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Masters and Green #18
Vicious Circle
The self-willed, arrogant old Mrs. Carlow dies, seemingly of a self-administered overdose of her prescribed medicine, in the small country town of Croxley. The tangle of family intermarriage in the town has produced a situation in which Mrs. Carlow's doctor, her solicitor, the coroner, and the police chief are all related to her -- and to each other. The issue is further complicated by the fact that Mrs. Carlow had earlier planned fake attempts at suicide to distress her relatives. So it seems hardly a matter of good form that an investigation into what could be a case of murder should be pursued at the local level. Thus, Scotland Yard is called in, and Chief Superintendent Masters and Chief Inspector Green are soon treading delicately in an enquiry in which several of their important witnesses and colleagues are possible suspects.
- GenresMystery
230 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
37 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Clark
121 books19 followersDouglas Malcolm Jackson Clark was a British author.
He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.
He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 12, 2014
Vicious Circle is the 18th book in Douglas Clark's Masters & Green mystery series. But the book (and series) is about more than just Chief Superintendent Masters and Chief Inspector Green--Masters of the Yard is called in along with his special team of investigators whenever there is an odd or delicate case to be detected. This outing proves to be very delicate indeed--because nearly everyone who might be officially involved in the investigation locally (from the Chief Superintendent to the doctor to the coroner) is either directly related to the victim or related to anyone who might come under suspicion should the case prove to be murder. And it very well might...
Mrs. Carlow is an irritable, manipulative old woman who makes life difficult and uncomfortable all of her family. When she doesn't get her way or feels slighted or just because she wants to show who's in charge, she takes an extra dose or two of her heart medicine...or stops taking it altogether. When her granddaughter invites her and her avowed enemy Joseph Kisiel to the family Christmas dinner, Mrs. Carlow downs enough digitalis to make herself thoroughly sick, thus making her doctor (and her granddaughter's father-in-law) late for the meal. To prevent such a thing from happening again, Dr. Whincap arranges for her medicine to be kept from her and only administered in the prescribed daily dose by her daughter, granddaughter, or a nurse.
Thwarted in that bid for attention, she next takes it into her head that her granddaughter and her husband must allow her to move into their home. When told they can't possibly take her in because the remodeling they've been doing hasn't extended beyond one finished bedroom, she hires a carpenter to show up to finish the rest of the house. He's promptly sent away and before Mrs. Carlow can make another move in her little chess game of irritation she becomes violently ill and dies, apparently from an overdose of digitalis. Enter Masters, Green, and team. Their job is to discover whether the elderly lady managed to squirrel away enough digitalis to have killed herself (whether accidentally or not) or if someone else decided to remove the irritating old woman. It is a difficult job made even more difficult by the fact that several of their local official contacts are also possible suspects.
Clark has given us another satisfying police procedural. It is fairly clued--enough so that I got to the solution well before Masters this time, mainly because I had some prior knowledge (I can't tell you what kind...that would spoil things.). These novels sometimes hang on some fairly technical knowledge of poisons or whatnot and I am proud of myself that I knew the little secret to this one. Not that the technical knowledge is absolutely necessary to get to the solution--you may not know precisely how the deed was accomplished, but there are plenty of clues to point the way to whodunnit. I thoroughly enjoy the relationships among Masters and Green and their supporting team members. There's a lot of give and take and good-humored leg-pulling to go along with the investigation to make for an enjoyable read all round. 3.75 stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Mrs. Carlow is an irritable, manipulative old woman who makes life difficult and uncomfortable all of her family. When she doesn't get her way or feels slighted or just because she wants to show who's in charge, she takes an extra dose or two of her heart medicine...or stops taking it altogether. When her granddaughter invites her and her avowed enemy Joseph Kisiel to the family Christmas dinner, Mrs. Carlow downs enough digitalis to make herself thoroughly sick, thus making her doctor (and her granddaughter's father-in-law) late for the meal. To prevent such a thing from happening again, Dr. Whincap arranges for her medicine to be kept from her and only administered in the prescribed daily dose by her daughter, granddaughter, or a nurse.
