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The County Guides #5
The Sussex Murder
From Beachy Head to Brighton, and from Chichester to Rye, Flaming Sussex sees our intrepid trio plunge once again into the dark heart of England
‘Beautifully crafted by Sansom, Professor Morley promises to become a little gem of English crime writing; sample him now’ Daily Mail
At about four o’clock on 5th November 1937, Miss Lizzie Walter, a teacher at the King’s Road Primary School in Lewes, said goodbye to her young pupils. The children clattered out into the dark streets, preparing for that night’s revelries – and Miss Lizzie Walter was never seen alive again.
Hitler, Mussolini and Pope Paul V are on fire. Fireworks explode and flaming tar barrels are being dragged through the streets. Bonfire Night in Lewes is the closest England comes to Mardis Gras. In their fifth adventure, Morley, Miriam and Sefton find themselves caught up in the celebrations and the chaos.
On the morning after the night before, Sefton goes for a swim in Pells Pool, the oldest freshwater lido in England – in the very centre of Lewes – where he discovers a woman’s body. She has drowned. Is it a misadventure or could it be … murder?
Join Morley, Miriam and Sefton on another journey into the dark heart of England.
‘Beautifully crafted by Sansom, Professor Morley promises to become a little gem of English crime writing; sample him now’ Daily Mail
At about four o’clock on 5th November 1937, Miss Lizzie Walter, a teacher at the King’s Road Primary School in Lewes, said goodbye to her young pupils. The children clattered out into the dark streets, preparing for that night’s revelries – and Miss Lizzie Walter was never seen alive again.
Hitler, Mussolini and Pope Paul V are on fire. Fireworks explode and flaming tar barrels are being dragged through the streets. Bonfire Night in Lewes is the closest England comes to Mardis Gras. In their fifth adventure, Morley, Miriam and Sefton find themselves caught up in the celebrations and the chaos.
On the morning after the night before, Sefton goes for a swim in Pells Pool, the oldest freshwater lido in England – in the very centre of Lewes – where he discovers a woman’s body. She has drowned. Is it a misadventure or could it be … murder?
Join Morley, Miriam and Sefton on another journey into the dark heart of England.
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 9, 2020
11 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 16, 2020
have to admit this is the weakest in the series and took ages to get going a very slow book
September 17, 2022
it's a suicide so awful ending
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2019
This series is fun and very quirky, probably not for you if you're looking for traditional murder mysteries as they are not really that and perhaps not really crime fiction at all. We are still in 1937 here and a large part of the point is a snapshot of the period just before the war, with Sefton having been in Spain and dark influences beginning to make themselves obvious in England (antisemitism, for instance). The Arthur Mee figure, Morley, remains as eccentric and irrepressible as ever, and there are some delightful little vignettes of (mainly East) Sussex life and customs. Obviously events as always interrupt the plans but the guidebook will appear, nonetheless, which raises some questions in the mind as to how thorough the research for the original county series could really have been. In a footnote there's a list of books to come - presumably most will remain in the fictional universe as I can't see that the author has time enough left to tackle them!
May 16, 2022
A real stinker, only carried on because it was set in Sussex.
October 3, 2021
Can’t get more English than this five-book series! I am hoping there is another story in the pipeline because it’s easy to get addicted to them when you binge read. If a book can have three protagonists, this is the one: Swanton Morley, Miriam Morley and Stephen Sefton traverse the verdant countryside together. They are documenting skills, industry, craft, food, etc, of a fast-disappearing England prior to WWII. It is both fascinating and terribly sad to think so much has been lost. Progress is inevitable and Morley himself would not exist in the 21st century but that doesn’t stop the enjoyment of following their travels, getting involved in murders, solving crimes and being party to odd goings-on in quaint villages, churches, schools and homes of the landed gentry.
What you see is what you get with Morley, even his feisty daughter Miriam is a particular type, but assistant Sefton is an entirely different kettle of fish. He seems calm and almost subservient but underneath he is a bad boy who does bad things and so far, yes, so far he has not been found out. His past has to catch up with him surely? Either that or author Ian Sansom has left the series hanging like forgotten washing on a wet day. Beware, there are lots of verbose paragraphs which readers can skip or devour at leisure. In Essex, Sefton muses “We had so many bywords it was difficult to know which words were bywords and which were just by-the-way words” but the plots continue to shine. Actually this one is grim, if you get my meaning, a classic whodunnit.
What you see is what you get with Morley, even his feisty daughter Miriam is a particular type, but assistant Sefton is an entirely different kettle of fish. He seems calm and almost subservient but underneath he is a bad boy who does bad things and so far, yes, so far he has not been found out. His past has to catch up with him surely? Either that or author Ian Sansom has left the series hanging like forgotten washing on a wet day. Beware, there are lots of verbose paragraphs which readers can skip or devour at leisure. In Essex, Sefton muses “We had so many bywords it was difficult to know which words were bywords and which were just by-the-way words” but the plots continue to shine. Actually this one is grim, if you get my meaning, a classic whodunnit.
October 27, 2019
Great series, looking forward to the next county.
October 21, 2019
I managed to derive some enjoyment from the first four books, plodding on in the hope that Sefton, after running around inner London during the early hours, in a naked state, would get washed, put on clean clothing, eat a meal and finally emerge from his seemingly permanent state of a hangover induced by self pity. But no, that didn’t happen, so I was left with a feeling of unease and wonder as to what it may be like to be in close proximity to the man. I wouldn’t want to sit too close in the confines of a car albeit a Lagonda.
Sussex Murder is written in the same vein as the previous four books. An over educated author burbles his way along throwing in comments about art, travel and literature which means not a lot to the average reader. Latin phrases are added for good measure with no interpretation to help those of us who do not have the benefit of ‘that sort of education’
The plot, such as it is, is an excuse for the author to show case his knowledge, through the two main characters..Miriam and her father. Both now coming over, in this fifth book, as a right pair of know all’s.
I’m not waiting with bated breath for number six in the series. Instead I have returned to my Patricia Wentworth collection of novels with a great sense of comfort. So if you are looking for a book if burble that leaves you feeling more than slightly uneasy then this is the series for you.
Sussex Murder is written in the same vein as the previous four books. An over educated author burbles his way along throwing in comments about art, travel and literature which means not a lot to the average reader. Latin phrases are added for good measure with no interpretation to help those of us who do not have the benefit of ‘that sort of education’
The plot, such as it is, is an excuse for the author to show case his knowledge, through the two main characters..Miriam and her father. Both now coming over, in this fifth book, as a right pair of know all’s.
I’m not waiting with bated breath for number six in the series. Instead I have returned to my Patricia Wentworth collection of novels with a great sense of comfort. So if you are looking for a book if burble that leaves you feeling more than slightly uneasy then this is the series for you.
July 7, 2019
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
December 13, 2021
These have to be read quickly or otherwise they become as annoying as Morely himself.
June 5, 2021
Another fascinating county visit, with even more nuggets from the butterfly brain of the People's Professor. As usual, I was tempted to do my own research [in which Sussex puddings loom large]. I think the ratio of murder mystery and digression is even more skewed towards the latter - and none the worse for that. It also feels a little valedictory, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the last, though it does contain this cheeky teaser:
"Morley’s names for our adventures, in roughly the order in which they
occurred were: The Norfolk Mystery, Death in Devon, Westmorland Alone, Essex Poison, The Sussex Murder, Northumberland’s Dead, The West Riding Evil, Kent's Secret, Rutland Deceased, The Lincolnshire Riddle, Wiltshire’s Ruin, Hampshire Innocents, Rogue Cheshire, Warwickshire’s Strangers, Gloucestershire Skeletons, Black Cornwall, The London Crime Co., East Riding Alibis, Berkshire Damned, The Malice of Durham, Bedfordshire’s Revenge, The Hertfordshire Revenge, The Lancashire Tragedy, Middlesex Thieves, Nottinghamshire’s Fear, Somerset’s Night, The Dorset Judgement, Bloody Suffolk, Vanished Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire Troubles, Tainted Shropshire, The Challenge of North Riding, Repentant Leicestershire, The Cambridgeshire Killings, The Northamptonshire Sorrows, Derbyshire’s Shadow, Oxfordshire Wrongs, Lost Herefordshire, Staffordshire’s Danger, False Surrey, The Curse of Cumberland, and The Worcestershire Sickness. My own nickname for our final adventure together is The End of Jersey and Guernsey."
"Morley’s names for our adventures, in roughly the order in which they
occurred were: The Norfolk Mystery, Death in Devon, Westmorland Alone, Essex Poison, The Sussex Murder, Northumberland’s Dead, The West Riding Evil, Kent's Secret, Rutland Deceased, The Lincolnshire Riddle, Wiltshire’s Ruin, Hampshire Innocents, Rogue Cheshire, Warwickshire’s Strangers, Gloucestershire Skeletons, Black Cornwall, The London Crime Co., East Riding Alibis, Berkshire Damned, The Malice of Durham, Bedfordshire’s Revenge, The Hertfordshire Revenge, The Lancashire Tragedy, Middlesex Thieves, Nottinghamshire’s Fear, Somerset’s Night, The Dorset Judgement, Bloody Suffolk, Vanished Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire Troubles, Tainted Shropshire, The Challenge of North Riding, Repentant Leicestershire, The Cambridgeshire Killings, The Northamptonshire Sorrows, Derbyshire’s Shadow, Oxfordshire Wrongs, Lost Herefordshire, Staffordshire’s Danger, False Surrey, The Curse of Cumberland, and The Worcestershire Sickness. My own nickname for our final adventure together is The End of Jersey and Guernsey."
May 2, 2020
Number 5? in the series. Some will not like the style/concept and some will love it. If you read this without having read the others first you are likely to find it strange.
It is, inevitably, funny and farcical. the English continues to be a very high standard and easy to read. This installment, however, is altogether more serious and dark (while still being light and ridiculous, if you see what I mean).
So, there is more of the same while the theme is bounced forward. I hesitate to say the characters themselves move on because I think they really stand for representatives of a society at the time (late 1930s). Miriam's flashes of irritation about Don Giovanni, black shirts and the absence of female history and Sefton's bleak observations of the embalming of a rotting country feel like parts of the emerging message. I will wait to find out what the author is really trying to say about Morley and his muddled self-betterment.
The mad obsessiveness and fetish with facts is perhaps more contained in certain passages with the disappointment and decay of the surrounding world separated out into others. An early comment from the narrator that this adventure affected the participants more bleakly than those before, reads like a warning from the author that the emphasis is changing a bit. The murder mystery bit is no puzzle and largely incidental.
It is, inevitably, funny and farcical. the English continues to be a very high standard and easy to read. This installment, however, is altogether more serious and dark (while still being light and ridiculous, if you see what I mean).
So, there is more of the same while the theme is bounced forward. I hesitate to say the characters themselves move on because I think they really stand for representatives of a society at the time (late 1930s). Miriam's flashes of irritation about Don Giovanni, black shirts and the absence of female history and Sefton's bleak observations of the embalming of a rotting country feel like parts of the emerging message. I will wait to find out what the author is really trying to say about Morley and his muddled self-betterment.
The mad obsessiveness and fetish with facts is perhaps more contained in certain passages with the disappointment and decay of the surrounding world separated out into others. An early comment from the narrator that this adventure affected the participants more bleakly than those before, reads like a warning from the author that the emphasis is changing a bit. The murder mystery bit is no puzzle and largely incidental.
January 4, 2022
Received as a gift, as the giver thought a murder mystery set in my hometown would be fun. Unfortunately the death and mystery itself (which doesn't even begin until at least halfway through), and indeed any semblance of plot, seem to be an afterthought, and the book seems mostly to be an excuse for the author to regurgitate his (admittedly extensive) research into Sussex history via the random-fact producing mouth of the encyclopedia-like Morley. An entire chapter is devoted solely to explaining how to make sticks of rock, information which, while it may be interesting, has zero relevance to the plot. The main trio of characters themselves are a little more interesting, and the subtext of the rise of the blackshirts and fascistic sentiments within Britain in the 1930's is an interesting setting, however giving the characters so little to do, the book ends up being quite dull to read.
I have not read the rest of the series, but based on this instalment, it doesn't make me eager to seek out more.
I have not read the rest of the series, but based on this instalment, it doesn't make me eager to seek out more.
February 27, 2020
I love this series. They are a clever satirical look at England in the 1930s through the filter of now. I thought this was the best so far still funny and clever but also sadly poignant. It was published in 2019 and has a resonance for Britain as she enters the unchartered waters of 2020. As a child of the 1950s Morley's Guides are all too real like Shell Guides to nature. When I read the first title I did look up some of the bizarre references to people or places of the period portrayed. In fact they were all real, quirky and bizarre yes, but all real. I think the author must do a huge amount of research for our delight. In that respect they remind me of Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series. A tour de force in creating a kind of parallel world. If you've yet to read any I think they can be read as stand alones.
April 2, 2024
The Sussex murder by Ian Sansom.
I don’t mind a bit of a murder mystery. And although this is part of a series of books, you don’t need to read the other ones. They’re all set in different areas. This one is set in Sussex. Which is what interested me in the book. I audiobooked it, and the narrator was very good!
The story, Sefton has to work with Morley again, although he wants to stop and this time it takes them to Sussex. Morley wants to see everything, Miriam & Sefton do not. Morley gets his own way most of the time. Bonfire night in Lewes, everything crazy starts to happen. A dead dog first of all after a very drunken evening and then a body in the local lido. Is it murder?
The best thing about this story for me was the history. I found out a few facts about where I live in Chichester, which I found interesting. The story itself is hit and miss.
I don’t mind a bit of a murder mystery. And although this is part of a series of books, you don’t need to read the other ones. They’re all set in different areas. This one is set in Sussex. Which is what interested me in the book. I audiobooked it, and the narrator was very good!
The story, Sefton has to work with Morley again, although he wants to stop and this time it takes them to Sussex. Morley wants to see everything, Miriam & Sefton do not. Morley gets his own way most of the time. Bonfire night in Lewes, everything crazy starts to happen. A dead dog first of all after a very drunken evening and then a body in the local lido. Is it murder?
The best thing about this story for me was the history. I found out a few facts about where I live in Chichester, which I found interesting. The story itself is hit and miss.
July 19, 2020
Very entertaining read....good characterisation, lots of humour and learn loads as one hopes one would about Sussex from culinary delicacies .....Sussex Pond Pudding anyone.....Sussex Hogs Pudding...hmm maybe pass on that one.... to the history of the fine county and a splendid description of the bizarre Lewes Bonfire Night ritual. There is even a diversion to Mozart's Don Giovanni ....Will certainly continue to follow the garrulous Morley, the alluring Miriam and dissolute Sefton's many adventures round the other counties. Brings a smile to the face.
November 10, 2020
Another great book in the "County Guides" series. Despite them being marketed as fluffy and comical, they're also pretty deep and sometimes dark as well as very funny.
As usual, the plot (considered as a detective fiction plot) was not great, but the wider story, the excellent characters, the brilliant lauguage, the humour and depth more than make up for it. There are hints of other, and darker, developments in coming books, which I look forward to.
As usual, the plot (considered as a detective fiction plot) was not great, but the wider story, the excellent characters, the brilliant lauguage, the humour and depth more than make up for it. There are hints of other, and darker, developments in coming books, which I look forward to.
September 16, 2019
This is the fifth in the County Guides murder mysteries, in which the People's Professor, Swanton Morley, his daughter, Miriam, and assistant, Sefton, travel around England in 1937 to write a series of travel guides, leaving chaos and a number of deaths in their wake. A cut above the usual sort of cosy crime writing.
October 24, 2021
This is the first book I've read by this author. Being from Sussex I obviously enjoyed the local references. Its a nice easy relaxed read. The crime part is almost incidental. The characters and their dialog are fast moving and quite wonderful. Altogether a book for when one is in a mood for a light gentle read after something more heavy. I'll certainly look out for more in this series.
July 23, 2019
The Autodidact is back with Sefton and Miriam & this time in Sussex. It's the combination of mystery, humour and information that makes this mystery series so enjoyable.
I now want to explore Sussex....and get a trug!
I now want to explore Sussex....and get a trug!
September 11, 2019
Couldn't read this book.
verbose, rambling, stereotyped characters, poor levels of humour, supposedly murder mystery which was in about 6 pages out of 300, minor levels of plotting.
Would avoid any more of his writings
verbose, rambling, stereotyped characters, poor levels of humour, supposedly murder mystery which was in about 6 pages out of 300, minor levels of plotting.
Would avoid any more of his writings
January 21, 2021
Didactic overview of Sussex landmarks and traditions with a promise of a murder mystery. The narrative lacked the suspense which one anticipated but the facts about Sussex were actually quite interesting
November 28, 2023
A truly dreadful book, possibly the worst I’ve ever read.
The murder didn’t happen until page 156 and then it turned out not to be a murder!
The book was pretty much made up of the author trying to tell us about his in depth knowledge of Sussex. The murder was hardly mentioned
Truly dreadful
The murder didn’t happen until page 156 and then it turned out not to be a murder!
The book was pretty much made up of the author trying to tell us about his in depth knowledge of Sussex. The murder was hardly mentioned
Truly dreadful
March 30, 2025
Not much of a murder story , more a guide to Sussex with a murder at the beginning which was largely forgotten about until half way through the book . Some good descriptions of Sussex tourist spots and Lewes bonfire night , but in the whole I found it hard work and nit gripping!
April 18, 2025
I thought this was a murder mystery but the murder mystery part didn’t happen until 2/3rds of the way through - and it wasn’t much of a mystery. A lot of fluff that didn’t feel like it was going anywhere.
March 28, 2021
I would definitely read the others, there were elements I really enjoyed. Not sure if it’s my pandemic brain inability to focus or if it was just a slog to get through though.
July 12, 2021
It’s a very cozy mystery book.
March 27, 2024
(Audio book) Enjoyable as set in Sussex. Voices a bit irritating. Group write County guides and travel to Sussex. Someone is found dead.
November 9, 2025
Good facts about Sussex and in particular Lewes. Great for anyone not familiar with Bonfire Celebrations in Lewes or curious to know more. All rapped up alongside investigating a murder.
August 10, 2024
Really loved all the details about Sussex, but the title is a bit misleading. The story is barely about ‘A Sussex Murder’. I wanted murder that’s why I picked it up!
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March 27, 2023I'm reluctantly hauling my eyes over this intensely boring and smug book but only because it is set in Sussex. The characters are horrors and the author is a show-off. It took all my willpower to carry on reading this. It's quite the most awful book I have ever read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews