in an exclusive art retreat run by Bruno Fillingley. This is an art retreat with a difference. As well as the real thing there are forgeries there too. He likes people to guess which are which. But soon there is a murder there. But who could have done it.
A good read with good characters. Little slow in places. Very cleverly written. Full of twists and plots. 4*. Netgalley and Endeavour press.
Richard Patton and his wife Amelia are spending two weeks in an exclusive art retreat run by Bruno Fillingley. This is an art retreat with a difference. As well as the real thing there are forgeries there too. He likes people to guess which are which. But soon there is a murder there. But who could have done it.
A good read with good characters. Little slow in places. Very cleverly written. Full of twists and plots. 4*. Netgalley and Endeavour press.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews