The Wimbledon Poisoner

Wimbledon #1

by Nigel Williams

From the author of "Witchcraft" and "Buttons in the Marsh" comes this black comedy about an unsuccessful solicitor who decides to murder his wife, with devastating results.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Crime, Mystery, Comedy, British Literature, Novels

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[John Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wife: "What are you reading?"
Me: "The Wimbledon Poisoner. It's about a man trying to poison his wife."
This is a black comedy out of Britain, which some passages I found laugh out funny but others might find cringe-worthy. This confirms to me I'm a little bit warped.
I concede this novel won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially for people who fear the cuppa might have a little extra something in it.
But I found it a lot of fun.
Just don't make the mistake I did of telling your spouse what you are reading.
It sagged a little for me in the middle but finished strongly.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hoot - this was fun!

Henry Farr is a typical middle-aged Wimbledonian: overweight, bored, and fed up with life. And his wife. Above all else, he is angry and determined to top his wife, Elinor. Will he succeed or is even that too much to ask of the loser he has become?

In this utterly off-the-wall story, Nigel Williams delves into the murky waters of the deepest and most secret desires of a psychopathic poisoner. And somehow, in a dark and twisted way, it makes for an appealing read because it's peppered with dark humour.

Despite a predictable plot, this had me laughing out loud - you'll need your warped humour cape for this one though, so be forewarned.

I can't wait for the next instalment (which happens to already be on my shelf - lucky me :)).

[Lissa Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fully deserving of five stars, so entertaining. Incredibly witty, often laugh out loud in places, and Williams has a really interesting writing style. The hero - or villain - Henry is very enjoyable, gaining our sympathy as he embarks on murder. Despite the chain of events, it manages to remain very believable and incredibly funny and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Definitely a touch of Wodehouse spirit in there.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Farr, would-be poisoner, is a cross between Basil Fawlty and Reginald Perrin, tempered with a soupçon of Blackadder (pick an era) and a smidgeon of Rupert Rigsby (Rising Damp for all those too young to remember). He’s an emasculated, fat, boring solicitor having a midlife crisis of his own making and he hates his wife, Elinor, enough to want her dead. How to do it though?

Nigel Williams is a black comedy genius. Very little makes me laugh out loud when I’m reading but he does constantly. An easy 5 stars from me for a highly entertaining read.

[Lou Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my reading tastes have matured (or certainly changed) since my mid 20s. That was the first time I read the Wimbledon Poisoner, not that long after I'd moved here. I remembered it as a highly amusing book, the second time round however, I'd drop that to mildly amusing. The high point for me are the references to places around the town (most still here). The low point is probably the stereotypical view of the middle class family living in Wimbledon (with what could only be described as racist views). Not something I believe is commonplace today in my suburb. But maybe that's my blinkered opinion. Overall though, a solid 3.

[Jayne Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up and read it in defiance of 95% of my brain cells which were screaming "NO!" Having read four Nigel Williams novels previously, I've noticed a pattern: man with insufferable wife has mid-life crisis and starts acting bizarrely before a weak-as-water conclusion attempts to convince the reader nothing they previously read was real anyway. I will admit to harbouring hopes that this, one of the author's best known works, might buck the trend.

I'm not going to spoil by indicating whether the formula was followed or not, but there were enough other things about the book that I didn't get on with to depress the star rating on their own. There was humour, as always, but I found it hard to laugh at, given its juxtaposition with the nastiness of the whole plot. The only chapter which raised a titter with me was the one featuring the Jungian analyst and his wine box. In general, the tendency of the character Henry to characterise his neighbours with pithy one-sentence summaries, was clever, and I could see why some people would find the whole thing hilarious, and I wanted to - I really did, but I just couldn't.

Perhaps the problem was that either central character Henry really was a nasty piece of work and there was nothing remotely funny about that, or we were going to be treated to a Nigel Williams-style ending in which none of it actually happened, in which case (my inner cynic kept reminding me) the joke was on me as a reader and I wasn't going to dignify it with so much as a titter.

Perhaps it was the casual racism that littered the dialogue. The sort that later on comes with a wink and a reassurance "I'm not racist, really", and then later still, a wink with the other eye and the comment "I was kidding - I actually am racist". I didn't know where the book stood.

Or perhaps it's the whole Wimbledon-ness of it. I haven't been to Wimbledon, except to stand in a humungous queue to get into the tennis, and have no idea what intrinsic character that suburb possesses, but it's almost as if the area counts as a separate character , and there's a whiny voice saying 'if you lived here you'd understand'. Well I don't, and I don't.

I expect I'll be on my own in not really liking this book, and to be fair, I shouldn't have made that rash decision to read it. Next time I will listen to those brain cells.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Farr is a solicitor who, as he embarks on his daily routines of going to the office, taking his daughter Maisie to her piano classes/library/swimming lessons, bemoans his lot. The focus of his deep unhappiness is his wife, Elinor, currently undergoing therapy and discovering feminism in an alarming way. In fact, the only way that Henry can see to deal with his problems is to poison his wife. "Being a convicted murderer had the edge on being a solicitor..." he decides, as he embarks wildly on his plan to become 'The Wimbledon Poisoner'. Armed with his vast knowledge of local history and a poisoner who has gone before him, Henry has wild fantasies of poisoning Elinor and freeing himself from her tyranny. Soon, Maple Drive, the quiet suburban street where Henry lives, alongside his humorously self-titled neighbours, will never be the same again. For poisoning is not as straightforward as Henry first thought and, as one of the neighbours is not only fascinated by poisons, but is a member of the local police force, he can feel freedom slipping through his fingers.

This book is as English as a novel can get. Henry's apologetic conversations with victims, his desperate attempts to stop the events he has put in motion and his hysterical address at a neighbour's funeral give the book an air of suburban farce. Never again will you push your trolley through Waitrose without imagining the Wimbledon Poisoner selecting a chicken...

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent black comedy of suburban manners, the first half of which made me LOL more than any other book I've ever read, but which then lost its way rather. Still an entertaining/enjoyable 3.5 stars, but rounding down.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok... I really don't like to be rude about a book, but this was the worst, most abhorrent book I've ever read. Genuinely. I hated it. I only finished it because I don't like not completing books and because I wanted to see if it redeemed itself (spoiler - it didn't). I found the racist and misogynistic views expressed by so many of the characters repellent. This was published in 1990, not 1890. I get that the main character is supposed to be morally flawed, but too many other characters also express these views and it's all done in a chummy, haha, nudge nudge, just saying what we all think kind of way. I felt the racism was being condoned not mocked. Passages like this occur frequently: "Bugger off, friend chocco, I say. Bugger off, friendly neighbouring Paki. And bugger off, Greek and Arab while you're at it. We don't need you." Or, "England isn't England. It isn't a green and pleasant land any more. It's a brown and pleasant land, isn't? It's do you want a chapati, isn't it? It's where's my poppadum? Eh? Eh?" There are much worse examples and the N word is also used. The constant racism was my biggest problem but it was also a rambling, chaotic shambles, especially towards the end - and I didn't feel it illustrated the character's lack of sanity, which was probably the intention; it was just an utter mess. It was stressful to read. It's also nowhere near as funny as it thinks, although there were moments of humour. Honestly, it blows my mind that this was not only published but adapted into a TV series. Did I read a different book?!

[Ellie Shearman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of this book was definitely intriguing to me but this book is far from funny and really doesn't have much too it other than the rambling of a middle-class man. I also found there to be a lot of unnecessary racial aggression in moments of this book which made it uncomfortable to read.

[severyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel that I loved when I first read it 15-odd years ago and am delighted to have laughed out loud at again as I reread it now.
There's a certain strain of blackly comic English humour, seething with middle class confusion and existential bewilderment, that for some reason strikes my bones on their sweet spots.

'Let's have a drink!' said Henry as he thought this.
'Sherry,' Elinor said swiftly.
A pint mug my dear? Or shall we decant it into a bucket?
'Surely, my love,' said Henry lightly.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently this is a black comedy of manners set in suburban Wimbledon about a solicitor, Henry Farr attempting to murder his over bearing wife, Elinor. Apparently, as it is, frankly, not funny whatsoever. First published in 1990, this has not borne the test of time very well and now seems trite, pretentious and simply empty nonsense.
Very much in the vein of Tom Sharpe but lacking the rumbustious characters of novels such as Blott on the Landscape and Porterhouse Blue, this may have appealed to me when I was a student, but now, it is simply turgid and trying far too hard to be smart.

[David Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book simply wasn't for me. Obviously the relentless racial slurs, along with the dull misogyny, and a touch of homophobia, were all horrible. The story didn't engage at all, and often didn't really make much sense.

The cover informs me that it is a funny book, laugh out loud, in fact. I can honestly not even begin to understand this at all, as I found it not funny in the slightest, not even a hint. Deeply unfunny would be closer to the mark.

Tired and uninteresting.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but that ending was a mess! One might wonder if the author was on drugs when he wrote the second part of the book!
I do enjoy black humour and the first part of the book is why I’m giving it 3 stars, the second part is more worthy of 2 stars. I skimmed through a fair bit of the second part but some chapters were thoroughly enjoyable.

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Henry Farr did not, precisely, decide to murder his wife. It was simply that he could think of no other way of prolonging her absence from him indefinitely.

He had quite often, in the past, when she was being more than usually irritating, had fantasies about her death. She hurtled over cliffs in flaming cars or was brutally murdered on her way to the dry cleaners. But Henry was never actually responsible for the event. He was at he graveside looking mournful and interesting. Or he was coping with his daughter as she roamed the now deserted house, trying not to look as if he was glad to have the extra space. But he was never actually the instigator."

The Wimbledon Poisoner is a classic suburban black comedy of manners, a clichéd description but accurate. Think David Lodge set in suburbia rather than academia or Reggie Perrin.

Like a lot of other reviewers I first read this novel many years ago, and have revisited it recently, largely (entirely) because I now live in Wimbledon.

The novel doesn't age as well as my fond remembrance of it, in part I suspect because my literary tastes have evolved and in part because it feels rather dated - some of the casual racism of the characters - which to be clear is not treated sympathetically by the narrator - now feels somewhat beyond the pale (no pun intended).

Indeed the greatest contrast between the Wimbledon of the late 80s, when the novel was set, and that of 2015 is how, thankfully, multi-cultural the area has become, whereas Williams's SW19 is the haven of the besieged Little Englander. On the other hand, the tale of middle class professional parents whose main role is to provide taxi service between various extra-curricular activities still rings remarkably true. Williams is at his best when dissecting this breed - e.g. this description of the main character, Henry's, wife helping his daughter practice the piano:

"When he child reached the bottom of the first page the woman darted forward, black hair swinging across her face, for the kind of effortful page turn that would have upstaged Paderewski himself. 'Behold!' the gesture seemed to say. 'I turn the page!' The child struggled gamely on to page two but seemed to suspect that, after a page turn of this quality, anything else was liable to be an anti-climax."

And this of Henry himself:

"To most of those who knew him, Henry was just eccentric enough to be terrifyingly normal, and even his carefully calculated bitterness, the quality of which, on the whole, he was most proud, had become, in early middle age, a Nice Dry Sense of Humour."

The early days of romance with wife "they had both known in those early days that something was going to happen. But neither had known quite what it might be. Sometimes it appeared that it was going to be a fist fight."

And on the ritual of bloke-to-bloke conversations in the pub, where the same rehearsed anecdotes are shared each time; when Henry breaks this code: "'I don't think you've ever told me that!' said Donald, sounding peeved to have elicited an original statement from Henry while on licensed premises."

There is also a nice nod to the then enfant terrible of British literature, now 25 years later himself middle age middle class conventionality personified. Henry's wife's bohemian friends "sat in the front room reading aloud from the work of a man called Ian McEwan, an author who, according to Elinor, had 'a great deal to say' to Henry Farr."

The story builds well on this initial premise - ordinary suburban Englishman decides to turn poisoner, and the difficulties Henry encounters in actually practically following this through:

"The problem with this poisoning business was that the preliminary research was horribly incriminating. One minute there you were asking casual questions about arsenic and the next there was your wife throwing up and having her hair fall out. People would put two and two together."

But Williams rather lets his plot get a little too fantastical, and the plot "twist", when it comes, has been so well telegraphed that the only real twist is that it wasn't a bluff and the author didn't have another surprise up his sleeve.

Overall, a relatively amusing read, but rather dated.

As an aside, the edition I read contained an odd authors note that appears to belong to an another Williams novel altogether.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams
10 out of 10


The Wimbledon Poisoner is not just a hilarious, fabulously entertaining read, but also a solid, marvelous work of art – indeed, the author mentions in the novel the fact that comedy can be as “serious” and relevant, if not in these exact words, format as tragedy – with frequent references to the Russian classic characters, their guilt, penchant for confessing their crimes – murders in the case of Raskolnikov – which is not the style of the hero of this glorious book, Henry Farr.

The hero – or antihero, depending on one’s perspective, feminist inclinations, sense of humor or lack thereof – has quite a few qualms in the beginning and he is so aggravated by his wife, Elinor, and rather obsessed with a historical killer, Everett Maltby, that he concocts a plan to become The Wimbledon Poisoner – although he also entertains some visions wherein he is agitating a pick ax or other potentially deadly instruments.
Henry Farr is also a writer – albeit his Complete History of Wimbledon is rejected by an editor, Karim Jackson, who would explain that the purpose of such a monumental work, dedicated to a rather unappealing local subject, does not fit in with the clientele of their publishing house – and a very astute, gifted, humorous observer of the neighbors, the man from 47, named Is-the-Mitsubishi-Still-Not- Scratched, his own doctor and best friend, Donald, The Worst doctor in South Eastern England, the Jungian Analyst With a Winebox and others.

The protagonist decides to poison his spouse with thallium, which would be placed on the breast of a cooked chicken – Elinor prefers that, while their daughter, Maisie, would reject it and thus be spared- which he would select from the free range section that she favors, adding to it some obscure, never heard of vegetables that should be avoided by the victim, who would be hence forced to limit herself to the only available food item, the one that would eliminate her.
At the department store, the would be killer encounters Donald, his racist friend, the incompetent doctor and starts to prepare the field for the aftermath of the poisoning, when a credible cause of death should be presented and therefore he mentions that Elinor appears to suffer from symptoms that would explain her demise, although the physician seems to be so useless as a practician as to take any explanation as plausible rather than the actual cause of stiffness.

The Wimbledon Poisoner is not sure how much thallium he needs – a few grams, two kilos, maybe a truckload, given the immense size of his target – and where to get it without causing a suspicion and an immediate interrogation by the police, so he travels to a smaller pharmacy, where he poses as a man who works with precision optical lenses –a profession that needs the substance, he has found out – and gives a false name.

Alas, when he has already cooked the liberating meal, the plan is in motion, the doorbell rings and the visitor is Donald, who accepts Elinor’s invitation to stay for dinner and when the antihero tries to present the plate with the killer compound to his spouse – if she is nice, then Stalin was gentle – she deflects him and has the portion served to the guest instead, to the horror of the murderer who would now be responsible for an accidental departure.
At the funeral, Henry Farr is assigned the role of the star speaker and manages somehow to deliver an emotional speech that makes many in the audience cry, in spite of the fact that he uses fuck a few times, he rumbles for a long time, talks about being one with the deceased, feeling the pain and other such expressions that to the reader appear jocular, if not hilarious, as are the descriptions of Elinor, who walks as a gunslinger, moving her hips, a ten feet tall and eight feet wide woman…

At the ceremony following the last rites, henry has brought a punch he has made with many bottles of Yugoslav Riesling, milk, other components, but most importantly what he thinks is the deadly “Finish them off” chemical cleaner that the Wimbledon Poisoner is sure would exterminate the woman he has not managed to poison, making him instead eliminate a friend, albeit a racist, incompetent one.
The target does not die, while three innocent bystanders, ingurgitating vast amounts of dangerous punch fall down, first the dentist David Sprott, then Coveney and Woman who is 92, living at number 92, Loomis. I what is still not a murder case for the police, who would not listen to the theory of Detective Inspector Russell Rush, who maintains that there is a killer on the loose.

Ultimately, the neighborhood becomes aware of the poisoning and they avoid eating out, especially in places where they cannot see the kitchen and the eventual poisoner, preferring a Turkish place, where Henry and his new companion, Inspector Rush, meet with Karim Jackson, who is very interested in the story of The Wimbledon Poisoner and would like to publish a potential book, articles on the subject, but dies…poisoned by the protagonist it seems, even if he appears unaware, unconscious and no more in control of his actions.
There are a multitude of scenes, descriptions and characters that cause mirth, if not outright laughter, when reading this outstanding book, one of them would be the moment when Farr and Rush meet inside the house of the departed dentist, to try and collect his ashes, for different reasons we can assume, Henry trying to eliminate incriminating evidence, whereas the inspector trying to analyze the remains and thus prove foul play.

While they are inside the house in which they had entered illegally, breaking in, they hear a car and then the widow, Edwina Sprott, enters the premises, bizarrely talking with someone who turns out to be her late husband, who does not show as a ghost, he is only an image in the creative brain of the woman who listens to…Guantanamera, yo soy un hombre sincere…
She listens and dances, using her hips, taking her clothes off in what is also a very erotic moment, when the two criminals hiding in a closet admire the pubic hair, breasts of the owner of the house who thinks she is alone with the spirit of the late husband, makes love to him or his ethereal presence and reaches a climax, when Henry sneezes, provoked by the dust in the cupboard and Edwina Sprott talks to them, without seeing the intruder she assumes correctly is the Poisoner.

There are developments in this fabulous comedy, for Henry Farr was not as informed as he thought he was on the subject of poisons, quantities, symptoms, and it is possible that someone else has tampered with the victims, the drinks and foods, perhaps in the manner of The Murder on the Orient Express, albeit the reference to an Agatha Christie work made in the novel is to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
The Wimbledon Poisoner is on The Guardian 1,000 Books Everyone Must Read list:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

[Louise Gooding · Rating 1 out of 5]

i had to skim read parts of this.
book was written in 1990 i think and it’s “humor” doesn’t work so well for today. It’s outdated...

I understand there’s a bit of building up a picture of the middle class family of the time but the use of the word i will only say is a shortened almost racist connotation towards people of pakistan i don’t really ever want to read in my books.

It takes a jab at the beginnings of feminism, and one husbands awful distaste towards his wife’s interest ...

This story had the makings of something good but unfortunately i feel it should be left in the 90’s ....

I don’t really understand the daughters part in the story either... she just hangs about and eats like a pig so it seems to suggest... did i miss something?! she has no real crucial role..

So that’s just my opinion... i could go on but i have other things to do....others seem to like it..soo...

I’m going to go back now to read something else a bit more jolly and full of glitter and unicorns i think...

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, very, very British comedy. You will laugh at the absurdities of the average and everyday – but the body count will be fairly high.

The ordinary, suburban, middle aged Henry Farr decides he is done with his wife, so, naturally, he decides to poison her. He makes several attempts, all of which fail to result in her death, but, in the meantime, a lot of other members of the community wind up dead.

The story loses a little steam about ¾’s of the way through, but picks up again when the expected plot takes a fun little twist.

A perverse little comedy of suburbia.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a laugh out loud read.Henry Farr is a mild mannered forty year old who suddenly decides he wants his wife dead. He settles on poison as his means of achieving this. But a first attempt results in the death of his best friend. Undeterred he has a go again at the wake of his best friend with even more horrific results as this time there are three deaths and yet again not one of them is his wife. Farr is even more horrified to discover his neighbour detective Rush is on the case.This is one of those reads it's best not to read on the bus. Wonderfully written and full of belly laughs.

[Vivien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again this book was the victim of over-enthusiastic reviews....'A marvellously funny book', 'I laughed aloud sufficiently that it was necessarty to sit in a room on my own to read it'.....- no - it was amusing in places. Started off hating it as the main character was so obnoxious. However after skim reading to about half way through I then read the rest and it was OK. Although Henry did improve somewhat he was still extremely irritating.

[Sho · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this on the TV but don't remember anything about it except that Michael Kitchen was in it and it was good. It's supposed to be 'laugh out loud funny'. We will see.

(after having read it) It was rubbish. I really can't recommend it.

[Simon Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the other novels in Nigel Williams Trilogy about Wimbledon when I was a student about 25 years ago and remembered them as being funny and enjoyable reads. For some reason I hadn't read the first book in the trilogy so decided to complete the circle. Some of the dialogue and descriptions made me laugh out loud. I personally think They came from SW19 is superior in terms of comedy. The Wimbledon Poisoner is a funny book that perhaps goes on a little too long, the humour does start to wear a little thin after about 200 pages and some of the attitudes regarding race and towards women in general are a little controversial these days but I think Williams is using this as part of the social satire. When I went into Waterstones to find it I was surprised that Nigel Williams is not stocked. Perhaps he is out of fashion but the trilogy as a whole is a hidden gem in my opinion.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have given this two stars not because it isn’t written well but because I just didn’t really enjoy it and felt it could have been about 100 pages shorter. They are some quite amusing moments in Henry Farrs life who we find out from the first chapter wants to murder his wife and eventually decides to poison her being the quieter way to proceed with the deed. I really wanted to like this book and it is well written, good turn of phrase and description but I felt I just wanted to get to the end as I felt it just dragged in the end. I’m not sure I will seek out the other two in the trilogy. It might be someone else’s cup of tea (careful who you except the tea from!) but I just wanted it to be funnier!

[Natasha Rega-Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t actually finished this book but am mentally done with it given the unnecessary racism and sexism of the main character.

If the idea of the book is to show a middle class white guy moaning about every aspect of his life (aspects which he has full control over and which aren’t even that bad given his middle class privilege), and for that character to not be sympathetic at all, then the author achieved his aim.

To miss-quote what Tommy Lee Jones is alleged to have said to Jim Carey during filming of Batman Forever, I cannot continue to sanction this utter buffoonery of a book by actually reading the whole thing.

Save yourself some time and read something better and funnier elsewhere.

[Jeff Chalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry Farr is a mediocre solicitor living with his unremarkable family in the middle class suburb of Wimbledon. Nothing happens or seems likely to until he suddenly gets it into his head to poison his wife. This bizarre idea and Henry's bumbling attempts to realise it are genuinely funny up until the death of his first victim.

From then on the story takes several unexpected turns. Williams introduces doubts about which events are real and which imagined. We increasingly doubt whether Henry really has agency or whether he truly is responsible for several subsequent deaths. He becomes poisoner-adjacent. With this development much of the humour is lost, as is the momentum of the plot.

Ultimately disappointing - I have no desire to finish the trilogy.

[MaureenAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry Farr is a 40-year-old solicitor, living in suburban Wimbledon with his wife, Elinor, and daughter Maisie. He commutes to central London where he works as a conveyancing solicitor. It's a very humdrum life.

One day, he decides that he's had enough of being brow-beaten by his wife and embarks on trying to get rid of Elinor, by poisoning her. Henry, being a keen local historian uses Everett Maltby, a Victorian poisoner as his inspiration.

It's a dark comedy about suburban life. I found some passages in this novel hilariously funny. However, I got stuck about half-way through and struggled to finish the book - hence my 2-star rating. My copy of the book will be making a swift return to the charity shop where it originated from.

[Perry Milkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever thought about killing someone? Henry Farr wants to do away with his wife but has he really thought through the full consequences of his actions? As neighbours and friends start regularly dropping dead, is Henry responsible for their deaths? Written in the first person, it's witty, funny and the story told through the eyes of a bumbling fool who thinks the grass is greener on the other side.

[Jane Armour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1990, this book does feel slightly dated especially some of the language! I love the title and I can imagine at the time it was hysterical. There are some funny and clever parts but it was overly verbose and quite slow in parts for my liking.

I’m still glad I read it and, having been to Wimbledon a few times, it was nice to recognise street names and areas. I guessed the ending too soon so it was also a bit obvious to me but maybe it was meant to be!

[Captain Dad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I´ve read this book only because of Robert Lindsay being Henry in the filmed version.
This book was an.. experience...
A lot of homophobe and racist remarks
It´s, to sum it up just a man who wants to kill his wife - but also can´t quite tell why.

There are some interesting and funny parts to it but they weren´t worth the struggle with the rest of it.

[Gaby Mahlberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a comic novel about a middle-aged middle class man in Wimbledon trying and failing to poison his wife. The plot is preposterous, but the dialogues are funny and the author’s observations of people acute. I just found it very cringey and sometimes going on for too long. I read it for a book club, but would probably not have chosen it myself.