The Body Politic

Inspector Sloan #13

by Catherine Aird

A clue found in the cremated ashes of a murder victim leads Detective Chief Inspector Sloan down a path of intrigue as he investigates a death at a reenactment of a famous battle and a murder in a Middle Eastern sheikdom

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Procedural, Audiobook

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, known professionally as Catherine Aird, was an English novelist. She was the author of more than twenty crime fiction novels and several collections of short stories. Her witty, literate, and deftly plotted novels straddle the "cozy" and "police procedural" genres and are somewhat similar in flavour to those of Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham, M.C. Beaton, Margaret Yorke, and Pauline Bell. Aird was inducted into the prestigious Detection Club in 1981, and is a recipient of the 2015 Cartier Diamond Dagger award.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one didn't quite hold my interest as well as some of the other entries in this series. I found my mind wandering and had to re-listen to parts to gain understanding of what was going on. Politics, battle re-enactments, visits to a Middle Eastern sheikdom, a mineral I had never heard of, and a person running around dressed as the Grim Reaper were all included. Additionally, live scorpions and death threats were mailed to Members of Parliament (MPs).

What a hodge podge, maybe it's my current state of mind, but I found it hard to follow. However, I did enjoy the passages where Crosby, bumbling constable and 'boy racer,' drives detective C.D. Sloan at top speed through traffic, while Sloan shuts his eyes and has his heart is in his mouth!

My favorite quote comes from a conversation between the irascible superintendent Leeyes and the beleaguered detective C.D. Sloan: "Mind you, Sloan, if you ask me half the electorate would vote for a dead ferret if it was wearing the right party colors."

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Sloan really has his hands full in this one. Scorpions, sheikhs, talkative undertakers, medieval battle reenactments—it's a bit like the sixth season of a TV show where the writers have run out of ideas and start throwing in every nutty thing they can think of.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting premise for murder and mayhem, but I would say that the mix of all the elements made for confusion versus feeling like you were detecting.

An employee from abroad comes home after killing someone in a car accident. But then he is later killed during a re-enactment of a battle. There seems to be a great deal of other elements going on as well, which cause a lot of confusion and weren’t really well dealt with in the story. They ended up getting wrapped up with an explanation at the end.

This being said, I felt the story had so many people in it, and so many various activities- that I wondered if this was done to merely create a smoke-screen for the reader- thus diminishing their ability to watch the main mystery.

For me, this is one of the stories you could skip if you’re just reading about the series. Some fun humor bits, but not much in terms of a solid mystery sequence here.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under one of the more helpful titles of the series, an ordinary mining engineer named Alan Ottershaw becomes entangled in British politics from two different angles. Death is being threatened everywhere in little Mellamby, but Ottershaw is the one who dies. Catherine Aird brings vividly to life the weekend of political rallies; and the reenactment of a battle between King Henry III and Simon de Montfort, which is somebody's cover.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid entry in the series.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author’s always has a nicely plotted murder — engaging read. Clean. Narrator engages readers.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Ottershaw is a mining engineer working in Lasserta, a small Middle Eastern country which has deposits of a particular ore needed for a secret weapon of great importance to the British government. Relationships with Lasserta are tricky and when Alan knocks down and kills someone in a road accident it looks like becoming an international incident and threatens the mining interests of his employer. Alan is sent home to Calleshire and no one is more relieved than he is.

When the re-enactment of the Battle of Lewes results in a real death Sloan and Crosby are presented with one of their most complex cases yet. In addition they have to try and find out who is threatening local MPs. Are the two things connected? I found this book engrossing reading and I didn't work out who the murderer was until almost the same time that Sloan and Crosby did.

This is an excellent portrait of village life and I loved the characters and the trade mark wry and ironic humour. I can thoroughly recommend this excellent series. If you want graphic violence, gritty inner city realism and detectives with complex private lives you want find those here - just an interesting mystery and two all too human detectives trying to bring a murderer to justice.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Catherine Aird has more red herrings than a basket of fish.  'The Body Politic' is so sneaky, I didn't get to first base with the clues.  Of course, the wry wit was flying all over the place and Crosby was trying to kill Sloan along the roads (with his wild driving).

The story is about a British-based minerals company that runs afoul of the foreign country when one of its engineers kills a local in the street via his car.  Immediately, the British company sends the unlucky engineer home to England. The foreign country threatens to close down the British company (working in its country) unless the young man is returned to their country to face charges of murder.  The next day, the unlucky engineer dies in a war reenactment.   

Sloan and Crosby Mystery
 1. TheReligious Body (1966) 
2.Henrietta Who? (1968) 
3. TheComplete Steel (1969)   aka The Stately Home Murder
4. A LatePhoenix (1970)  
5. HisBurial Too (1973)  
6. SlightMourning (1975) 
7. Parting Breath (1977) 
8. Some Die Eloquent (1979) 
9. Passing Strange (1980) 
10. LastRespects (1982)  
11. Harm's Way (1984)
12. A Dead Liberty (1986)
** 13. The Body Politic (1990)  

[Janet]

Includes some scenes in a fictional country in the middle east, and I didn't like the stereotypes.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY RATING GUIDE: 3.5 Stars (rounded up). Although this particular book wasn’t among my favorite in this British Mystery series, I always enjoy spending time with the main characters (Inspector Sloan, Constable Crosby and team) while appreciating the dialogue, the dry humor and solving the individual mysteries. I find each title provides quick reading satisfaction.

1=DNF/What was that?; 2=Not for me; 3=Ok; 3.5=I ENJOYED THIS; 4=I really liked; 5=I really loved this! (5 is rare for me).

Alan Ottershaw, a British employee working overseas in a small oil rich country ruled by a sheikdom, is involved in a fatal car crash with a local pedestrian. He quickly comprehends that the political and personal consequences of this tragedy may become severe and in panic flees back to England, to his home and wife without telling anyone. Two days after his arrival, Mr Ottershaw dies suddenly of an apparent heart attack during his village’s much celebrated reenactment of a historical battle. When an unexpected foreign object is discovered among Alan’s cremated remains, Detective Inspector CD Sloan of Berebury ‘F’ Division, Calleshire County police force and his incompetent assistant, Constable Crosby must determine was Alan’s death natural, accidental, suicide or murder?

Comments ~
1) THE BODY POLITIC, originally published in 1990, is bk 13 in a 28bk Mystery series featuring Calleshire County’s Homicide Division Detective Inspector CD Sloan and Constable Crosby. This series has held up quite well over time with mostly just technology differences apparent - barely noticeable in the somewhat remote, small English village life of this series. THE BODY POLITIC can be read as a Standalone mystery but I prefer beginning with bk1, enjoying the character development and relationships that unfold over time. IMO, the earlier books in this series (not quite Cozy) are too fun to miss.
2) Characters in TBP dealt with certain situations arising from living/working in a foreign land. I found this aspect thought provoking.
3) I need to like the MCs in the books I read and I find Inspector Sloan quite likable. I find his interactions with Constable Crosby, his boss, Superintendent Leyes and his colleagues entertaining. (It’s a bonus that Sloan enjoys an amicable relationship with his wife, Margaret, and that she seems to understand the demands of his career with humor - rather rare irl or fiction - although she doesn’t appear in this book). I also enjoy the dry wit Aird includes in these novels.
4) Derek Perkins performs this series wonderfully in the audio versions. I read this particular installment but own the audio as well. As with a number of series, I believe Perkin’s audio performance actually enhances the enjoyment of the series. I recommend checking out the audio versions of these titles.
5) I ran across this series a while ago and it has quickly become one of my favorites. I recommend it to readers who enjoy:
> British Mysteries.
> Classic Mysteries (Sayers, Allingham, Marsh, Christie).
> Certain Cozy Mysteries or “near” Cozy Mysteries.
> Clean fiction/Mysteries.
> Police Procedural series.
> Character Driven series.
> Series with an intelligent, Seasoned MC.
> Mysteries with a touch of dry humor.
> Fiction with literature references

READER CAUTIONS ~ This is a Clean mystery series.
PROFANITY - None. I believe.
VIOLENCE - PG. Murders occur off scene and are not described in a dark manner.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - None.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I inherited Catherine Aird from my parents and remember likening her a lot when I was young. This is now the only book of her's I own and I re-read it every few years.

I never remember the plot. That is probably because there is not a lot of it, and the plot seems to be mostly an excuse for Detective Inspector Sloan to roam around literary quotes, historical musings and odd pop culture references.

In all seriousness, there is only one character who does not perpetually quote in every paragraph of narrative (a bereaved widow), EVERYONE else quotes poetry, poets, history (British, of course) ALL THE TIME. The inspector, the coroner, the inspector's boss, every single one of the individuals he interviews...

One has to wonder if this book was written on a dare or for a bet:
"Hey, Cath, I betcha you can't write a book where every paragraph has a quote in it!"
"You are wrong Ibid, and I shall so prove you."
" Well, even if you write it, I am certain they will never publish it."
"ahahahaha...."

Well, Cath won that bet and as a result every page you open it on has quotes and references. Every year I read it, I get more of them but I am pretty certain NO ONE would get them all so that might be one reason to read it.

Opening at random:
[pg 68] Dante, Montfort, Westminster Abbey, John Webster, plus two more I can't get.

[pg 108] Nineteenth-century resurrectionists, Wordsworth, Ellen (?!?) something to do with Wordsworth?, 'Susansides' wtf?,

[pg 152] King Harold, Hastings, William the conqueror, Harald Hadrada, Stamford bridge, Shakespeare, King Henry III, Battle Royal (no, not the Japanese movie), Cock-fighting, Russian Dolls, a couple of paragraphs of verse about the Battle of Lewes, author not cited and the scottish poem.

With all of that there is really no room for a plot, so no wonder I never remember it. When you sift through it all though, the plot is negligible and could be contained in a chapter anyway.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin plot, padded out with annoying character quirks.

I found Aird's earlier novels, published in the mid-1960s, reasonably enjoyable, or even a little more than that. Aird specialises in quirky murders that offer an old-school intriguing puzzle to worry over, rather than any deep psychological insights, or penetrating realism. I thought Inspector Sloan could be a promising character: smart, honourable, and determined to do his best by the victim, but stuck in a backwater where he is surrounded by fools and eccentrics. By dogged accumulation of facts and observations, he gets his man (or woman -- no spoilers, just sayin' ...), and I thought there was much potential for a gradual development of some depths to Sloan and his world.

Except that there hasn't been: Aird's schtick for this, the 13th Inspector Sloan novel, is just the same, and just as annoying, as every other novel I have read in the series: put-upon Sloan, whose investigations have the drag-anchor of an idiot assistant, Crosby, and an idiot superior, ..... , the dim-witted light relief who slow down every single scene they are in to a glacial pace. Minor characters and suspects aren't so much fully-formed characters as collections of quirks, offering opportunity for long digressive pages of irritating factoids and snippets of poetry, where everyone is at cross-purposes.

This doesn't even have the redeeming feature of the time and setting of Aird's 1960s novels -- "Between the end of the 'Chatterley' ban. And the Beatles' first LP ..." -- reading like a communiqué from a lost, rather dreary, but definitely more innocent time. Published in 1990, its take on everything -- women, foreigners, politics, students, historical re-enactments -- has the rather clunky, tone-deaf feel of a "very special" episode of Midsomer Murders ...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the thirteenth book in the Inspector Sloan series, first published in 1990. It involves Alan Ottershaw, who returns from his job in the Middle East after accidentally killing a man in a traffic accident. Asked to return to face justice, he speaks to his MP and later dies after taking part in a historical battle reconstruction. At first, it appears that he suffered a heart attack. However, when questions are raised, it is up to Sloan and Crosby to investigate.

This is a good addition to the series. I cannot claim it is my favourite, but it trundles along quite nicely. As with so many long-running series, the joy is in the characters. I am enjoying the series and will continue to read on.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very amusing take on the police-procedural. The story begins with an accident in the Middle East before returning to Calleshire, where both members of Parliament, representing different parties, have been receiving threats of various sorts. A death, apparently of natural causes, happens during a battle recreation, but suspicions are only aroused after the body has been cremated. But Sloan, with the "help" of Constable Crosby, undertakes the investigation. The dry humor makes it worth the read. Recommended.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't one of Aird's better offerings, but it was still a solidly enjoyable entry in her Sloan and Crosby series. Some of Crosby's idiosyncrasies are wearing a bit thin and the whole set up seems to occur in an England somewhere between the 50's and the 80's, and the mystery of a murdered engineer, recently returned from a fictitious developing country where he has possibly offended the hosts, doesn't quite hang together or wrap up its various threads. Still, agreeably cozy for those who want a light read without too many grizzly details.

[Jan C · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 rounded up to 4.

I felt like I was missing some information. For one thing, there was a reenactment of a battle but I wasn't sure if it was a real battle or not. And, if it was, what war was it from? References to Harold Hadratta and Cromwell and his Roundheads. They weren't from the same wars, were they? And there was a geographical reference which was beyond me. But I still wouldn't have guessed the killer.

A few red herrings.

But I enjoy these books.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just hilarious

The writing style in this novel was absolutely fabulous. I loved it. It is subtle and hilarious. I want to read everything that Catherine Aird has written. I didn't realize I had started with book 13. Now I have to go back to the beginning. The killer was a total surprise.

[Gypsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is somewhat convoluted in this well-written mystery, but the book is fully enjoyable, Aird's sly wit is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and the performance of the audiobook narrator, Derek Perkins, adds to it immensely.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's arch, and then there's arch: every sentence followed by a wry or ironic evaluation of that sentence. Tends to slow the story to a snail's pace. I'm going back to my other book where the giant pig creatures begin attacking the house in the third chapter.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does she do it? A metal capsule found in the remains of a cremated body leads Sloan to a murder investigation. A series of coincidences muddies the water before he realizes that it is an affair that has caused the death.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series. A little too much of Sloan's inner thoughts (amusing but overdone here, IMO). A lot of investigation with little progress but it all comes together at the end. The side characters were good: both MP's and the various interests managing the international "crisis".

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I read a book that highlights British politics, I spend the entire book so confused that I barely get anything out of it. The murder remained confusing until the end. I was very disappointed in the motive, since both murders were so unnecessary.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the wit. Would have liked it better had I known more about English history, I think, as the solution to the crime hinges on that knowledge.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable tale featuring inspector Sloan.

[Linda Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the series, so far. I'm so glad I discovered this old series.

[Joy O’Toole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware red herrings. I guessed this one once all the characters were introduced into the story line.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less good than the other Sloans because it was so convoluted and slow to get started. And at the end, some of the pieces were assembled hastily.

[Teri Am · Rating 4 out of 5]

The start of this mystery had me going in one direction, then kept twisting and turning. The reveal was a surprise, which makes it an enjoyable read for me.

[Nichola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I think it's because I picked the villain early on and I can't even explain why.

Overall just a good jaunt. I am enjoying Aird more and more.