Maxwell's Chain

Peter Maxwell Mystery #13

by M.J. Trow

Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell is a very busy man; as Head of Sixth Form at Leighford High he does his best to resist Ofsted imperatives and mark GCSE coursework, whilst trying to cram as much History as possible into the reluctant heads of Nine Eff Gee and their like. Despite this, Max still finds time for some amateur sleuthing, even though his policewoman 'Significant Other', DS Jacquie Carpenter, has decided that this time he's leaving any murder investigations to her. But how can he refuse when the terminally nervous school photographer asks for his help after accidentally photographing a murder on the beach? Their discovery of a body buried in the sand dunes sets in motion a chain of events that only the redoubtable Mad Max can break, but one thing is certain; life in Leighford will never be the same again.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

367 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Meirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.

Reviews

[Plum-crazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sooo looking forward to this as I hadn't read any new Mad Max for ages. Of course, I enjoyed it but I have to say it didn't grip me as much as usual & the while I love the humour of these stories, this time, there were sometimes just too many quips.

[John Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who follows my reviews will know how much this series appeals to me. It holds the record, by a mile, for the most books read one after the other in a series.


Maxwell is Peter (Mad Max) Maxwell teacher of history and Head of Sixth form at Leighford High School.

He is living with Detective Sergeant Jacqui Carpenter and their very young son and Metternich the cat.


He has been inclined to become involved with murder cases in the past becauses his current or ex pupils have been the victims and has helped the police whether they have wanted ihim to or not. This time he is asked by a local photographer to go with him to see if something he snapped the previous night by accident, could be a body.


This is a murder mystery, as are the previous books of the series and of course, as an armchair detective, you want to be first to pick out the guilty party. In this series it isn't that important. You are reading the story  about Mad Max and his life and times as the kind of teacher that you might remember from your own schooldays with that strange mixture of terror and affection.


I keep picking up grammatical points from this pedant of the English language and here also some pronunciation hints too. He is a film buff and likes nothing more than dropping well known phrases in the style of their screen usage. His conversations with his cat, most amusing as they are, may now have been surpassed by those between Metternich and the baby.


Not that the motive for the crime is that important to the enjoyment of the tale but I felt in this case it was a bit weak. Overall however, I stll feel it well worth a 4*


Addendum 


I am not sure why but I have had problems finding copies of books of this series from libraries  and my other sources. If you have simlar difficulties ,I have recently come across them for free on line on Internetarchive.com

8th Oct 2025

[PR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puzzling and riveting. Am sad I have just three more to read...read 1-8 then 22-12. Next ,11-9.

Ambigrams? Who knew?
This one was confusing..the whole idea of a big fans was Greek to me. Could get the bizarre reasoning of the killer's Model for the murders but could not figure out Max's rationale for solving them.
Felt a bit stupid...don't like that feeling!
The regular and a tad frustrating name, place, historical event, fikm, T.V. Show ...name dropping...just a bit tired of the references to these things and having to constantly look things up to 'get
t' the context or the references... Can be a bit off putting... And
I Love these stories and am willing to feel hopelessly American and not the brightest bulb in the pot to read a out the Characters in these books. The author has built a world of wonderful People who feel Real...three dimensional, flawed and peculiar, unique and familiar!!!
I enjoy the interplay among the characters and sets of characters...it makes one feel like they are there...I am there...in the room. In the car. In the....wherever...I just love that.
His writing is funny...laugh out loud on occasion. He writes funny. Hard to do.
I appreciate the references to histoy...this history mavin, Max, teaches as he goes along, whether one wants to Be taught or not. Reading and learning some history facts and narratives balances out the feeling dumb parts that are hard to accept about my knowledge and giving me a chance to feel smarter as the stories unfold.
This one was as tough as the others where it came to solving often grisly crimes...murder.
Jacquie and Max make an indomitable team.
What great characters and characterization every book. The plots aren't bad either...engage the little grey cells of readers like me.
I highly recommend these books to those who like a conundrum, A puzzle or puzzles to solve and really great writing...

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

There have been several deaths recently, seemingly random but certainly murder, and Peter “Mad Max” Maxwell is concerned that they might be more related to the Leighford school where he works than anyone thinks. Being Max, of course he is right, but the steps he must take to reach a conclusion cannot be rushed, and time is running out for more victims…. The thirteenth in this series, “Maxwell’s Chain” is a bit more convoluted than usual: there are red herrings galore, and also numerous asides concerning baby Nolan and of course the Count, Max’s rather ferocious cat. Fewer references to the Charge of the Light Brigade, however, so those diversions balance out overall. I sort of guessed the culprit before the end, but wasn’t quite sure of my conclusions, another sign of a satisfying murder mystery; recommended!

[Eirlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthralling read

Max is on the prowl again after a murder is committed. The photographer who took the school photos, shows Max some snaps taken at the beach. This starts the search for a very crafty killer.
I enjoyed the quips and quotes uttered by Max as he manoeuvres his way through the puzzling evidence. I loved how he knows his pupils, both current and past.

[Mrs P A Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

bother brilliant story

Have read all of the maxwell books in order so as to follow his life , what an amazing and loveable character. I love his history quotes and would love to see his finished Light Brigade in all its glory !

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another engaging story of the sleuth/ history teacher. With the collected characters and a ‘who done it’ that all contribute to a good read at any time.

[Maria Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. Pity the whole series is not on Kindle Unlimited.

[Margaret Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery

Thought I had some trouble with some of the phrases of the local lingo I thought it was an amazing and intriguing mystery with incredible characters.

[Suzette Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxwell's Chain

Good book but it was a little slow at times. The main character was really smart but at times unbelievable. I read another to see

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Fabulously Ripping!!!

In italics!!!! The intriguing sleuthing & the fascinating characters with such fabulous dialogue are tremendous! The humor here twistingly beyond!!!!

[Karen]

Australian readers could probably be forgiven for slightly different expectations when sitting down to read a book labelled "The New Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell mystery". This isn't our Mad Max - this is a particularly English style of Mad Max more than a hemisphere away from our own version.

Peter Maxwell is a History teacher, head of sixth form, and a slightly older man with a considerably younger partner, DS Jacquie Carpenter. And a baby son Nolan, a love of bicycles, a decidedly cavalier attitude to keeping ones nose out of matters that don't concern you, and an almost stubborn inability to leave well enough alone.

Whilst this book isn't exactly a fit for the small English village style mystery, there's definitely a hefty dose of the English eccentric about Mad Max. And there is a lot of humour in these books - and there is absolutely nothing subtle about most of that. To the point where it does get a tad annoying, as there's something very predictable about Max's behaviour; Jacquie's reactions; Jacquie's bosses exasperation; everyone's relationship with young Nolan; the kids from school that Max runs into; Max's colleagues at school; Jacquie and Max's "unmarried state" and all those other little elements the reader is constantly beaten over the head with.

Now I will admit there were times reading this book that I could have lived with a whole lot less of the forced eccentricity of Mad Max, but it's not like the author makes any apology for that aspect of the books (I've read others before this one), and somehow, despite a niggling sense of irritation, Max is sort of endearing, and the quality of the plots, which aren't necessarily flat or single-threaded make these books very readable.

Undoubtedly another candidate for readers who are looking for something on the lighter side, the humour will appeal to many many readers, as will Max's relationships with his students and his young son. If you've not read any of this 'Mad Max' series and you like this very English style of book - then I can recommend them. As with most of these relationship based series, it wouldn't hurt to try to read the books in order, but it's also not going to matter that much if you dip in wherever you can get your hands on a copy.

[Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully funny and clever work in the Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell series. Well worth starting the series at the beginning to catch all the nuances and characters in this volume, though.

[Ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one yet, not to sure that the motive works forme but it is mad max we are talking about.

[Tria · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st GR read, 18 May 2011. 2nd, 4-6 August 2016. To be reviewed later.

[Dantanian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb crime character with erudite comedy.