Thwarted in that bid for attention, she next takes it into her head that her granddaughter and her husband must allow her to move into their home. When told they can't possibly take her in because the remodeling they've been doing hasn't extended beyond one finished bedroom, she hires a carpenter to show up to finish the rest of the house. He's promptly sent away and before Mrs. Carlow can make another move in her little chess game of irritation she becomes violently ill and dies, apparently from an overdose of digitalis. Enter Masters, Green, and team. Their job is to discover whether the elderly lady managed to squirrel away enough digitalis to have killed herself (whether accidentally or not) or if someone else decided to remove the irritating old woman. It is a difficult job made even more difficult by the fact that several of their local official contacts are also possible suspects.
Clark has given us another satisfying police procedural. It is fairly clued--enough so that I got to the solution well before Masters this time, mainly because I had some prior knowledge (I can't tell you what kind...that would spoil things.). These novels sometimes hang on some fairly technical knowledge of poisons or whatnot and I am proud of myself that I knew the little secret to this one. Not that the technical knowledge is absolutely necessary to get to the solution--you may not know precisely how the deed was accomplished, but there are plenty of clues to point the way to whodunnit. I thoroughly enjoy the relationships among Masters and Green and their supporting team members. There's a lot of give and take and good-humored leg-pulling to go along with the investigation to make for an enjoyable read all round. 3.75 stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
July 7, 2021
A re-read. I always enjoy the Masters and Green series and this is certainly among the best of them.
There are some delightful pages of gardening information in the story, though sadly geared for European rather than Antipodean climes. The story is very much of its time (late 1960s or 1970) so that can be disconcerting for those younger than say 60 years. WWII is relevant to the story. Altogether the story is an interesting exploration of a certain ethos in British culture and the stresses that exist.
There are some delightful pages of gardening information in the story, though sadly geared for European rather than Antipodean climes. The story is very much of its time (late 1960s or 1970) so that can be disconcerting for those younger than say 60 years. WWII is relevant to the story. Altogether the story is an interesting exploration of a certain ethos in British culture and the stresses that exist.
June 24, 2019
Good procedural.
The book is easy to read, perhaps a little undemanding, but goes along at a steady pace. There are enough red herrings to prevent too early a guess of the identity of the murderer but the means of despatching the victim is telegraphed half way through. Nevertheless it is worth reading and enjoyable.
The book is easy to read, perhaps a little undemanding, but goes along at a steady pace. There are enough red herrings to prevent too early a guess of the identity of the murderer but the means of despatching the victim is telegraphed half way through. Nevertheless it is worth reading and enjoyable.
October 3, 2019
A thin but decent plot padded by Masters' detailed angst and Green's long-windedness. They do write them like they used to.
August 23, 2020
Good plot Interesting poison.
February 15, 2025
Great read
I loved the twists and turns of this book and it had a great ending. The way their personal life is included makes it a more real read.
I loved the twists and turns of this book and it had a great ending. The way their personal life is included makes it a more real read.
January 19, 2025
Unlikeable old Mrs Elke Carlow has died after being poisoned. But how was that accomplished. Due to the family connection Scotland Yard is brought in to investigate as in Masters and Green's team
An enjoyable modern mystery
Originally published in 1983
An enjoyable modern mystery
Originally published in 1983
May 27, 2023
Excellent
A woman who was disliked by her family and others is dead. The Doctor attending suspects an overdose of her heart pills but is unsure because after a previous issue her pills were being given daily to stop an overdose. He cannot sign a death certificate and calls the Coroner. The local police attend and due to family ties to the dead woman it is deemed necessary to call in Scotland Yard. Enter DCS Masters and his team of DCI Green and Sergeants Reed and Berger to discover if the woman was murdered or whether she had a stash of heart pills that nobody knew about.
A woman who was disliked by her family and others is dead. The Doctor attending suspects an overdose of her heart pills but is unsure because after a previous issue her pills were being given daily to stop an overdose. He cannot sign a death certificate and calls the Coroner. The local police attend and due to family ties to the dead woman it is deemed necessary to call in Scotland Yard. Enter DCS Masters and his team of DCI Green and Sergeants Reed and Berger to discover if the woman was murdered or whether she had a stash of heart pills that nobody knew about.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews