Wycliffe's Wild-Goose Chase

Wycliffe #10

by W.J. Burley

Chief Superintendent Wycliffe comes across evidence on his own doorstep - and it leads him into very deep water . . . Wycliffe's home overlooks a peaceful, West Country estuary - but even here he can't get away from crime. When he is taking a Sunday morning walk along the shore, he comes across a service revolver with one chamber recently fired. In recent years Wycliffe has often regretted the fact that his rank cuts him off from the early stages of an investigation, but here he is, in at the very start. The case takes Wycliffe into the world of art robberies and crooked dealers, to a suicide which may be a murder, and a hunt for a missing yacht. As the investigation escalates, Wycliffe begins to wonder exactly where the clues are leading . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Procedural, British Literature, Detective, Police

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Burley was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. Before he began writing, he was employed in senior management with various gas companies, before giving it up after the Second World War when he obtained a scholarship to study zoology at Balliol College, Oxford. After obtaining an honours degree he became a teacher. Appointed head of biology, first at Richmond & East Sheen County Grammar School in 1953, then at Newquay Grammar School in 1955, he was well established as a writer by the time he retired at the age of 60 in 1974. He died at his home in Holywell, Cornwall, on 15 August 2002.

John Burley had his first novel published when he was in his early fifties. His second published novel, two years later, saw the appearance of Superintendent Charles Wycliffe.

Over the next 25 years Burley produced another seventeen Wycliffe books and five other books.

Then, late in 1993, one of Burley's Wycliffe stories appeared on television in a pilot starring Jack Shepherd.

The pilot was followed by 37 episodes broadcast over a five year period.

By 1995 the author was, for the first time in his life, financially comfortable. He was over eighty.

But the success of the television series meant that John Burley found himself overshadowed by his creations. To the public, the name Wycliffe brought to mind the unsmiling face of Jack Shepherd, the actor. Even in the bookshops it was Shepherd's face that dominated the covers of Burley's paperbacks.

John Burley, however, continued to write and produced a further four Wycliffe titles. He was working on his 23rd Wycliffe novel, Wycliffe's Last Lap, when he died in 2002.

Recently a wish to restore the balance has emerged from amongst his readers. There is a feeling that we are neglecting a writer of quality, one who deserves to stand beside Simenon, the creator of Inspector Maigret.
Reading through John Burley's books in publication sequence, one notices how the author's voice gets stronger and his views more certain. And how his writing skills grow until, in the later books, a few words are all that it takes to pin down an image. These are the signs of a writer confident in his craft.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Negli anni 80 il romanzo giallo era un indagine che procedeva per la sua inevitabile strada. Dagli anni 90 in poi, si sarebbe aggiunto un plot anche per ogni familiare delle persone coinvolte nella inchiesta. Ecco la differenza.
Burley porta avanti le sue indagini alla maniera di Simenon, soprattutto questa, che già dal titolo originale ricorda il mondo di Maigret e poi si svolge in circa 200 pagine contro le 500 a cui ci hanno abituato gli scrittori dei decenni successivi.
E là vi erano pipe e chiuse, qua pipe e insenature ma il modus operandi è lo stesso, la soddisfazione nella lettura, analoga.
E se forse non ho seguito bene tutto il discorso di maree e parti delle barche, in compenso sulle pipe sono ferrata e ho gradito molto il ruolo che hanno avuto nella trama.
Ultima traduzione in italiano per me di questo autore, un sentito grazie per lo ore piacevoli trascorse insieme.

[Bron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Charles Wycliffe, the way he sees the world and approaches his job. He knows what the law requires but he also knows what is right. In this book, he gets tested as he suspects the world might have been a better place if he hadn't been so dogged about getting to the root of his current case. After all, the first body was very obviously a suicide.

I get turned off by novels where the author feels a need to describe the surroundings in minute detail and flowery language. Burley's writing is on the sparse side, almost dry but somehow extremely evocative. He has a talent for writing a couple of sentences that give you the entire visual picture of a room or place and all in perfectly plain English. I only had to look up one word in the entire book. I'm not going to give the story away, read it for yourself and enjoy!

[Ramona Honan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Mrs Wycliffe, always having to wait for supper.

[EdTheZeroth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book introduced me to the Wycliffe series. Overall, it did not convince me to keep the series or author in mind. That said, a series with 22 books must have something right, though I didn’t see it in this book.

As a mystery, the story lacks a thrill or sense of urgency. It feels like nothing is at stake if the mystery remains unsolved or drawn out. It just ambles along, driven only by a protagonist wanting to satisfy his curiosity at every new unexplained puzzle piece. To its credit, the plot fairly neatly ties up the loose ends.

The writing is somewhat inaccessible in how it assumes specific knowledge of British literature (references to Wilkins Micawber and Hercule Poirot) and nautical terminology (references to tides, winds, and boats). The writing also annoys with its casual sexism. For example, when Wycliffe’s twin children are introduced, the male twin is said to be flying around the world to represent a scientific organisation whereas the female twin is travelling the world as… a personal assistant. The most irritating instance is saying a female detective constable joined the force “under the sex-equality banner” and yet in the same sentence says she is “good at her job”. Perhaps female police were so rare at the time (1970s-80s) that some explanation was necessary, but it still stings.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wycliffe is a deep thinker, not given to showy moves of obvious answers. In this novel, an Elderly Antiques dealer, Joseph Clement, has been shot, but it is unclear whether was suicide or murder. His business had been doing poorly since his younger brother, David, had joined the firm. David was much more “flash and glam” which didn’t quite fit the traditional old business. Now Joseph is dead and David is missing. Open/shut case? Wycliffe doesn’t think so. …… This book was written in the early 1980s for a British audience. I found it difficult to get used to the British sayings and wordings, but once I finally became used to the style and wording, it was an intriguing story that kept me guessing until the end

[Mandy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to put down,lots going on and I had so many ideas and suspects in mind. This wasn’t a traditional murder and find the killer,it was more complex and sad. I enjoyed the atmosphere and scenery of the book. Another good Wycliffe story.

[Myshelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always a nice quick easy read of an old series of Wycliffe.

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

another very interesting read thoroughly enjoyable

[Budge Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story, different ... beautifully written ... well worth a read, I can say no more.

[Anirban · Rating 4 out of 5]

While randomly buying books there always remains a risk of paying for a book, which is not worth the money spent. But then there is always a chance of stumbling upon a book or a series which turns out to be generally unknown but very enjoyable, making every penny spent worth it. This book fell into the latter category. I had never heard of either the series or W.J. Burley, but what I read would easily fall into the sphere of a well plotted British gentleman police procedural.

Aptly named, the book starts when Wycliffe stumbles upon a revolver while taking his morning walk. Following this discovery he discovers that the gun is a part of a burglary which took place earlier, the loot consisting mostly of antiques. Within a few days of this discovery, the local antique dealer turns up dead while his brother and his yacht goes missing. Wycliffe, not sure whether the gun is connected with the crime, or whether at all the death is a murder, or was it a suicide, starts his investigation involving the crime and burglaries of antiques.

The book is slow. But it has its own charm. Somehow I felt had it been blisteringly fast paced, the plot, the ambience of the book couldn’t have been justified. This was a classic British whodunnit, which required clues, detection and a sedate pace which would maintain its charm of being an easy and interesting work of crime writing without turning it into slow paced and boring.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

While strolling along the seashore, Wycliffe discovers an old service revolver on the beach, with one shot fired. Then an antique dealer is found shot to death in his home and his brother is missing, and it is up to Wycliffe to figure out how each of these things are connected, or not…."Wycliffe’s Wild Goose Chase," by W. J. Burley, is the 10th in this long series, written in 1982, but it feels like a completely different era. For example, there’s a comment about a female police officer who was hired just because of “the equality requirement,” but she turns out to be a pretty good copper anyway; and the final solution to the crime has to do with attitudes no longer considered normal in the civilized world. I still enjoyed the story, and continue to like Wycliffe as a character, although he’s a bit crabbier and more impatient than usual in this outing, so I wouldn’t recommend reading it as a stand-alone. You’ll like it better if you’ve read the previous nine novels, or at least some of them, before tackling this one. Mildly recommended.

[Jules Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

[2006-05-18] Wycliffe is indeed sent on a wild goose chase, with a "murder" that he rapidly realises probably isn't quite what it appears to be, but that involves him in much chasing about before the case can be closed. Not a lot really happens when you look hard, but the plot carries you along easily enough, and there are some nicely drawn characters. It's now on my Amazon wish list as a reminder to buy it at some point.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Wycliffe books. Burley seems to be better at books based on the English coast, perhaps because he is more familiar with it. I liked this one because the mystery is pretty good; I didn't suss it out until about 3/4 of the way through the book and it was a while before I got the motive.

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wycliffe spends a lot of time in mist and rain in this book, his thinking also like swirling mist until we reach the resolution. His portrayal of the Cornish coastal towns and weather is excellent and the character mix is varied.
It's a good holiday read

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

An investigation starts when a senior police officer finds a gun while out on a Sunday morning walk.

I found this book to have a reasonable story / writing, but it felt a bit dated.

[Rosie Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, passable little mystery.