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Lydmouth #3
The Lover of the Grave
The third novel in the Lydmouth crime series, from the prize-winning author of the Richard and Judy Book Club novel, The American Boy.
After the coldest night of the year, they find the man's body. He's dangling from the Hanging Tree on the outskirts of a village near Lydmouth, with his trousers round his ankles. Is it suicide, murder, or accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?
Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for policeman and reporter . . .
After the coldest night of the year, they find the man's body. He's dangling from the Hanging Tree on the outskirts of a village near Lydmouth, with his trousers round his ankles. Is it suicide, murder, or accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?
Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for policeman and reporter . . .
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 1997
91 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Taylor
61 books729 followersAndrew Taylor (b. 1951) is a British author of mysteries. Born in East Anglia, he attended university at Cambridge before getting an MA in library sciences from University College London. His first novel, Caroline Miniscule (1982), a modern-day treasure hunt starring history student William Dougal, began an eight-book series and won Taylor wide critical acclaim. He has written several other thriller series, most notably the eight Lydmouthbooks, which begin with An Air That Kills (1994).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 26, 2024
Val McDermid, who knows a thing or two about crime writing, remarked that Andrew Taylor is very underrated. I'd echo that. His Lydmouth series are among the most atmospheric of police procedurals I've read. They capture the sheer awfulness of post-war life. The horrible food (no immigrants yet to introduce flavour); the cold; the snobbery; class consciousness and racism; the limited options for women and the open misogyny and, beneath everything, the buzz of sexual repression. Oh, and the constant smoking: cigarettes, cigars, pipes... I can feel my lungs contract as I read. It's a truly depressing world, which makes the stories so much more compelling.
January 5, 2021
I just love this series of books.
September 30, 2023
Enjoyed it! There were a couple of errors (naming the wrong twin at one point?), I don't know if that was just in the Kindle version though. Overall really good and I'm enjoying this series. I'm not sure why Jill hates her cat so much though? NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO HAVE THE CAT, JILL!
January 5, 2010
First Sentence: Richard Thornhill first saw the crocuses on a dark February evening.
In the small English town of Lydmouth, a man is found hanged from the historic Hanging Tree. The victim is originally thought to be farmer Les Carrick and the death a suicide. When it is learned the victim was Les’ bother Mervyn and he was murdered, secrets of the town residents, particularly at Ashbridge School, begin to emerge.
Taylor takes us back to a time when façade and reality could be very different things. That makes this both an intriguing and uncomfortable book to read and Taylor does not sanitize the attitudes or language of the time.
Racism and prejudice were common, basically against anyone “not like them.” There was tremendous resentment toward the POWs who chose to stay in England after the war as they reminded people of the loved ones they lost. Blacks, in small towns, were uncommon and referred to as Negro, darkies and, yes, niggers. While those terms are unacceptable to us now, they are an accurate depiction of the period.
I find Taylor’s characters fascinating. DI Thornill is brusque and professional with his men; he’s all professional policeman. Yet with each book, you are aware of the tension in his personal life and his attraction to journalist Jill Francis. The emotions and reactions are so well done; subdued and internal; with each character trying to avoid what they sense is there. We also get more of a sense of Richard’s wife and feel for her as well.
The story is so well plotted. It is atmospheric with good tension and suspense with a very effective plot twist at the end. This is not a high-action, fast-paced book, but an atmospheric, intriguing captivating police procedural.
THE LOVER OF THE GRAVE (Trad Mys-Jill Francis/DI Richard Thornhill-England-early1950s) – VG+
Taylor, Andrew – 3rd in series
St. Martin’s Press, 1997, US Hardcover – ISBN: 03121557735
In the small English town of Lydmouth, a man is found hanged from the historic Hanging Tree. The victim is originally thought to be farmer Les Carrick and the death a suicide. When it is learned the victim was Les’ bother Mervyn and he was murdered, secrets of the town residents, particularly at Ashbridge School, begin to emerge.
Taylor takes us back to a time when façade and reality could be very different things. That makes this both an intriguing and uncomfortable book to read and Taylor does not sanitize the attitudes or language of the time.
Racism and prejudice were common, basically against anyone “not like them.” There was tremendous resentment toward the POWs who chose to stay in England after the war as they reminded people of the loved ones they lost. Blacks, in small towns, were uncommon and referred to as Negro, darkies and, yes, niggers. While those terms are unacceptable to us now, they are an accurate depiction of the period.
I find Taylor’s characters fascinating. DI Thornill is brusque and professional with his men; he’s all professional policeman. Yet with each book, you are aware of the tension in his personal life and his attraction to journalist Jill Francis. The emotions and reactions are so well done; subdued and internal; with each character trying to avoid what they sense is there. We also get more of a sense of Richard’s wife and feel for her as well.
The story is so well plotted. It is atmospheric with good tension and suspense with a very effective plot twist at the end. This is not a high-action, fast-paced book, but an atmospheric, intriguing captivating police procedural.
THE LOVER OF THE GRAVE (Trad Mys-Jill Francis/DI Richard Thornhill-England-early1950s) – VG+
Taylor, Andrew – 3rd in series
St. Martin’s Press, 1997, US Hardcover – ISBN: 03121557735
November 10, 2025
An orderly, if somewhat quotidian, interbellum British murder mystery.
UPDATE: Rating changed to 3 stars after reading An Air that Kills (Lydmouth, #1), https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
UPDATE: Rating changed to 3 stars after reading An Air that Kills (Lydmouth, #1), https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
September 21, 2015
"The third book in the series is no less riveting than the others, very much recommended."
September 9, 2024
This latest instalment of the Lydmouth series has been the most enjoyable so far and despite my petty annoyance at the, 'will they, won't they?' relationship between Lydmouth Gazette journalist Jill Frances and DI Richard Thornhill, I'm really starting to warm to the characters. With Mr Quale, factotum at The Bull Hotel and although his role in this particular novel is rather minor, he has been a rare recurring character in all three Lydmouth books so far, and although somewhat disagreeable at times, is a most welcome and amusing standout. Where his scenes and lines are wholly relishable.
Speaking of petty annoyances however, I do find it rather bizarre, that in these small town murder mystery stories, that ordinary, down to earth, normally law abiding (I'd presume!) citizens, immediately turn to murder and the covering up of murder/manslaughter, as their first port of call as a solution to their problems! If I or someone I hold dear accidentally killed someone, I'm sure the seriousness of the event would make sure I automatically went through the proper channels and just told the truth, as I wouldn't want the hole that had just been dug to get any deeper, not manifestly make things worse by attempting to cover it up, which would inevitably in the end, come crashing down around my ears and land me in an even larger world of sh*t!
I know, I know, at the end of the day, if the characters in these stories thought as pragmatically and rationally as that, there'd be no story to tell, blah, blah, blah, but it does rip my knitting ever so slightly and I'm 'just sayin' haha!
However, it is what it is and I'll now stop my whinging.
There were a couple of great characters in the book, besides the afore mentioned Mr Quale, first up was the entirely sympathetic exPOW Italian, Umberto Nerini. Sadness overload surrounded this character, with some great writing, that really got the emotional juices flowing with the tangled life he had with his employers, a husband and wife team of farmers.
Then we had a myriad of conflicting emotions with the character of Hubert Paxford, whom had horrifying facial deformities down half of his face, due to a war time grenade explosion. Mercilessly and cruelly teased by the pupils of Ashbridge boarding school where he was the groundsman and hatefully known as ’Frankie’, short for Frankenstein’s monster by both pupils and masters alike. Disliked and treated harshly by the school's headmaster, whom did nothing to stem the bullying and egregious persecution of his school caretaker by the privileged school boys.
Obviously this engendered much sympathy, but when we found out what extracurricular activities Paxford had been getting up to, due to his inability to speak to and attract women, an inability that speaks to many, a great deal of that affinity was lost.
We then had passages of great writing, where due to the now sympathetic ears of one of his victims, Jill Frances and his willingness to cooperate with the police, leading to that of DI Thornhill, with the book now asking the moral questions of what extent should Paxford's crimes be punished? Was losing his home and his job on top of any judicial punishment an appropriate outcome? Or should he just receive psychological help and be shown some much needed love and affection? Lots of emotions, lots of superb writing, as usual from the pen of Andrew Taylor, and for the first time, I'm now looking forward to the next Lydmouth story! Woohoo!
Nevertheless, I did find it a bit contrived in one particular scene, near the end, where Jill Frances, having just found some extremely pertinent and damning evidence against the main culprits, who’s web of lies were only now unraveling and being exposed, proceeds to trip over, spilling the entire contents, including the evidence, of her handbag right in front of one of the perpetrators! ”Aye right!” you heard me cry! ”As if…..?!” It’s not even like there had been a lot of comedy thrown into the tale generally, so a slapstick ’pratfall’, was most definitely out of place and certainly out of character for Jill Frances! A highly contrived clumsy fall just equated to a piece of poor writing in my book, albeit rare, so I’ll forgive him this one,
**points and wags finger**
”But don’t do it again!”
Speaking of petty annoyances however, I do find it rather bizarre, that in these small town murder mystery stories, that ordinary, down to earth, normally law abiding (I'd presume!) citizens, immediately turn to murder and the covering up of murder/manslaughter, as their first port of call as a solution to their problems! If I or someone I hold dear accidentally killed someone, I'm sure the seriousness of the event would make sure I automatically went through the proper channels and just told the truth, as I wouldn't want the hole that had just been dug to get any deeper, not manifestly make things worse by attempting to cover it up, which would inevitably in the end, come crashing down around my ears and land me in an even larger world of sh*t!
I know, I know, at the end of the day, if the characters in these stories thought as pragmatically and rationally as that, there'd be no story to tell, blah, blah, blah, but it does rip my knitting ever so slightly and I'm 'just sayin' haha!
However, it is what it is and I'll now stop my whinging.
There were a couple of great characters in the book, besides the afore mentioned Mr Quale, first up was the entirely sympathetic exPOW Italian, Umberto Nerini. Sadness overload surrounded this character, with some great writing, that really got the emotional juices flowing with the tangled life he had with his employers, a husband and wife team of farmers.
Then we had a myriad of conflicting emotions with the character of Hubert Paxford, whom had horrifying facial deformities down half of his face, due to a war time grenade explosion. Mercilessly and cruelly teased by the pupils of Ashbridge boarding school where he was the groundsman and hatefully known as ’Frankie’, short for Frankenstein’s monster by both pupils and masters alike. Disliked and treated harshly by the school's headmaster, whom did nothing to stem the bullying and egregious persecution of his school caretaker by the privileged school boys.
Obviously this engendered much sympathy, but when we found out what extracurricular activities Paxford had been getting up to, due to his inability to speak to and attract women, an inability that speaks to many, a great deal of that affinity was lost.
We then had passages of great writing, where due to the now sympathetic ears of one of his victims, Jill Frances and his willingness to cooperate with the police, leading to that of DI Thornhill, with the book now asking the moral questions of what extent should Paxford's crimes be punished? Was losing his home and his job on top of any judicial punishment an appropriate outcome? Or should he just receive psychological help and be shown some much needed love and affection? Lots of emotions, lots of superb writing, as usual from the pen of Andrew Taylor, and for the first time, I'm now looking forward to the next Lydmouth story! Woohoo!
Nevertheless, I did find it a bit contrived in one particular scene, near the end, where Jill Frances, having just found some extremely pertinent and damning evidence against the main culprits, who’s web of lies were only now unraveling and being exposed, proceeds to trip over, spilling the entire contents, including the evidence, of her handbag right in front of one of the perpetrators! ”Aye right!” you heard me cry! ”As if…..?!” It’s not even like there had been a lot of comedy thrown into the tale generally, so a slapstick ’pratfall’, was most definitely out of place and certainly out of character for Jill Frances! A highly contrived clumsy fall just equated to a piece of poor writing in my book, albeit rare, so I’ll forgive him this one,
**points and wags finger**
”But don’t do it again!”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2022
Boarding schools provide a perfect platform for a murder mystery; so many jealousies and frustrated ambitions amongst the staff while a façade of order and obedience conceals past misdeeds. Inspector Richard Thornhill is frustrated by his inability to solve the case of the hanging man who had died before he was put on the tree in thick snow. Once again, he must interact with Jill Francis, the journalist he can’t stop thinking about, while his wife, Edith, seems to be especially kind and caring.
Lydmouth perfectly shows the atmosphere of a small English town during a very cold winter in the early 1950s. The Bull Hotel is the place to find the movers and shakers of the community and everyone knows everyone else’s business. Some of the policemen are more efficient and well organised than others and a great many people smoke at any opportunity. The atmosphere of the time seems authentic and the plot unfolds effectively. As a reader I want Jill and Richard to admit they care for each other but what about Richard’s wife Edith and his two children?
Lydmouth perfectly shows the atmosphere of a small English town during a very cold winter in the early 1950s. The Bull Hotel is the place to find the movers and shakers of the community and everyone knows everyone else’s business. Some of the policemen are more efficient and well organised than others and a great many people smoke at any opportunity. The atmosphere of the time seems authentic and the plot unfolds effectively. As a reader I want Jill and Richard to admit they care for each other but what about Richard’s wife Edith and his two children?
January 19, 2020
"After the coldest night of the year, they find the man's body. He is dangling from the Hanging Tree on the outskirts of a village near Lydmouth, with his trousers round his ankles. Is it suicide, murder, or accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?
"Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. Meanwhile a Peeping Tom is preying upon Lydmouth: Jill has just moved into her own house and is afraid she is being watched. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for both policeman and reporter."
An excellent mystery! Well written, in rather the old school of mystery writing, but firmly set in modern days, with modern motives and indiscretions. Plenty of plot twists and turns, and subplots as well. I can't wait to read the other books in this series.
"Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. Meanwhile a Peeping Tom is preying upon Lydmouth: Jill has just moved into her own house and is afraid she is being watched. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for both policeman and reporter."
An excellent mystery! Well written, in rather the old school of mystery writing, but firmly set in modern days, with modern motives and indiscretions. Plenty of plot twists and turns, and subplots as well. I can't wait to read the other books in this series.
February 19, 2022
DI Richard Thornhill has his hands full in Lydmouth: a dead man is found hanging in the infamous Hanging Tree, a peeping tom is terrorising the local pub’s guests, and a famous actor is causing a stir. I’ve thoroughly settled into this series now and I like it’s duality. The action mostly follows Thornhill and / or local journalist Jill Francis, often they run along independent but parallel lines to resolve each case. Interestingly, there’s been a slow ratcheting up of the sexual tension between them over the series which they’ve each interpreted as mutual dislike. Given Thornhill’s workload causes him to be so absent from home and that in turn causes such unhappiness in his wife and children, it feels like we’re watching a slow-motion train wreck - it’s seems to be only a matter of time. Audio narrator Philip Franks’ unique voicing of each character is utterly impressive.
May 23, 2021
Wonderful
This series of books are brilliant , the characters are really well written and enjoyable to read, I love the way the characters develop, the description of the village and the surrounding areas is brilliant , I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys crime books.
This series of books are brilliant , the characters are really well written and enjoyable to read, I love the way the characters develop, the description of the village and the surrounding areas is brilliant , I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys crime books.
February 27, 2023
Andrew Taylor is a highly underrated writer, perhaps because his books are quite 'literary' for the crime genre. Whilst this Lydmouth series isn't quite as good as the wonderful Roth trilogy, it's still consistently strong and this is the best one so far. The post war setting is, like the characters, well drawn, and the plot is absorbing. The audio book, read by Philip Franks, is excellent.
May 28, 2023
Warning, there is some historically authentic language which may offend modern readers (as an aside, I remember this word being used when I was a child and yet when I read it on the page I was seriously shocked - it just goes to show that society really can evolve).
A man is found hanged in the aptly named Hanging Tree with his trousers pulled down around his ankles, initially thought to be a local farmer it turns out to be his twin brother who was a school teacher at the local private school. Add in a peeping Tom, a Hollywood film star trying to go incognito, secret affairs, pregnancies, secret babies. It's book three in this engaging series featuring Detective Inspector Thornhill and reporter Jill Francis.
A man is found hanged in the aptly named Hanging Tree with his trousers pulled down around his ankles, initially thought to be a local farmer it turns out to be his twin brother who was a school teacher at the local private school. Add in a peeping Tom, a Hollywood film star trying to go incognito, secret affairs, pregnancies, secret babies. It's book three in this engaging series featuring Detective Inspector Thornhill and reporter Jill Francis.
June 18, 2017
God, solid engelsk krimi i bedste Agatha Christie-stil. Det er naturligvis en mordgåde der skal løses - og langsomt rulles sagen ud. Afhøringer, benarbejde og nysgerrighed er hovedingredienserne. Jeg et begejstret for denne type krimier. Glæder mig til at læse næste bog i serien.
September 7, 2020
I really wasn’t sure about this series at all - primarily because of the time the books are set (post WWII). They are slightly slow paced but I’m actually really enjoying the slower pace as opposed to the high octane ones that are more modern.
May 23, 2024
This is the 3rd book of this series and I'm totally hooked on the continuing development of the main characters. The historical setting is interesting and well observed. Looking forward to the next one.
June 19, 2024
His book remind me a bit of midsummer murder series One murder after each other and then it all links. I think this is the start of a liaison between Richard and Gill. Must watch ch out for next book.
October 23, 2024
You can't fault the writing and the period and historical detail is spot on ...this particular story wasn't as engaging as the previous two...but "Richard and Jill" got together ever so slightly at the end which makes me want to pick up the fourth novel ..I think there are 7 in the series.
June 4, 2020
Another excellent story from Andrew Taylor; this is the third book on his gripping and atmospheric Lydmouth series.
October 2, 2020
First read about 20 years ago and just as enjoyable the second time around.
May 18, 2016
Upon opening a book to see a long list of dramatic personae, I always get that sinking feeling: will I have to take notes? And...why must some mystery writers feel the need to pile on the actors in a village life venue? To stimulate verisimilitude?
So while this penchant becomes tiresome for me, another aspect emerged from a cold reading of this work...the absence of a simple year date to place the era. I kept checking the copyright page amidst thoughts like: 1997 this was written? is that way of life so long ago? did we actually behave like that then? Well, clearly the answer is now 'no'.
It took a web site search to discover the author had opted to evoke the 1950s in this series for some reason...not sure why, but it appears as a period he seems to have felt suited his stories and was a significant enough influence to focus upon. Yet he coyly avoids including a year date anywhere in the text and just merrily keeps up his albeit intriguing tale. As a period piece then, Taylor effectively layers with some considerably accuracy the conflicts of the time yet manages to avoid mentioning any external figure or event from that period to convey the time frame. Taylor prefers to blend in more organic, less quickly identifiable ingredients like characters that all seem to be suitably repressed, defiant, bombastic, and full of social expectations and angst encompassing reflections of all that was bad, ignored or regularly pushed under the carpet back then. Even now, when I meet someone who strongly demonstrates these very English characteristics, I know the "frozen in the fifties" syndrome for them exists with a vengeance. And gently back away.
Once I grasped that aspect, I enjoyed the rest of the read, with all the racial, class and gender prejudices of society then were pretty darn accurate. The puzzle emerged as a neatly adroit one with a good twist at the end. I would definitely delve into Andrew Taylor's considerable back list and look forward to enjoying more of his works.
But just at the start, it would have prevented a lot of head shaking to simply include the year date in any of this book's chapter tempting and illustrative sub-headings, ostensibly from the imagined local rag, the"Lydmouth Gazette".
So while this penchant becomes tiresome for me, another aspect emerged from a cold reading of this work...the absence of a simple year date to place the era. I kept checking the copyright page amidst thoughts like: 1997 this was written? is that way of life so long ago? did we actually behave like that then? Well, clearly the answer is now 'no'.
It took a web site search to discover the author had opted to evoke the 1950s in this series for some reason...not sure why, but it appears as a period he seems to have felt suited his stories and was a significant enough influence to focus upon. Yet he coyly avoids including a year date anywhere in the text and just merrily keeps up his albeit intriguing tale. As a period piece then, Taylor effectively layers with some considerably accuracy the conflicts of the time yet manages to avoid mentioning any external figure or event from that period to convey the time frame. Taylor prefers to blend in more organic, less quickly identifiable ingredients like characters that all seem to be suitably repressed, defiant, bombastic, and full of social expectations and angst encompassing reflections of all that was bad, ignored or regularly pushed under the carpet back then. Even now, when I meet someone who strongly demonstrates these very English characteristics, I know the "frozen in the fifties" syndrome for them exists with a vengeance. And gently back away.
Once I grasped that aspect, I enjoyed the rest of the read, with all the racial, class and gender prejudices of society then were pretty darn accurate. The puzzle emerged as a neatly adroit one with a good twist at the end. I would definitely delve into Andrew Taylor's considerable back list and look forward to enjoying more of his works.
But just at the start, it would have prevented a lot of head shaking to simply include the year date in any of this book's chapter tempting and illustrative sub-headings, ostensibly from the imagined local rag, the"Lydmouth Gazette".
June 19, 2011
The Lover of the Grave is the third entry in Andrew Taylor's Lydmouth series, in which he chronicles the incidence of crime in a 1950's English village. Everyone knows everyone, and class, propriety and respectability are still highly valued. The lives of the villagers are, of course, influenced profoundly by their mores, and when crimes occur, there's usually a carefully hidden secret that lies beneath. It's up to Inspector Richard Thornhill to dig that secret up.
Near Lydmouth stands an ancient oak, renowned as a place of execution and suicide. Now, during a particularly cold winter, the body of a local teacher is found hanging from it, and Thornhill instantly suspects that he did not kill himself. The regional journalist, Jill Francis, naturally wants to write about the sensational story. She and Thornhill, who is married with children, have been strongly attracted to each other ever since Jill first came to town. The plot of this novel plays out on two levels, the murder mystery and the undeniable sexual pull that complicates the relationship between cop and reporter. To complicate matters, a peeping tom is drilling spy holes in the local ladies' convenience, lurking at the windows of hotel guests, and following Jill home.
The Lover of the Grave> is a moderately paced, atmospheric mystery, with a host of well-drawn characters and full of local color. Though not as suspenseful as the earlier two novels in the series, it packs enough action, and perhaps more interestingly, psychological elements, to make it well worthwhile. The sudden denouement, on both the personal and professional levels, leaves the readers anxious to pick up the next volume.
Near Lydmouth stands an ancient oak, renowned as a place of execution and suicide. Now, during a particularly cold winter, the body of a local teacher is found hanging from it, and Thornhill instantly suspects that he did not kill himself. The regional journalist, Jill Francis, naturally wants to write about the sensational story. She and Thornhill, who is married with children, have been strongly attracted to each other ever since Jill first came to town. The plot of this novel plays out on two levels, the murder mystery and the undeniable sexual pull that complicates the relationship between cop and reporter. To complicate matters, a peeping tom is drilling spy holes in the local ladies' convenience, lurking at the windows of hotel guests, and following Jill home.
The Lover of the Grave> is a moderately paced, atmospheric mystery, with a host of well-drawn characters and full of local color. Though not as suspenseful as the earlier two novels in the series, it packs enough action, and perhaps more interestingly, psychological elements, to make it well worthwhile. The sudden denouement, on both the personal and professional levels, leaves the readers anxious to pick up the next volume.
January 24, 2016
The Lover of the Grave by Andrew Taylor - Good
I picked up a handful of these for the obcz, but decided I also wanted to read them. This is the third in the series (didn't find the first two - oops) and is set in the 1950s, it reads like a period written book, but it was actually written in the 1997.
Set in the little town of Lydmouth that is never quite placed (suspect Shropshire), a schoolmaster is found hanging on a tree on the outskirts of town. At first suicide is presumed, but the mystery deepens. Running alongside, there is a visiting celebrity actor and a peeping Tom running amok. It all comes down to Inspector Thornhill and journalist Jill Francis to get to the bottom of the crimes... might there also be romance brewing? I Will have to read the next one to see if their working relationship might blossom into something else.
Nice little mystery series to add to my addiction, it seems that the author also wrote the Bergerac series (as Andrew Saville) and a favourite from a previous year: The American Boy.
I picked up a handful of these for the obcz, but decided I also wanted to read them. This is the third in the series (didn't find the first two - oops) and is set in the 1950s, it reads like a period written book, but it was actually written in the 1997.
Set in the little town of Lydmouth that is never quite placed (suspect Shropshire), a schoolmaster is found hanging on a tree on the outskirts of town. At first suicide is presumed, but the mystery deepens. Running alongside, there is a visiting celebrity actor and a peeping Tom running amok. It all comes down to Inspector Thornhill and journalist Jill Francis to get to the bottom of the crimes... might there also be romance brewing? I Will have to read the next one to see if their working relationship might blossom into something else.
Nice little mystery series to add to my addiction, it seems that the author also wrote the Bergerac series (as Andrew Saville) and a favourite from a previous year: The American Boy.
Read
December 7, 2010By far my favourite of the Lydmouth series so far and I thought the first two were quite good. Taylor's definitely turning into one of my favourite writers and I'm really looking forward to exploring both his earlier and later works.
I wasn't too convinced by the developments on the very last page of this book but I'm interested to see what happens next in the ongoing storyline. An excellent plot all round really: a teacher is found hanged near his brother's farm. Everything making sense at the end without being predictable. I like the fact that Taylor is writing stories that only make sense in the 1950s setting, he's not just transplanting any old plot to his chosen timeframe but making people act in ways that they wouldn't consider in a more modern setting.
October 15, 2012
This was almost a 4. A teacher at the private school is found hanging from the "hanging tree". He had been arguing with his brother and having an affair with the brother's wife. Detective Inspector Thornhill is investigating. Meanwhile, a move actor is visiting, and a Peeping Tom is working in the park lavratories and the local hotel. The local newspaper woman, Jill Francis becomes involved, and there are vibes between her and the Inspector. It appears that the death might be connected with the school rather than a suicide.
November 27, 2011
british mystery - Inspector (married w/kids) attracted to reporter (single)--they find themselves solving cases together. This one is re a private boys school; an abusive husband with a pregnant wife that is not his child; a teacher that is found hanging from the hanging tree (history abounds re the tree). A lot of unhappy people and not many happy ones in this book, but the author manages to intertwine all of the stories to a conclusion.
June 24, 2024
3.5 stars. Solid beginning and last 100 pp flew by but it slogged in the middle for me. A good, solid mystery with twists and turns at the end that fit into place perfectly, while changing everything from what I expected. Something I'm beginning to expect from this series. I'll definitely continue with it.
September 27, 2014
I enjoy the setting, the evokation of the time. Not totally persuaded by the love interest. . . but I am pulled along enough to keep going. I expect to read the whole series. At moments the writing is lovely.
April 5, 2016
It's been a long time since I read this book, and thought it might be interesting, since I haven't really read any conteporary british crime novels. However, I thought it was boring. But that might be because I don't really like crime novels...
June 24, 2008
Another of the Lydmouth Series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews