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Francis Pettigrew #2
With a Bare Bodkin
England is in the grip of the Second World War and the Blitz has forced the evacuation of various government offices from London. Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister and amateur detective, accompanies his ministry to the distant seaside resort of Marsett Bay where the civil servants must make the best of their temporary home. In this strange atmosphere, Pettigrew begins to fall in love with his secretary, Miss Brown, who is also being courted by a widowed man who is much older than she. Bored and restless, the ministers start playing a light-hearted game of 'plan the perfect murder' to pass the time. Pettigrew, caught up in his love for Miss Brown, remains detached from the silliness - until a real murder happens, and he is drawn into solving the mystery. 'One of the best detective stories published for a long time.' Spectator
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1946
126 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Cyril Hare
73 books99 followersCyril Hare was the pseudonymn of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark who was the third son of Henry Herbert Gordon Clark of Mickleham Hall, a merchant in the wine and spirit trade in the family firm of Matthew Clark & Sons.
Having spent most of his formative years in the country where he learned to hunt, shoot and fish, he was educated at St Aubyn's, Rottingdean and Rugby, where he won a prize for writing English verse, before reading history at New College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree.
His family tradition indicated a legal career and he was duly called to the bar in 1924 and he joined the firm of famed lawyer Ronald Oliver and went on to practice in the civil and criminal courts in and around London.
He was 36 when he began his writing career and he picked his pseudonymn from Hare Court, where he worked, and Cyril Mansions, Battersea, where he lived after he had married Mary Barbara Lawrence in 1933. The couple had one son and two daughters.
His first literary endeavours were short, flippant sketches for Punch magazine and he had articles published in the Illustrated London News and The Law Journal. His first detective novel, 'Tenant for Death' was published in 1937 and it was called 'an engaging debut'.
During the early years of World War II he toured as a judge's marshall and he used his experiences as the basis for his fourth novel 'Tragedy at Law', which was published in 1942. In that same year he became a civil servant with the Director of Public Prosecutions and in the latter stages of the war he worked in the Ministry of Economic Warfare, where his experiences proved invaluable when writing 'With a Bare Bodkin' in 1946.
He was appointed county court judge for Surrey in 1950 and he spent his time between travelling the circuit trying civil cases and writing his detective fiction.
In addition to these two strings to his bow, he was a noted public speaker and was often in demand by a wide variety of societies. But his workload did curtail his literary output, which was also hampered by the fact that he did not use a typewriter, and his reputation, very good as it is in the field of detective fiction, stands on nine novels and a host of short stories. He also wrote a children's book, 'The Magic Bottle' in 1946 and a play, 'The House of Warbeck' in 1955.
He has left two enduting characters in Inspector Mallett of Scotland Yard, who featured in three novels, and Francis Pettigrew, an amateur sleuth, who also featured in three novels. In addition the two appeared together in two other novels, 'Tragedy at Law' (1942) and 'He Should Have Died Hereafter' (1958).
Having suffered from tuberculosis for some time, he died at his home near Boxhill, Surrey on 25 August 1958, aged only 57. After his death Michael Gilbert introduced a fine collection of his short stories entitled 'The Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare', in which he paid due tribute to a fellow lawyer and mystery writer.
Gerry Wolstenholme
June 2011
Having spent most of his formative years in the country where he learned to hunt, shoot and fish, he was educated at St Aubyn's, Rottingdean and Rugby, where he won a prize for writing English verse, before reading history at New College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree.
His family tradition indicated a legal career and he was duly called to the bar in 1924 and he joined the firm of famed lawyer Ronald Oliver and went on to practice in the civil and criminal courts in and around London.
He was 36 when he began his writing career and he picked his pseudonymn from Hare Court, where he worked, and Cyril Mansions, Battersea, where he lived after he had married Mary Barbara Lawrence in 1933. The couple had one son and two daughters.
His first literary endeavours were short, flippant sketches for Punch magazine and he had articles published in the Illustrated London News and The Law Journal. His first detective novel, 'Tenant for Death' was published in 1937 and it was called 'an engaging debut'.
During the early years of World War II he toured as a judge's marshall and he used his experiences as the basis for his fourth novel 'Tragedy at Law', which was published in 1942. In that same year he became a civil servant with the Director of Public Prosecutions and in the latter stages of the war he worked in the Ministry of Economic Warfare, where his experiences proved invaluable when writing 'With a Bare Bodkin' in 1946.
He was appointed county court judge for Surrey in 1950 and he spent his time between travelling the circuit trying civil cases and writing his detective fiction.
In addition to these two strings to his bow, he was a noted public speaker and was often in demand by a wide variety of societies. But his workload did curtail his literary output, which was also hampered by the fact that he did not use a typewriter, and his reputation, very good as it is in the field of detective fiction, stands on nine novels and a host of short stories. He also wrote a children's book, 'The Magic Bottle' in 1946 and a play, 'The House of Warbeck' in 1955.
He has left two enduting characters in Inspector Mallett of Scotland Yard, who featured in three novels, and Francis Pettigrew, an amateur sleuth, who also featured in three novels. In addition the two appeared together in two other novels, 'Tragedy at Law' (1942) and 'He Should Have Died Hereafter' (1958).
Having suffered from tuberculosis for some time, he died at his home near Boxhill, Surrey on 25 August 1958, aged only 57. After his death Michael Gilbert introduced a fine collection of his short stories entitled 'The Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare', in which he paid due tribute to a fellow lawyer and mystery writer.
Gerry Wolstenholme
June 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
July 30, 2022
This is a light-hearted murder mystery that takes most of its fun from its setting: the bureaucratic Pin Control monitoring the nation's usage of pins during WW2! Hare loads up with a secondary target by poking fun at a mystery writer plotting a murder in the corridors of power with the murder weapon - a bodkin (a kind of manual paper hole-punch, it seems). But when a real murder eventually takes place, the victim is someone quite different...
Francis Pettigrew is a delight and it's fun to bring back Inspector Mallett (who always reminds me of Christie's Inspector Battle). Most of the pleasure, though, comes from the gossipy nature of the setting with not much investigation taking place. It's also the case that the final arrest takes place off-stage and we have the whole story retold in the aftermath. We do, though, have the pleasures of Pettigrew's romance.
So only so-so as a mystery - but Hare's writing is witty, and the pleasures come from the characters.
Francis Pettigrew is a delight and it's fun to bring back Inspector Mallett (who always reminds me of Christie's Inspector Battle). Most of the pleasure, though, comes from the gossipy nature of the setting with not much investigation taking place. It's also the case that the final arrest takes place off-stage and we have the whole story retold in the aftermath. We do, though, have the pleasures of Pettigrew's romance.
So only so-so as a mystery - but Hare's writing is witty, and the pleasures come from the characters.
July 26, 2022
Having loved the first Francis Pettigrew mystery, 'Tragedy at Law,' I was looking forward to continuing the series and I am pleased to say that I really enjoyed this. 'With a Bare Bodkin,' was first published in 1946 and sees Francis Pettigrew sent to do wartime work at the seaside resort of Marsett Bay, with the Bureau of Pin Control. Having been blitzed out of his chambers, he is relocated to a boarding house, where he shares space with those from his department. These include his secretary, Miss Brown, an elderly, religious lady, named Honoria Danville, Miss Clarke, who runs the department and keeps a fierce eye on everyone, Rickaby, described as a poisonous young man, a middle-aged, widowed solicitors clerk, named Phillips, Edelman, who seems to work alone, the 'Merry Widow,' Mrs Hopkinson and Wood, who writes crime novels, under the pen name Amyas Leigh.
You can tell that Cyril Hare had a lot of fun with this novel. The characters are away from home, safe from bombs, but bored and fractous. When Wood is outed as a crime writer, it is suggested that the members of the Fernlea Residential Club write a plot, involving the people living there, and this soon gets out of hand and causes upset. A murder occurs of course and Inspector Mallett, Pettigrew's old friend, is on hand to help solve the case. I loved the wartime setting and the bizarre idea of the pin department, which of course is being investigated, as there is a conflict for some between public duty and private interest. A great series and I will definitely be reading on.
You can tell that Cyril Hare had a lot of fun with this novel. The characters are away from home, safe from bombs, but bored and fractous. When Wood is outed as a crime writer, it is suggested that the members of the Fernlea Residential Club write a plot, involving the people living there, and this soon gets out of hand and causes upset. A murder occurs of course and Inspector Mallett, Pettigrew's old friend, is on hand to help solve the case. I loved the wartime setting and the bizarre idea of the pin department, which of course is being investigated, as there is a conflict for some between public duty and private interest. A great series and I will definitely be reading on.
May 8, 2018
Maybe even 4.5*
I found Hare’s setting in this one very amusing (a satire of WW2 British bureaucracy, it’s set in the Bureau of Pin Control and has a subplot about black market trading in pins!) and the mystery was very good. I thought that I had figured it out but not so!
I found Hare’s setting in this one very amusing (a satire of WW2 British bureaucracy, it’s set in the Bureau of Pin Control and has a subplot about black market trading in pins!) and the mystery was very good. I thought that I had figured it out but not so!
December 1, 2024
3.5 stars - The mystery in this wasn't my favorite, but I loved the atmosphere, writing, & character types. Definitely need to read more from this author
August 25, 2012
It was very amusing for me that almost the next book I read was a Sara Woods/Antony Maitland, Error of the Moon, with the same basic premise. During World War II, a lawyer is sent to a facility in the north of England to (ostensibly with an innocent reason for his arrival) suss out a suspected case of treason. And in both cases (no surprise) there is treason, and in both cases (no surprise) the proof of the treason comes after a couple of murders. That said, they’re very different books. With a Bare Bodkin is much more light-hearted, as you’d expect—if only because Pettigrew is at the Pin Control whilst Maitland is at an aircraft research facility. Pettigrew’s investigation is confused by the murder’s occurring in the middle of a murder game. The motive’s an unusual one, and I was guessing until the end.
(I just noticed that both books take their titles from Shakespeare…)
(I just noticed that both books take their titles from Shakespeare…)
September 4, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed With A Bare Bodkin. Cyril Hare writes excellently with a rather witty and very readable style and gives us an enjoyable mystery and some nicely drawn characters.
Francis Pettigrew is seconded to the Pin Control, doing vital War Work ensuring that pin production is properly controlled and battling the dangerous black market in pins. A death occurs among his new colleagues and, with the redoubtable Inspector Hackett on hand, Pettigrew becomes involved in the subsequent investigation.
Needless to say, Hare uses this background to gently satirise the bureaucracy of such places during the Second World War, which he does beautifully and without it intruding on the plot. He creates interesting and generally credible characters (I am especially fond of Inspector Hackett) and a rather intricate plot which kept me interested throughout – and largely fooled as to the identity of the villain.
It is, in short, a lot of fun and a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
Francis Pettigrew is seconded to the Pin Control, doing vital War Work ensuring that pin production is properly controlled and battling the dangerous black market in pins. A death occurs among his new colleagues and, with the redoubtable Inspector Hackett on hand, Pettigrew becomes involved in the subsequent investigation.
Needless to say, Hare uses this background to gently satirise the bureaucracy of such places during the Second World War, which he does beautifully and without it intruding on the plot. He creates interesting and generally credible characters (I am especially fond of Inspector Hackett) and a rather intricate plot which kept me interested throughout – and largely fooled as to the identity of the villain.
It is, in short, a lot of fun and a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
June 22, 2025
Who can we pin this murder on?
English lawyer/judge Gordon Clark ("Cyril Hare") spent WWII working at the Ministry of Economic Warfare, which isn't as silly as it sounds. A country at war must protect and control its economy to ensure that the military gets first shot at raw materials, while providing for civilian needs as adequately as possible. And steps must be taken to prevent profiteering and black-market sales. So when a country goes to war, its government immediately sets up temporary agencies to oversee manufacturing and commerce. The mythical “Pin Control” which hires Francis Pettigrew as its legal counsel is only one of many such wartime entities. Hopefully, none of the others had a murder.
The normally reclusive Pettigrew is thrown together with his fellow ministry workers because they're all stuck in a small village with limited housing and entertainment options. Pettigrew lives in a “guest house” with other ministry employees, including his quietly efficient young secretary Miss Brown, the odd and apparently unstable Miss Danville, the formidable Miss Clarke who’s a department head, and five male colleagues.
Pettigrew learns that most of the top-level ministry workers are normally employed by large companies that produce and sell pins. They’re the only people who know enough about the industry to police it, but conflicts of interest are inevitable. And one of the employees has been leaking classified information to his employer, bringing Scotland Yard Inspector Mallet to town to investigate. Mallet and Pettigrew know and like each other and Mallet is happy to have a friend in the Ministry to tell him about the staff.
Pettigrew's work at the Ministry is agreeable enough, but he's not happy. He’s grown fond of Miss Brown and is disturbed by her intention marry Mr. Phillips, a middle-aged widower. It doesn’t seem like a suitable match to anyone but the dotty Miss Danville. Young Miss Brown has no family, but does have a private income. Pettigrew’s suspicions deepen when Mr. Phillips suggests that his intended insure her life in his favor. Is Phillips marrying for love or money?
When it’s learned that one of the guest house dwellers is a mystery writer, some of his impish colleagues demand that he write a mystery in which the Ministry Director is murdered. Cruelly, they designate Miss Danville as the murderer and proceed to sneak around the ministry during office hours, trying to determine how best the fictional murder can be carried out. It seems silly and annoying, but one person may be using it as an excuse to plan a real murder.
A murder occurs at the Ministry on the same day that Mallet discovers the identity of the person who’s leaking information. Now he has to figure out if the two facts are connected or if someone had a personal reason to eliminate a colleague. Then his Top-Secret report is stolen between the Controller's office and Pettigrew's desk. Is everyone in the building engaged in nefarious plots?
Hare/Clark was a fine writer and I think this is one of his best. He captures the intensity of wartime employment which forces very dissimilar people to work and live closely together. As the inevitable tension builds, it appears that the most vulnerable are in the greatest danger.
Mallet and Pettigrew are wonderfully appealing characters and their friendship adds to the pleasure of reading the story. Some of the other characters (both the vicious and the merely silly) are more appalling than appealing, but we’ve all worked with people like them, by necessity, not choice. The conclusion is surprising, but completely logical. You have all the clues, if you put them together correctly. And if you don’t, you still have the satisfaction of reading a pleasantly complicated murder mystery with a realistic plot and believable characters. I only wish this author had lived long enough to write many more of his excellent mysteries.
English lawyer/judge Gordon Clark ("Cyril Hare") spent WWII working at the Ministry of Economic Warfare, which isn't as silly as it sounds. A country at war must protect and control its economy to ensure that the military gets first shot at raw materials, while providing for civilian needs as adequately as possible. And steps must be taken to prevent profiteering and black-market sales. So when a country goes to war, its government immediately sets up temporary agencies to oversee manufacturing and commerce. The mythical “Pin Control” which hires Francis Pettigrew as its legal counsel is only one of many such wartime entities. Hopefully, none of the others had a murder.
The normally reclusive Pettigrew is thrown together with his fellow ministry workers because they're all stuck in a small village with limited housing and entertainment options. Pettigrew lives in a “guest house” with other ministry employees, including his quietly efficient young secretary Miss Brown, the odd and apparently unstable Miss Danville, the formidable Miss Clarke who’s a department head, and five male colleagues.
Pettigrew learns that most of the top-level ministry workers are normally employed by large companies that produce and sell pins. They’re the only people who know enough about the industry to police it, but conflicts of interest are inevitable. And one of the employees has been leaking classified information to his employer, bringing Scotland Yard Inspector Mallet to town to investigate. Mallet and Pettigrew know and like each other and Mallet is happy to have a friend in the Ministry to tell him about the staff.
Pettigrew's work at the Ministry is agreeable enough, but he's not happy. He’s grown fond of Miss Brown and is disturbed by her intention marry Mr. Phillips, a middle-aged widower. It doesn’t seem like a suitable match to anyone but the dotty Miss Danville. Young Miss Brown has no family, but does have a private income. Pettigrew’s suspicions deepen when Mr. Phillips suggests that his intended insure her life in his favor. Is Phillips marrying for love or money?
When it’s learned that one of the guest house dwellers is a mystery writer, some of his impish colleagues demand that he write a mystery in which the Ministry Director is murdered. Cruelly, they designate Miss Danville as the murderer and proceed to sneak around the ministry during office hours, trying to determine how best the fictional murder can be carried out. It seems silly and annoying, but one person may be using it as an excuse to plan a real murder.
A murder occurs at the Ministry on the same day that Mallet discovers the identity of the person who’s leaking information. Now he has to figure out if the two facts are connected or if someone had a personal reason to eliminate a colleague. Then his Top-Secret report is stolen between the Controller's office and Pettigrew's desk. Is everyone in the building engaged in nefarious plots?
Hare/Clark was a fine writer and I think this is one of his best. He captures the intensity of wartime employment which forces very dissimilar people to work and live closely together. As the inevitable tension builds, it appears that the most vulnerable are in the greatest danger.
Mallet and Pettigrew are wonderfully appealing characters and their friendship adds to the pleasure of reading the story. Some of the other characters (both the vicious and the merely silly) are more appalling than appealing, but we’ve all worked with people like them, by necessity, not choice. The conclusion is surprising, but completely logical. You have all the clues, if you put them together correctly. And if you don’t, you still have the satisfaction of reading a pleasantly complicated murder mystery with a realistic plot and believable characters. I only wish this author had lived long enough to write many more of his excellent mysteries.
March 15, 2020
“It’s against all reason!” Mallett burst out. “Here you have a woman killed in broad daylight in a building crammed with men and women, within a few yards of half a dozen people at least, and there’s not a rag of evidence against one of them. The only man of known criminal propensities has a complete alibi. So far as the others are concerned, there’s nothing whatever to choose between them on the ground of opportunity but in not one case is there the faintest trace of motive discoverable.”
April 4, 2022
I'm thoroughly enjoying this character-driven series. The author, who in "real life" was a judge, wrote interestingly about what might otherwise be considered dull fare. A treat of a reading journey.
July 1, 2019
Well written, but not enough plot. Full review at classicmystery.blog
June 18, 2021
Francis Pettigrew must make a wartime sacrifice, it being WWII. He joins a large bureaucracy regulating the wartime manufacture of pins. Since Pettigrew is a 40s mystery series hero, he finds the ministry, located in a garish mansion in some obscure seaside resort, is full of odd people who have motives and agendas and schemes. They are also bored. So, since one of the group is a mystery writer, a group of folks decides to plot a murder. Not a real murder, mind. This is just all in fun. But a real murder happens anyway and Pettigrew is in the thick of it. Good thing his friend Inspector Mallett is on hand…
Cyril Hare is a good writer to reach for if you can’t find an Agatha Christie to read. He has a satirical bent and writes quite well. The drama is very old school — 90 pages of ominous satire then murder and a quite well thought solution by page 194.
Cyril Hare is a good writer to reach for if you can’t find an Agatha Christie to read. He has a satirical bent and writes quite well. The drama is very old school — 90 pages of ominous satire then murder and a quite well thought solution by page 194.
January 1, 2014
Here is a link to my review on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YmF_7...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YmF_7...
May 23, 2025
It is wartime and the government has taken control of much of the country’s manufacturing capacity for the war effort. Barrister Francis Pettigrew finds himself “volunteered” to become the legal adviser for Pin Control, which is just what it sounds like – the department that controls the manufacturing and distribution of pins. So off he goes to Marsett Bay, where the department has been installed in a large country house near a very quiet little town. He is quartered in the Fernlea Residential Club along with a few colleagues, one of whom turns out to be a mystery novelist in his spare time – a not very successful one. One of the other residents suggests that it would be fun if he set his next novel in Pin Control, with the Fernlea residents appearing as suspects. This is hailed enthusiastically by most as a way to alleviate the boredom of long evenings in the Fernlea, and so The Plot is born. Amid much hilarity, they select a victim and a murderer and set about working out means and motives. But then a real murder happens in a way that is very similar to The Plot, so the residents of the Fernlea find themselves the focus of the police investigation, which is led by Inspector Mallett whom Pettigrew has helped in a previous case...
This is a very light-hearted mystery and lots of fun. The depiction of the hierarchy and rigid bureaucracy of Pin Control is entertaining, especially if you happen to be old enough to have worked in a not-dissimilar government department back when people still called each other Miss and Mr, and all bosses were men, each with their unmarried secretary to control their diary and make their tea, and where every action involved filling out at least one form, usually in triplicate. Apparently Hare, a lawyer himself, was in a similar job to Pettigrew’s during the war, which no doubt is why Pin Control feels entirely accurate.
Mr Pettigrew is high enough up in the hierarchy to have his own secretary, young Miss Brown, whom Mr Pettigrew is not attracted to. He’s not attracted to her lovely blue eyes, and he’s not attracted to her quiet air of intelligence and competence, and as for her kindness to her colleagues, well, he’s definitely not attracted to that. So when it appears that another colleague, Mr Phillips, may be wooing Miss Brown, it’s definitely not jealousy that makes Mr Pettigrew decide to investigate Mr Phillips’ previous history. And it’s not jealousy that makes him just a shade disappointed to find that Mr Phillips is a perfectly respectable widower with an impeccable background.
Miss Brown and Mr Phillips are residents of the Fernlea too, along with Mr Woods, the novelist. Then there’s Mr Edelman, whose position at Pin Control is something of a mystery since he seems to be allowed to pry into everything and reports only to the Controller. Miss Clarke heads up a section, and is one of those fierce battleaxes who bullies her poor staff into maximum efficiency. Mrs Hopkinson is one of those jolly types that is always herding her fellow residents into having fun, when some of them would rather sit quietly and read a book. Miss Danville is religious to a fault, and seems pretty mentally unstable. The residents split into two camps – the ones who tease and pick on Miss Danville, and the ones who feel sorry for her and try to protect her from the teasing. And, lastly, there’s Mr Rickaby whom nobody likes because he’s rather loud and vulgar.
One of these people will become the victim, and one is the murderer. But why? They are all strangers to each other, so what motive could one of them have for bumping another of them off? It will only be when Mr Pettigrew and Inspector Mallett compare notes that they will spot a discrepancy that leads to the solution.
I didn’t spot the discrepancy, but I did have a pretty good idea of whodunit from early on. It didn’t matter though, since I was still intrigued to find out the motive, and anyway I was enjoying the fun of Hare’s mockery of government departments, and of watching Pettigrew being definitely not attracted to Miss Brown. And there are other little secondary mysteries along the way – like what is Mr Edelman’s job exactly, and who is leaking information from the department? Overall, I found this well written and highly entertaining, and all wrapped up nicely at the end. I look forward to meeting Mr Pettigrew again soon!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is a very light-hearted mystery and lots of fun. The depiction of the hierarchy and rigid bureaucracy of Pin Control is entertaining, especially if you happen to be old enough to have worked in a not-dissimilar government department back when people still called each other Miss and Mr, and all bosses were men, each with their unmarried secretary to control their diary and make their tea, and where every action involved filling out at least one form, usually in triplicate. Apparently Hare, a lawyer himself, was in a similar job to Pettigrew’s during the war, which no doubt is why Pin Control feels entirely accurate.
Mr Pettigrew is high enough up in the hierarchy to have his own secretary, young Miss Brown, whom Mr Pettigrew is not attracted to. He’s not attracted to her lovely blue eyes, and he’s not attracted to her quiet air of intelligence and competence, and as for her kindness to her colleagues, well, he’s definitely not attracted to that. So when it appears that another colleague, Mr Phillips, may be wooing Miss Brown, it’s definitely not jealousy that makes Mr Pettigrew decide to investigate Mr Phillips’ previous history. And it’s not jealousy that makes him just a shade disappointed to find that Mr Phillips is a perfectly respectable widower with an impeccable background.
Miss Brown and Mr Phillips are residents of the Fernlea too, along with Mr Woods, the novelist. Then there’s Mr Edelman, whose position at Pin Control is something of a mystery since he seems to be allowed to pry into everything and reports only to the Controller. Miss Clarke heads up a section, and is one of those fierce battleaxes who bullies her poor staff into maximum efficiency. Mrs Hopkinson is one of those jolly types that is always herding her fellow residents into having fun, when some of them would rather sit quietly and read a book. Miss Danville is religious to a fault, and seems pretty mentally unstable. The residents split into two camps – the ones who tease and pick on Miss Danville, and the ones who feel sorry for her and try to protect her from the teasing. And, lastly, there’s Mr Rickaby whom nobody likes because he’s rather loud and vulgar.
One of these people will become the victim, and one is the murderer. But why? They are all strangers to each other, so what motive could one of them have for bumping another of them off? It will only be when Mr Pettigrew and Inspector Mallett compare notes that they will spot a discrepancy that leads to the solution.
I didn’t spot the discrepancy, but I did have a pretty good idea of whodunit from early on. It didn’t matter though, since I was still intrigued to find out the motive, and anyway I was enjoying the fun of Hare’s mockery of government departments, and of watching Pettigrew being definitely not attracted to Miss Brown. And there are other little secondary mysteries along the way – like what is Mr Edelman’s job exactly, and who is leaking information from the department? Overall, I found this well written and highly entertaining, and all wrapped up nicely at the end. I look forward to meeting Mr Pettigrew again soon!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
June 2, 2023
I have soft spot for sharp, amusing mystery novels. I had no idea when I picked up this story, by a new-to-me author, at my local used bookstore that this would turn out to be one. I'm delighted. Set during WWII, it seems that Mr. Pettigrew had been recruited as the legal advisor for the bureau of Pin Control, (yes, pins), and must move with all the others of this group to a mansion, built by the eccentric Lord Eglwyswrw, in Northern England. There he is surrounded by bureaucrats, frighteningly efficient secretaries, and assorted administrators and supervisors. When they discover they have a mystery writer working with them they begin a silly game of imagining a murder mystery that takes place on the grounds. It's perfectly harmless - or is it?
I figured out the culprit and the clues before the end of the story, but that doesn't ruin a book for me. What I look for is a cast of interesting people with several possible solutions to the mystery, and I got that here.
I love the writer's style. This is not a comic novel, but he employs the type of subtle irony that I really enjoy. Discussing one branch at Pin Control, he says, "By sheer dint of bullying (Miss Clark) had made them unquestionably the most efficient section in the whole office. To the public, clamoring for licenses to manufacture, acquire, or dispose of pins, they appeared evasive, dilatory, and imperturbably indifferent; but administratively they were well-nigh perfect."
I'm looking forward to tracking down more of the books in this series.
NB - The cover of my edition is atrocious. It shows a tall urban building with fire pouring out of the windows. There is no fire in this story, and the setting is secluded rural mansion. Granted, in literally the first two pages we learn Mr. Pettigrew is currently working in a London building that has suffered from bombing, but that's all. So anyone who picks this book up on strength of the cover will probably be very disappointed. What pity, as this is a really enjoyable story.
I figured out the culprit and the clues before the end of the story, but that doesn't ruin a book for me. What I look for is a cast of interesting people with several possible solutions to the mystery, and I got that here.
I love the writer's style. This is not a comic novel, but he employs the type of subtle irony that I really enjoy. Discussing one branch at Pin Control, he says, "By sheer dint of bullying (Miss Clark) had made them unquestionably the most efficient section in the whole office. To the public, clamoring for licenses to manufacture, acquire, or dispose of pins, they appeared evasive, dilatory, and imperturbably indifferent; but administratively they were well-nigh perfect."
I'm looking forward to tracking down more of the books in this series.
NB - The cover of my edition is atrocious. It shows a tall urban building with fire pouring out of the windows. There is no fire in this story, and the setting is secluded rural mansion. Granted, in literally the first two pages we learn Mr. Pettigrew is currently working in a London building that has suffered from bombing, but that's all. So anyone who picks this book up on strength of the cover will probably be very disappointed. What pity, as this is a really enjoyable story.
August 6, 2022
I liked this more than the first in this series. Here we get to learn more about Pettigrew. Having been removed from his chambers because of Blitz damage, he is relocated to a a coastal boarding house, in order to work as an advisor to Pin Control, the war effort to check on the usage of pins in England. The other residents of the house, are also working at this establishment, and so find themselves looking for amusement to pass the evenings after work. These residents are a varying mixture of people, that besides Pettigrew, are the secretary that has been assigned to him, a department head, one of her friends, and elderly, very religious woman, an author of mystery books, a solicitor's clerk, and a couple of other men. The amusement they decide on is to write a murder mystery about themselves. They begin with choosing a victim, and then have to decide on a murderer. The religious woman wants nothing to do with this game, and Pettigrew soon loses interest in it, as does his secretary, and the solicitor's clerk who is very sweet on her.
Although this is a murder mystery, it mainly carried through with a very humorous, fun style. There is a romantic theme also running through it, helping to keep it light. I will definitely continue with the series.
Although this is a murder mystery, it mainly carried through with a very humorous, fun style. There is a romantic theme also running through it, helping to keep it light. I will definitely continue with the series.
October 24, 2025
The first Pettigrew book was an impressive character study but somewhat boring as an actual mystery, but I enjoyed this one much more. Again we get an interesting and well-drawn cast of characters - even the background characters seem to have a little bit more to them than your standard murder mystery. As with the previous one as well, I liked Inspector Mallett a lot. I also did manage to solve this one right before the reveal, which was very satisfying. A fun and quick read.
May 7, 2021
Would say this is novella length, which is perfect for the story. Hare also gets to poke fun at mystery writers as well as this story has one working in the same place as Pettigrew. A mystery that has personalities at its essence, and attention to detail the nail that nails the crime. To say for than this would be a spoiler.
A fun quick read.
A fun quick read.
July 5, 2021
Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister but a gentleman who seems to find himself in the midst of a mystery, joins the staff at Bureau of Pin Control during World War II as the agency's legal representative.
Pettigrew meets with several fellow staffers as they all are staying at the same place, including Honoria Danville, a clerk in licensing that is in charge of making tea for the office; Miss Clark, the office manager; Edelman, the sole staffer in research; and Wood, the writer Amyas Leigh, who works in enforcement. One evening, after Pettigrew discovers Wood's sideline, the others decide that they are going to "help" the writer plan his next mystery by using the Bureau as the site of the murder and the staffers as suspects.
Pettigrew thinks its just an idle activity for an evening but the others don't and they go from picking a murderer and victim to planning and practicing the murder.
But things take a turn when the group's supposed murderer turns up dead.
This is fun, interesting reading even though there is a bit of technicality involved. I have never heard of the Bureau of Pin Control — quite likely because it's a bit of whimsy — and Pettigrew is involved in reviewing proposed actions against manufacturers who may be working a black market — I think. He also gets involved in working with Scotland Yard on not only the black market angle but the murder.
The main character in this book is after all, a barrister.
Pettigrew is a fun character. Older, I'm assuming, a bit blustery and fusty, but a fun character never-the-less with a good head on his shoulders. While I'm not sure that the other characters are all that realistic, the story hangs together and it makes for dare I say it? exciting reading.
Pettigrew meets with several fellow staffers as they all are staying at the same place, including Honoria Danville, a clerk in licensing that is in charge of making tea for the office; Miss Clark, the office manager; Edelman, the sole staffer in research; and Wood, the writer Amyas Leigh, who works in enforcement. One evening, after Pettigrew discovers Wood's sideline, the others decide that they are going to "help" the writer plan his next mystery by using the Bureau as the site of the murder and the staffers as suspects.
Pettigrew thinks its just an idle activity for an evening but the others don't and they go from picking a murderer and victim to planning and practicing the murder.
But things take a turn when the group's supposed murderer turns up dead.
This is fun, interesting reading even though there is a bit of technicality involved. I have never heard of the Bureau of Pin Control — quite likely because it's a bit of whimsy — and Pettigrew is involved in reviewing proposed actions against manufacturers who may be working a black market — I think. He also gets involved in working with Scotland Yard on not only the black market angle but the murder.
The main character in this book is after all, a barrister.
Pettigrew is a fun character. Older, I'm assuming, a bit blustery and fusty, but a fun character never-the-less with a good head on his shoulders. While I'm not sure that the other characters are all that realistic, the story hangs together and it makes for dare I say it? exciting reading.
January 18, 2021
Very enjoyable. He waits quite a while to introduce a corpse (I think around the 70% mark!) so if you're not able to delay that particular gratification, you might prefer a corpse-first novelist. As usual with a mystery I'm happy if I can tell the characters apart, and I could do so fairly quickly. I was puzzled by the purpose of the people (something to do with pins) but I don't suppose it really mattered--perhaps it made sense back in the day, or perhaps it was always irrelevent, and they could have been in charge of "doodads" or "wickets" or "gizmos" for all the difference it would have made.
Not especially exciting, of course, but a pleasant thing to read before bed. There's something a bit off about Mr. Hare's works, like he'd read one or two mysteries but not enough to get a sense of all the genre conventions, and I actually like that.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
Not especially exciting, of course, but a pleasant thing to read before bed. There's something a bit off about Mr. Hare's works, like he'd read one or two mysteries but not enough to get a sense of all the genre conventions, and I actually like that.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
August 30, 2022
Barrister Francis Pettigrew has been seconded to work for a Government department dealing with Pin Control during WWII. Being away from London in the sleepy town of Marsett Bay, the ministers and secretaries begin to plan a theoretical murder, while a romance begins to develop between Pettigrew’s secretary and an elderly solicitor’s clerk. Then a murder takes place that mirrors The Plot, and Pettigrew finds himself helping Inspector Mallett in his investigation.
This was a funny and quite charming mystery. The depiction of the Pin Control ministry sheds an amusing light on the concerns and bureaucracy of WWII, while the mystery contains the quirky legal and administrative details that Hare loved to add to his stories. Pettigrew’s own sentimental feelings, previously hidden under crusty professionalism, also add an appealing aspect to the narrative.
This series of Golden Age mysteries is delightful and entertaining, with interesting characters and a good sense of time and place, and I really enjoyed this one.
This was a funny and quite charming mystery. The depiction of the Pin Control ministry sheds an amusing light on the concerns and bureaucracy of WWII, while the mystery contains the quirky legal and administrative details that Hare loved to add to his stories. Pettigrew’s own sentimental feelings, previously hidden under crusty professionalism, also add an appealing aspect to the narrative.
This series of Golden Age mysteries is delightful and entertaining, with interesting characters and a good sense of time and place, and I really enjoyed this one.
September 6, 2011
A charming mystery set in WWII England, centered around the people working for England's regulatory department on...pins. Spending their days amidst Byzantine bureaucracy in a remote Great House, and their nights at a guesthouse during blackout hours, the characters become steadily more enmeshed with each other, and addicted to what they call "The Plot," a group attempt to write a mystery novel, which naturally ends up with one of the characters dead. I enjoyed our hero, a somewhat dusty bachelor solicitor, very much.
May 5, 2016
Barrister Francis Pettigrew accepts a position as legal council to the Pin Control Board (fictional, one hopes!), which is evacuated to a remote country mansion. He grows concerned over his young secretary's romance with a much older man, and also about the mystery plot that many of the workers, living like him in a nearby boarding house, are developing around the Control Board's activities. When an unstable clerical worker dies, he initially thinks it was an unfortunate death of natural causes, until the autopsy reveals murder.
August 29, 2022
Francis Pettigrew finds himself assigned to the Pin Board as inhouse lawyer during WWII. The Board is located in a large requisitioned house in a small English seaside village. Francis is placed with some colleagues in a local boarding house where boredom leads the inhabitants to start planning a fictional murder. Until one of them is found dead, stabbed in the kitchen at the office. Francis starts asking questions, partly to alleviate some concerns about the man his inscrutable, effective secretary may be getting involved in. Great fun and interesting insight into WWII.
January 22, 2013
I didn't like this one as much as the others in the series. It didn't seem to be quite as witty as the other books. Plus, I discovered that the reason why Hare doesn't usually include much of a romance in his books is because he isn't very good at writing them. I liked the Francis Pettigrew character from the first book so much that I was glad that things worked out for him the way they did in this book, but I didn't feel that his character in this book had the same spark.
November 9, 2012
The mystery is unremarkable, but the characters are engaging and the writing style is enjoyable.
July 12, 2019
Going in circles
This is well written with lots of turns. Read carefully the beginning chapters or you will lose some most importantly needed clues.
This is well written with lots of turns. Read carefully the beginning chapters or you will lose some most importantly needed clues.
April 9, 2023
Cyril Hare was the pen name of an English judge who moonlighted writing clever, literate mysteries, most with a legal angle. He wrote from the thirties through the fifties, placing him in the Golden Age tradition. They are short on cinematic action but long on wit and observation of character and culture.
This one has a wartime setting; Francis Pettigrew, the solicitor who is featured in a number of the novels, has left a bombed-out London and is making his contribution to the war effort by serving as legal advisor to a government bureau relocated to a requisitioned mansion in a coastal town. Its mission is to regulate the manufacture and sale of "pins" (that's all we're given, leaving us to wonder what kind of pins we're talking about and what's so important about them in the wartime economy).
It's an insular community, the perfect setting for a whodunnit, with a variety of personalities thrown together in the office and the nearby boarding house, breeding resentments, jealousies and petty intrigues. One of Pettigrew's colleagues is a well-known mystery writer (Hare making gentle fun of himself); on a lark he and a few office mates start plotting a mystery set in their workplace. Of course, a real murder soon occurs, casting the gag in a sinister light. Pettigrew and the visiting Scotland Yard inspector will investigate.
It's a pleasant read, for Golden Age fans who like their mysteries cerebral and not too violent.
This one has a wartime setting; Francis Pettigrew, the solicitor who is featured in a number of the novels, has left a bombed-out London and is making his contribution to the war effort by serving as legal advisor to a government bureau relocated to a requisitioned mansion in a coastal town. Its mission is to regulate the manufacture and sale of "pins" (that's all we're given, leaving us to wonder what kind of pins we're talking about and what's so important about them in the wartime economy).
It's an insular community, the perfect setting for a whodunnit, with a variety of personalities thrown together in the office and the nearby boarding house, breeding resentments, jealousies and petty intrigues. One of Pettigrew's colleagues is a well-known mystery writer (Hare making gentle fun of himself); on a lark he and a few office mates start plotting a mystery set in their workplace. Of course, a real murder soon occurs, casting the gag in a sinister light. Pettigrew and the visiting Scotland Yard inspector will investigate.
It's a pleasant read, for Golden Age fans who like their mysteries cerebral and not too violent.
October 20, 2023
This is my second Cyril Hare book. He seems to tickle some corner of my brain that was brought up on Rumpole of the Bailey and Poirot and Miss Marple. I just loved this book as well. The setting during WWII in a distant corner of England safe from bombs, engaged in the machinery of government bureaucracy, might sound a little bit anaemic, but Hare manages to create a brooding and absurd environment where you know a murder is going to happen at some point (beyond the fact that this is a murder mystery), and that the solution is going to be delicious and turn on an arcane point of law (which it sorta did). I was also delighted when Inspector Mallett turned up, he's a very stolid character yet the twinkle in his eye betrays something more.
September 19, 2024
I cam across this title while surfing Amazon, where I was looking at a review of Joan Cockin's novel Deadly Earnest. The reviewer had suggested With A Bare Bodkin as a well-written mystery set in the closed circle of a wartime office.
With a Bare Bodkin truly kept me reading and was written with a pacing and telling that feels distinctly modern. The book follows Francis Pettigrew, a solicitor, who has been sent to work for The Pin Control during the wartime. He is surrounded by drab work and colleagues he isn't very much interested in, but thinks take a turn when one of his colleagues turns out be a mystery writer and a group of others begin planning a fictional murder set in their department for a lark. However, when the person they had cast in the role of villain for the plot is murdered, it's clear that one of Pettigrew's coworkers is responsible. The book unfolds mostly from the perspective of Francis Pettigrew, but the investigation is done by the police. This striked a balance in the story and makes it more entertaining. I was able to guess who must have done it and why (as most other readers probably will), but it was an immensely readable book that I really enjoyed.
With a Bare Bodkin truly kept me reading and was written with a pacing and telling that feels distinctly modern. The book follows Francis Pettigrew, a solicitor, who has been sent to work for The Pin Control during the wartime. He is surrounded by drab work and colleagues he isn't very much interested in, but thinks take a turn when one of his colleagues turns out be a mystery writer and a group of others begin planning a fictional murder set in their department for a lark. However, when the person they had cast in the role of villain for the plot is murdered, it's clear that one of Pettigrew's coworkers is responsible. The book unfolds mostly from the perspective of Francis Pettigrew, but the investigation is done by the police. This striked a balance in the story and makes it more entertaining. I was able to guess who must have done it and why (as most other readers probably will), but it was an immensely readable book that I really enjoyed.
June 5, 2020
#2 in the Francis Pettigrew mystery series.
It is World War II England and the Blitz has forced the evacuation of various government offices from London. Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister and amateur detective, has left his law office accepting a temporary posting as legal counsel to the newly established wartime office of Pen Control accompanies his ministry to remote Marsett Bay into the former large county manor of a deceased wealth man.
The office group is made up of several characters who don't always get along. Adding to this mix, Pettigrew encounters a Scotland Yard detective he knows at a local pub who is there because something may not be quite right at the Pin Control. Bored and restless, the ministers start playing a light-hearted game of 'plan the perfect murder' to pass the time. Pettigrew, remains detached from the silliness - until a real murder happens, and he is drawn into solving the mystery.
It is World War II England and the Blitz has forced the evacuation of various government offices from London. Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister and amateur detective, has left his law office accepting a temporary posting as legal counsel to the newly established wartime office of Pen Control accompanies his ministry to remote Marsett Bay into the former large county manor of a deceased wealth man.
The office group is made up of several characters who don't always get along. Adding to this mix, Pettigrew encounters a Scotland Yard detective he knows at a local pub who is there because something may not be quite right at the Pin Control. Bored and restless, the ministers start playing a light-hearted game of 'plan the perfect murder' to pass the time. Pettigrew, remains detached from the silliness - until a real murder happens, and he is drawn into solving the mystery.
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