Passing Strange

Inspector Sloan #9

by Catherine Aird

In this gripping mystery by CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird, the village spinster dies behind a fortune teller’s booth, and Calleshire’s greatest detective looks into the future—and sees justice

The annual Horticultural Society Flower Show would have gone off without a hitch were it not for one very pesky murder.
 
When nurse Joyce Cooper goes missing from the parish’s fortune-telling booth at the flower fair, her friends at the local church are immediately concerned. It’s not like this old lady, who plays the organ during service every Sunday without fail, and who, it’s told, lives for the purpose of helping others, to disappear without notice. So when she’s found strangled to death under a tarp, the community is thrown into an uproar.
 
Who better to calm the crowd than Calleshire’s greatest detective? Alongside his bumbling sidekick, Constable Crosby, C. D. Sloan runs through the bizarre list of suspects—the daughter of a deceased anthropologist, a greedy developer, a jealous tomato gardener, and a set of wealthy farmers—to find out who would have benefited most from the beloved nurse’s death. What he finds will astonish the entire village.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, British Literature, Suspense

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1980

About the author

Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, known professionally as Catherine Aird, was an English novelist. She was the author of more than twenty crime fiction novels and several collections of short stories. Her witty, literate, and deftly plotted novels straddle the "cozy" and "police procedural" genres and are somewhat similar in flavour to those of Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham, M.C. Beaton, Margaret Yorke, and Pauline Bell. Aird was inducted into the prestigious Detection Club in 1981, and is a recipient of the 2015 Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. I'd read another book by this author a while ago and was fairly luke-warm about it, but kept hearing good things about her so I thought I'd try another one.

It started off well with some of the elements I enjoy in a murder mystery including a village setting and a varied group of characters. But I didn't really get to know any of them and there was no one I could really root for so I found myself losing interest in the second half of the book.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something seems to have gone wrong with the judging of the vegetables and fruit at the Almstone flower festival when some tomatoes which definitely aren't the best on show win first prize. This is the first indication that things aren't all they should be. The second is the dead body of the fortune teller AKA the District Nurse, Joyce Cooper. Sloan and Crosby have their work cut out to unravel the mystery - especially as Joyce seems to have been one of the nicest people imaginable.

I enjoyed this portrait of village life as well as the mystery which surrounds the murder. Sloan and Crosby make a good due with Sloan seeing more than people give him credit for and Crosby just occasionally hitting the nail on the head by reducing everything to its most basic terms. If you want something light and easy to read with plenty of wry, and dry humour then give this excellent series a try.

[Marta McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written murder mystery with an English village fete as its setting. I particularly enjoyed the element of the floral design and vegetable show. Aird is spot on with the competitive aspects of gardening and flower arranging.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very disappointing. There is virtually no detection in it at all. The case is solved by a flash of inspiration. The culprit was easy to identify. Most annoying of all is the dialogue which consists almost entirely of what I would describe as "smart repartit" If you want to read this type of English country murder then look no further than The Flaxborough Chronicles of Colin Watson.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: Things had gone wrong from the very beginning at the Almstone Flower Show, including a missing fortuneteller. But events take a decidedly macabre turn when the fortuneteller is found -- and Detective Inspector Sloan and Detective Constable Crosby arrive to investigate a murder for which there seems no means, no motive and no opportunity.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, each year in the small village of Almstone there is the local Horticultural Society Flower Show, where locals enter their flowers, fruit, veggies etc to be judged all in a friendly competition. This year, however, is different. The fortuneteller, aka Nurse Cooper, is found dead under a tarp at the end of the day when the tents all have to come down. She was a gentle soul, and according to all, would never hurt a fly. So why on earth was she killed? This is the puzzle that Sloan and Crosby will have to solve before they even get to the whodunit.

The ending was a bit more thought out this time and it is a fine mystery with a number of good red herrings. I'd say that people who like British mysteries or police procedurals would enjoy this one. Not a cozy, so don't expect one.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best of the series—much too much rumination in Sloan’s head. Every sentence is a paragraph, and every line of dialogue is followed by a pointless (mostly) stream of consciousness. This has the impact of slowing the book WAY down. Should have been 50 pages shorter.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly thought I had this one figured out. The setting of the fair was very fund and as always, I loved the pace. I find I can chew one of Catherine Aird's novels very quickly! Great stuff.

[Clare Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listening to this sent me to sleep more than once. So I guess it's a good sleep aid. You're welcome.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy quite as much as the previous books. Hope it was just a lull. But I still liked it.

One of a number of books with a killing at a fete. Agatha Christie used the locale a couple of times. Here, Nurse Cooper was playing the part of the gypsy fortune-teller/seer. Somebody didn't like that and put an end to it. The Brigadier who owned the property recently died and no one has seen the inheritor since she was quite young. Her father took her off to the wilds of South America or some such place. Any documentation was lost when her father was killed. Nurse Cooper would have been able to identify any birthmarks or odd shaped moles that she'd had since birth. So she would have been able to prove or disprove whether she was the proper person. So she had to go. Someone sees the girl leave the tent in question.

Hope #10 is a little better.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Aird's dry humor and C D Sloan's outlook on life. This plot involves the dangers of village fetes, especially fortune telling, and the unfairness in vegetable judging.

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cozy British mystery from Catherine Aird. "Passing Strange" is a story from her Inspector C.D. Sloane series about the bucolic English countryside and the murders that occur for a host of unusual reasons. This time, Inspector Sloane tackles the murder of the county nurse at a Horticultural Society Flower Show in the village of Almstone. Clues include a possible inheritance, a question of identification, a drunk cup of tea, and flower-arranging wire.

Aird's stories always conjure up images from my sojourn in England--small villages, insular societies, fabulous accents, and all. Those who don't understand British humor or slang may find her stories a bit heavy going, and be sure to bone up on your Bible, French, and Latin since she always includes quotes from at least one, if not all, the previous.

[Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wrong tomatoes win the blue ribbon! Someone's parked their mini in front to the gate and it's time to milk the cows! The Priory is in want of its heiress, but no one can say for sure if this girl is the girl. Well, no one except the nurse. Guess what?

Fans of British cozies will love this series featuring Sloan and his inept D.C. Crosby. The wit is sharp as a knife and the characters are always fun.

[Paperbackreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the rest of Aird's Inspector Sloan books, the central idea is sound but the narrative went off the rails quite a few times. I figured out who the culprit was by the middle of the book. It's easy if you read detective fiction and are mindful of the clues gathered. The ending relies on deus ex machina, which annoyed me.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Sloan is terrific! Love the internal dialogue and interaction between characters.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY RATING GUIDE: 3.5-4 Stars. PASSNG STRANGE read quickly (a day on the road as a psgr) and kept my attention. This is a fairly new-to-me author and I am enjoying her work. The books deal with serious crimes yet there is humor and continuing character development as well. The Calleshire Chronicles are a Character Driven Police Procedural series.

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I ENJOYED THIS; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

DEATH at local flower Show, Almstone village, Calleshire County ~
Berebury’s lead Criminal Investigator Detective Inspector CD Sloan is called out on a Saturday late afternoon to investigate the apparent murder of a local woman, Nurse Joyce Cooper.

Cooper was discovered missing from her Fortune Teller tent sometime after 3:30 in the afternoon, after which she could not be located. It was during the tear-down of the various tents and the packing that followed at day’s end, that Ms Cooper’s dead body was located. Cooper’s body was found lying under a tarpaulin behind the tent from which she’d been missing since midafternoon.

Comments ~
1) PASSING STRANGE is bk 9 in Catherine Aird’s Sloan and Crosby 28 book Mysteries series. It can be read as a Standalone title but I have enjoyed each book preceding this. This series isn’t as dark or complex as certain series I read, and that’s okay. Sometimes a lighter mystery is fine.
2) I need to like the MCs in the books I read and I find Inspector Sloan quite likable. His interactions with Constable Crosby and his boss, Superintendent Leyes, and his colleagues tend to be entertaining. It’s a bonus that Sloan enjoys an amicable relationship with his wife, Margaret, and that she seems to understand the demands of his career with humor - rather rare irl or fiction.
3) PASSING STRANGE was published in 1980 and set in “present day” (1980). The story itself, has held up very well over time with just slight technology differences (“small town” English village life). Derek Perkins performs this series wonderfully but I read PASSING STRANGE during a day on the road with hubs.
4) I recommend this series to readers who enjoy:
> British Mysteries.
> Classic Mysteries (Sayers, Allingham, Marsh, Sally Wright).
> Certain Cozy Mysteries.
> Clean fiction.
> Police Procedural series.
> Character Driven series.

READER CAUTION ~
PROFANITY - None.
VIOLENCE - PG. Crime mystery. Not dark or graphic.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - None.

[Susan in NC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some previous books in the series. A dedicated, well-liked nurse is strangled at a village fete while volunteering as a fortune teller. Sloan and Crosby are called in, the latter constable doing some solid work, not being the constant butt of jokes from other officers for a change, I was hoping he’d come along a bit!

Superintendent Leeyes is as dense, demanding and judgmental as ever, Sloan’s interactions with him still provide humor. But there were just far too many characters in this one, I couldn’t quite sort them or figure out who matters. Then, right on the heels of the murder, we’re told there’s a dispute over the proper heir (or heiress, in this case), to the Priory, the estate on which the village fete is held.

Sloan goes down the rabbit hole of English property law, and whether a young woman who might, or might not, be the young heiress is also a killer - or perhaps the next victim.

It felt overly complex and disjointed and I wasn’t sure whether the property/missing heiress case was even important to the murder, which felt pushed to the background. Turned out to matter, but at 3/4 through I skipped to the last two chapters to wrap it up. Not a favorite, but I look forward to the next outing in this generally entertaining police procedural series.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This starts with a dispute over tomatoes, at a flower show, which seemed highly probable, as I think a lot of disputes over specimens in these shows are can be questioned. It seems that the village nurse helps out at the fete by running a fortune telling tent, but obviously hadn't foretold of her murder. Sloan, together with Crosby, are put on the case to find her murderer. It would seem that the location of the show is questionable as to it's future, as the owner of the Priory Estate has died and an heir to it is debatable, due to fact that previously the rightful heir had been killed in whilst living with a tribe abroad, but he did have a daughter who has not got an English passport and so her identity cannot be wholly proven.
I have rated this a 4 star but it is a weak 4 star . The ongoing joke over the tomatoes was annoying me at one point , and I had worked out the murderer a lot earlier than the finale denouement, so wasn't quite as good as the earlier books in the series.

[Nd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of Catherine Aird's quintessential English mysteries with Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan and the actively learning Detective Constable William Crosby venturing into the countryside to the Almstone Horticultural Society Flower Show to investigate a murder. The horticulture judge bizarrely awarded prizes to some of the worst tomatoes entered in the show, and well-known and well-respected Nurse Cooper was telling fortunes in one of the activity tents during the show until she completely disappeared. Piece by piece and Almstonian by Almstonian, Sloan unraveled the entire proceedings. What makes Catherine Aird's murder mysteries such a pleasure to read is that tiny bits and pieces of interesting information in her text are important leads to solving the crime, where many writers today spoon feed clues and use superfluous background filler in between that can be skimmed but need not be carefully read.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most unsatisfactory. The title has nothing to do with the text, and nor do the chapter titles. Why Aird chose to give the chapters titles to do with orchestral instruments never appears; they have absolutely no bearing on the story.
Uff, that story. Not so much the missing heir as which one inherits. Cannibals, intrepid explorers, gypsy fortune tellers and flower shows are all very well but when you mix in property developers, a dead district nurse and a strawberry birthmark, for heaven's sake! it's all a bit much. The final "joke" falls rather flat for anyone who didn't live in the UK when the book was written; I looked it up online and again got nothing that had any bearing on what Aird wrote. It felt as if she wasn't listening to what she herself wrote, but was thinking about something else.
Hard to believe it was written in 1980.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the ninth mystery featuring Inspector Sloan and Detective Constable Sloan. As with so many such mysteries, murder happens at a summer fete - or, to be precise, the Horticultural Society of Almstone. It begins with dissent over the winner of the best tomatoes, not seen as up to the standard of one of the locals, and ends with the discovery of the body of Nurse Joyce Cooper, who was running the fortune tellers tent.

I enjoy this series and like the characters, so I was willing enough to accept the slightly thin plot about two possible candidates to inherit the local Big House, The Priory, which has enough land to house three farms. An enjoyable addition to the series, but I would not start with this mystery, which is a little weaker than some others.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | Good, but seemed to skip some steps | Sloan seems to have figured out the general motive surprisingly quickly. He arrived at the murder scene, heard that the victim was universally liked, and decided the crime was all about somebody inheriting a property that the victim was not connected to, before her body had even been taken away. In any other book, the Inspector would caution Crosby against assuming that the victim was exactly what she seemed, but Aird apparently decided not to bother with that. This made the victim seem totally unimportant to the story, which lessened my enjoyment.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a flower show that gets Inspector Sloan pulled down to Almstone. It seems that someone has been strangled. It is, in fact, the local and much beloved nurse, Joyce Cooper. She was running the fortune teller's tent but was discovered behind it.
This year has been very unusual for the show anyway because the tomato plants weren't judged at all correctly. And it is that point that, while Sloan does end up solving the murders, brings home the proof.
A nice addition to the series. I don't think you have to have read any of the books before it to really appreciate the story. Short and readable.

[Vic Lauterbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ninth outing of DI Sloan and his 'Watson' DC Crosby isn't as ingenious as previous installments, but Ms. Aird delivers a clever mystery peopled with good characters. If you've read the earlier books, this short novel is like a visit with old friends. If you haven't, it's still worthwhile but you'll miss much of its charm that comes from knowing the recurring characters. Overall, this one isn't Ms. Aird as the top of her game, but even an average Calleshire chronicle is more fun to read than most contemporary detective novels. As always, Ms. Aird's concise yet literate prose and good dialogue are highlights. Recommended mainly for fans of her books.

[John Frankham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracker from Catherine Aird, this time the milieu being the local flower show with characters from high to low. Which of the many suspects did the deadly deed? Witty and procedural, wry and insightful.

The GR blurb:

‘Things had gone wrong from the very beginning at the Almstone Flower Show, including a missing fortuneteller. But events take a decidedly macabre turn when the fortuneteller is found -- and Detective Inspector Sloan and Detective Constable Crosby arrive to investigate a murder for which there seems no means, no motive and no opportunity.’

[Betty Torma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Catherine Aird

This another her page turners. Mystery until the end with so many possible reasons for the murder. I highly recommend this if you like mysteries from this period in time. What i like about her writing is that there is not a lot of describing he characters. Instead the reader sees who they are by their conversations. I've also noticed that she does not use 'he said.' Instead she calls the person who is talking by one of the words from a previous sentence. I really enjoy her writing.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title, “Passing Strange,” is taken from Othello … There are lots of fractured quotes in this murder mystery, and the “Sermon” from Chapter 12 is a delight! … the dour duo of Fred Pearson and Ken Walls introduces us to the strange things happening at the Almstone Flower Show, held annually on the expansive grounds of the Priory … eventually these strangenesses lead to murder most foul … the best of The Calleshire Chronicles Series so far in my estimation …

[Sidna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend in my mystery book club had given me one of the books in this series a while ago. I read it and enjoyed it so when she brought this one to book club, I thought I would enjoy reading it. Unfortunately, I did not. Even though it is a small book, it was very slow paced. I started reading it almost a month ago and kept putting it down. Since our book club is meeting in a few days, I forced myself to finish it.

I'm not interested in reading another book in this series.

[Marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the tradition of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Catherine Aird brings Inspector Sloan to the sleeping village of Almstone. The beloved district nurse is found dead during a Flower and Garden show. Why would anyone want her dead? And why does it appear that each suspect would have benefitted from her being alive rather than dead? A charming investigation with plenty of red herrings.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story a nurse is killed while pretending to be a fortune teller at a local garden show. The beginning starts well, gets stuck in the middle but I find the last third a bit awkward in the way things are discovered.

While ok, be aware that answers to pop up in odd places.