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No Tears For Hilda
Max Easterbrook arrives in London to discover that his best friend, kindly George Lambert, has been charged with wife-murder. Max can't believe that his friend is guilty, and tries to find evidence that will prove his innocence, but the picture is bleak, with George known to be in a love relationship with a pretty young nurse and the deceased wife, Hilda, seemingly a harmless woman without an enemy in the world.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Andrew Garve
138 books11 followersAKA: Paul Somers, Roger Bax
Andrew Garve was the pen name of Paul Winterton (1908-2001). He was born in Leicester and educated at the Hulme Grammar School, Manchester and Purley County School, Surrey, after which he took a degree in Economics at London University. He was on the staff of The Economist for four years, and then worked for fourteen years for the London News Chronicle as reporter, leader writer and foreign correspondent. He was assigned to Moscow from 1942 to 1945, where he was also the correspondent of the BBC’s Overseas Service.
After the war he turned to full-time writing of detective and adventure novels and produced more than forty-five books. His work was serialized, televised, broadcast, filmed and translated into some twenty languages. He was noted for his varied and unusual backgrounds – including Russia, newspaper offices, the West Indies, ocean sailing, the Australian outback, politics, mountaineering and forestry – and for never repeating a plot.
Andrew Garve was a founding member and first joint secretary of the Crime Writers’ Association.
Andrew Garve was the pen name of Paul Winterton (1908-2001). He was born in Leicester and educated at the Hulme Grammar School, Manchester and Purley County School, Surrey, after which he took a degree in Economics at London University. He was on the staff of The Economist for four years, and then worked for fourteen years for the London News Chronicle as reporter, leader writer and foreign correspondent. He was assigned to Moscow from 1942 to 1945, where he was also the correspondent of the BBC’s Overseas Service.
After the war he turned to full-time writing of detective and adventure novels and produced more than forty-five books. His work was serialized, televised, broadcast, filmed and translated into some twenty languages. He was noted for his varied and unusual backgrounds – including Russia, newspaper offices, the West Indies, ocean sailing, the Australian outback, politics, mountaineering and forestry – and for never repeating a plot.
Andrew Garve was a founding member and first joint secretary of the Crime Writers’ Association.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 7, 2018
Lively and entertaining murder mystery in which the characterisation is the star! 3.5 stars
Considered an overlooked classic, No Tears For Hilda, was written in 1950 by the pseudonymous Andrew Garve, just one of several pen names he wrote under. Throughly entertaining from start to finish, the story moves along at a brisk pace and whilst the plot isn’t the most complicated, Garve delivers a masterclass with his characterisation of forty-five-year-old housewife, mother of one and murder victim, Hilda Lambert. An affable amateur sleuth and a cast of well-drawn characters complete the line-up to provide a charming, yet clearly dated, mystery.
When forty-two-year-old unassuming civil servant, George Lambert, returns home from work late one November evening to find his wife of twenty years dead with her head is the gas stove, he assumes she has been driven to such action after discovering his burgeoning romance with a pretty young nurse, Lucy. Wracked with guilt and with the hope of saving his female companions blushes, George’s offers up a paper thin alibi to the police, led by the saturnine Inspector Haines which attempts to keep nurse Lucy out of matters. However the discovery of a nasty bruise at the top of Hilda’s spine together with the circumstantial evidence piling up against George and his newfound romance lean heavily towards his guilt. Yet, George does not fit the picture of a man driven to murder and despite the evidence not sitting well with an unconvinced Inspector Haines he has no choice but to arrest George and send him to trial, with the prospect of a guilty verdict leaving him facing death by hanging. Added to George’s seemingly ambivalent feelings about Hilda and the prevailing opinion of her as colourless individual not given to socialising and with little about her bearing to arouse anger, other potential suspects appear to be in short supply. But against this Inspector Haines must weigh the unanimous perception of George as a gentle, dependable and loyal chap.
As George is held on remand in Brixton prison fearing the worst and with little idea as to how to convince a jury of his innocence, the arrival of his old wartime comrade, Max Easterbrook, in London on a months leave from his employment with the International Refugee Organisation, brings a glimmer of hope. Thirty-two-years old and keen to assist his old chum, Max goes into amateur sleuth mode, convinced that to have been murdered Hilda must have aroused passionate emotions in someone, be they love or hate! His investigation begins close to home with the Lambert’s charlady reporting that Hilda behaved indifferently towards the man who cared for her and never even cooked a meal for him after a hard day at work, all while she acted like a lady of leisure who made little of her assets (dressed frumpily and used no make-up). As his inquiries take him from daughter, Jane, recuperating with manic-depressive insanity to Hilda’s brother, Andrew, Max digs into her past with each piece adding to the picture of a thoroughly odious woman, practically asking to me murdered! As Max soon discovers, the only person that Hilda didn’t seem to overtly antagonise was her long-suffering husband of two decades whom according to all reports she belittled all whilst she ran a neglected home with few comforts.
Easterbrook’s probe into Hilda’s life is not the most inspired as he follows a path as he delves into her past all whilst being far too obvious about his motivation and leaving himself wide open to attack. Admittedly, Max’s inquiries all feel a little perfunctory, with the reader in little doubt that a resolution is in sight, but his bonhomie and astute nature make him a passable investigator. The brilliance here is that the rather crafty resolution relies heavily on Max having formed a complete picture of Hilda and understanding the motivation for so much of her spiteful behaviour and emotional outbursts. There is little doubt that by the end of his investigation, Hilda Lambert comes across as a thoroughly repugnant woman. Garve does an exemplary job of getting under the skin of Hilda and making the reader grateful to have never personally encountered her! The final chapter or so are something of a disappointment with much less fanfare to Easterbrook’s revelations than one might hope all whilst Inspector Haines attempts to spoil the party! In truth I would have appreciated a little more tension and suspense throughout the story as a whole, however this did not prevent my enjoyment.
Diverting and wholly readable, it is the throughly exasperating Hilda who leaves a lasting memory, along with a contentious moral dilemma asking whether it is more important that an innocent man is saved or that the guilty one should be punished.
Considered an overlooked classic, No Tears For Hilda, was written in 1950 by the pseudonymous Andrew Garve, just one of several pen names he wrote under. Throughly entertaining from start to finish, the story moves along at a brisk pace and whilst the plot isn’t the most complicated, Garve delivers a masterclass with his characterisation of forty-five-year-old housewife, mother of one and murder victim, Hilda Lambert. An affable amateur sleuth and a cast of well-drawn characters complete the line-up to provide a charming, yet clearly dated, mystery.
When forty-two-year-old unassuming civil servant, George Lambert, returns home from work late one November evening to find his wife of twenty years dead with her head is the gas stove, he assumes she has been driven to such action after discovering his burgeoning romance with a pretty young nurse, Lucy. Wracked with guilt and with the hope of saving his female companions blushes, George’s offers up a paper thin alibi to the police, led by the saturnine Inspector Haines which attempts to keep nurse Lucy out of matters. However the discovery of a nasty bruise at the top of Hilda’s spine together with the circumstantial evidence piling up against George and his newfound romance lean heavily towards his guilt. Yet, George does not fit the picture of a man driven to murder and despite the evidence not sitting well with an unconvinced Inspector Haines he has no choice but to arrest George and send him to trial, with the prospect of a guilty verdict leaving him facing death by hanging. Added to George’s seemingly ambivalent feelings about Hilda and the prevailing opinion of her as colourless individual not given to socialising and with little about her bearing to arouse anger, other potential suspects appear to be in short supply. But against this Inspector Haines must weigh the unanimous perception of George as a gentle, dependable and loyal chap.
As George is held on remand in Brixton prison fearing the worst and with little idea as to how to convince a jury of his innocence, the arrival of his old wartime comrade, Max Easterbrook, in London on a months leave from his employment with the International Refugee Organisation, brings a glimmer of hope. Thirty-two-years old and keen to assist his old chum, Max goes into amateur sleuth mode, convinced that to have been murdered Hilda must have aroused passionate emotions in someone, be they love or hate! His investigation begins close to home with the Lambert’s charlady reporting that Hilda behaved indifferently towards the man who cared for her and never even cooked a meal for him after a hard day at work, all while she acted like a lady of leisure who made little of her assets (dressed frumpily and used no make-up). As his inquiries take him from daughter, Jane, recuperating with manic-depressive insanity to Hilda’s brother, Andrew, Max digs into her past with each piece adding to the picture of a thoroughly odious woman, practically asking to me murdered! As Max soon discovers, the only person that Hilda didn’t seem to overtly antagonise was her long-suffering husband of two decades whom according to all reports she belittled all whilst she ran a neglected home with few comforts.
Easterbrook’s probe into Hilda’s life is not the most inspired as he follows a path as he delves into her past all whilst being far too obvious about his motivation and leaving himself wide open to attack. Admittedly, Max’s inquiries all feel a little perfunctory, with the reader in little doubt that a resolution is in sight, but his bonhomie and astute nature make him a passable investigator. The brilliance here is that the rather crafty resolution relies heavily on Max having formed a complete picture of Hilda and understanding the motivation for so much of her spiteful behaviour and emotional outbursts. There is little doubt that by the end of his investigation, Hilda Lambert comes across as a thoroughly repugnant woman. Garve does an exemplary job of getting under the skin of Hilda and making the reader grateful to have never personally encountered her! The final chapter or so are something of a disappointment with much less fanfare to Easterbrook’s revelations than one might hope all whilst Inspector Haines attempts to spoil the party! In truth I would have appreciated a little more tension and suspense throughout the story as a whole, however this did not prevent my enjoyment.
Diverting and wholly readable, it is the throughly exasperating Hilda who leaves a lasting memory, along with a contentious moral dilemma asking whether it is more important that an innocent man is saved or that the guilty one should be punished.
August 12, 2020
This was an OK read. Not great, but entertaining. However, the author certainly made both women in the story unlikable for their own reasons. One was a miserable vindictive cow, the other was a wishy-washy damsel in distress when it came to relationships. Also, the murderer is revealed within the last 20 or so pages so no suspense and the ending was...meh. But that being said, it was interesting to see how the potential murderer's friend went about trying to save him from the gallows with his detective skills, apparently much more in depth than the local police did.
June 4, 2012
Andrew Garve wrote a number of workmanlike, competent and entertaining crime and suspense stories, mostly in the 1950s. "No Tears for Hilda" is a typical example. It is the fictional equivalent of some of those black and white cinema thrillers made by British film studios during the same period, usually starring someone such as John Mills or Richard Todd. It is an undemanding, gripping novel that knows exactly what it is doing. Its aim is not to be high literature or to change its readers' perceptions of the world. Its sole purpose is to provide a few hours of diverting reading. And it achieves its aim very effectively.
The novel is set in middle class London of the early 1950s. Refugee charity worker Max Easterbrook, who lives and works abroad, comes to London for a month's break. His best friend George Lambert, whom he met while both were prisoners of war, has been charged by the police with the murder of his wife, Hilda. Hilda, it turns out, is a deeply unpleasant woman. Her death, which was intended to appear as suicide, seems to be a clearcut case of wife-murder. George initially lied to the police about his whereabouts. It then transpired that he was at the time having an affair with a pretty young psychiatric nurse, who had been involved in the treatment of his daughter's illness. Max refuses to believe that George is responsible for his wife's killing, despite the circumstantial evidence against him. So, he sets out to prove his friend's innocence. His task is not helped by the fact that Hilda seems at face value to be a nondescript person without an enemy in the world.
"No Tears for Hilda" does what it says on the tin. It is a rattling good read. It is not a whodunit. The tension lies less in whether George is, in fact, the murderer, and more in whether Max will get to the truth before George's trial begins. As in most such stories, the characterisation is unsophisticated. Everything depends on the story itself which, though not particularly original, is gripping and entertaining. And, most importantly, Garve writes in a very readable, page-turning style that is ideal for this sort of novel. "No Tears for Hilda" is not a book that will live long in the memory. But it delivers several hours of solidly entertaining reading. 6/10.
The novel is set in middle class London of the early 1950s. Refugee charity worker Max Easterbrook, who lives and works abroad, comes to London for a month's break. His best friend George Lambert, whom he met while both were prisoners of war, has been charged by the police with the murder of his wife, Hilda. Hilda, it turns out, is a deeply unpleasant woman. Her death, which was intended to appear as suicide, seems to be a clearcut case of wife-murder. George initially lied to the police about his whereabouts. It then transpired that he was at the time having an affair with a pretty young psychiatric nurse, who had been involved in the treatment of his daughter's illness. Max refuses to believe that George is responsible for his wife's killing, despite the circumstantial evidence against him. So, he sets out to prove his friend's innocence. His task is not helped by the fact that Hilda seems at face value to be a nondescript person without an enemy in the world.
"No Tears for Hilda" does what it says on the tin. It is a rattling good read. It is not a whodunit. The tension lies less in whether George is, in fact, the murderer, and more in whether Max will get to the truth before George's trial begins. As in most such stories, the characterisation is unsophisticated. Everything depends on the story itself which, though not particularly original, is gripping and entertaining. And, most importantly, Garve writes in a very readable, page-turning style that is ideal for this sort of novel. "No Tears for Hilda" is not a book that will live long in the memory. But it delivers several hours of solidly entertaining reading. 6/10.
July 17, 2026
Andrew Garve is one of many pseudonyms used by British journalist Paul Winterton. He also wrote as Roger Bax (Blueprint for Murder) and Paul Somers (The Shivering Mountain), and he is a wonderfully talented author. No Tears for Hilda begins with the apparent suicide of Hilda Lambert who seemed to be a fairly colourless wife and mother of one daughter, the troubled Jane. But when the verdict changes to murder and her husband George is arrested, his friend Max Easterbrook begins an impromptu review of the facts. Max knows that George is not a murderer, despite the evidence and that is what he clings to when confronted by a vast desert of information about Hilda. She had no friends, no interests, never went out, and was devoted to her teenage daughter, so who would want to see her dead? This novel is the opposite of a comedy of manners - it is a tragedy of manners because Hilda turned out to be the type of person who imposed on the goodwill of others to make her way on life. Garve builds the tension from little niggling irritations to murderous rage through several characters all of whom were driven to irrational fury by Hilda's behaviour.
This book was written in 1950 and it is of its time: in this day and age, Hilda would be 'told' long before she pushed people to anger. But I thought the novel was a brilliant commentary on manners in a civilized society and how that stopgap of good manners can also become a heavy burden when confronted with an emotional bully. Excellent story, well-drawn characterizations, sparkling dialogue - this book has it all.
This book was written in 1950 and it is of its time: in this day and age, Hilda would be 'told' long before she pushed people to anger. But I thought the novel was a brilliant commentary on manners in a civilized society and how that stopgap of good manners can also become a heavy burden when confronted with an emotional bully. Excellent story, well-drawn characterizations, sparkling dialogue - this book has it all.
September 26, 2025
Not Garves best but still very very taut and readable. I think that it has been years since I read a complete book in one seating .
September 4, 2017
'No Tears For Hilda' by Andrew Garve is a 1950s classic crime novel. It earns four stars for me for the brilliant character study of Hilda, who we never actually meet as she's dead on the first page of the book. We learn about her through the investigation into her murder, and the descriptions gradually build up a portrait of the woman as she really was - hence the book's title. The story itself is fairly straightforward and holds the reader's interest throughout. However, the dated description of manic-depression is a flaw that modern readers will find alternately laughable and disturbing.
March 21, 2019
A great little mystery, fun to read through it quickly.
August 16, 2026
George Lambert on returning home from work, finds his wife gassed to death in their kitchen. He’s immediately suspected by the police, as he has a motive, he’s in love with another woman, has no alibi, and soon he is arrested.
Max Easterbrook a wartime friend of George’s, believes his friend is innocent. He visits George in jail, visits the other woman Lucy, who was a nurse at a mental home where George and Hilda’s daughter is being treated. Lucy loses her job when her connection with the crime is written about in the papers. He also visits George’s solicitor Perkins. When Max realises Perkins isn’t totally convinced of George’s innocence, he decides to investigate himself, starting with Hilda’s past life. He listens to the Lambert’s cleaning lady, as well as staff at the Home where the daughter is, and the daughter herself. He has many illuminating conversations with Hilda’s brother and sister-in-law, old friends, newer friends, all the time building up a picture of the real and intensely unpleasant Hilda.
The end is not perfect, but the future looks optimistic. A good read, with strong characterisation, and no let-up in the interest.
Max Easterbrook a wartime friend of George’s, believes his friend is innocent. He visits George in jail, visits the other woman Lucy, who was a nurse at a mental home where George and Hilda’s daughter is being treated. Lucy loses her job when her connection with the crime is written about in the papers. He also visits George’s solicitor Perkins. When Max realises Perkins isn’t totally convinced of George’s innocence, he decides to investigate himself, starting with Hilda’s past life. He listens to the Lambert’s cleaning lady, as well as staff at the Home where the daughter is, and the daughter herself. He has many illuminating conversations with Hilda’s brother and sister-in-law, old friends, newer friends, all the time building up a picture of the real and intensely unpleasant Hilda.
The end is not perfect, but the future looks optimistic. A good read, with strong characterisation, and no let-up in the interest.
August 10, 2026
Found this at a book sale - it’s definitely a bit old-fashioned (it was written in 1950 so that much makes sense) and lacks originality, but it’s a simple, entertaining read. Not very memorable whatsoever but I enjoyed it!
July 19, 2019
Enjoyable and workmanlike mystery classic, but it doesn't have the excitement or panache of some of Garve's later books, like The Galloway Case and The Ascent of D-13.
December 30, 2019
Solid British mystery
Good book. Not Golden Age but appealing if you like British mysteries. You can see what's coming, yet still worthwhile.
Good book. Not Golden Age but appealing if you like British mysteries. You can see what's coming, yet still worthwhile.
May 17, 2026
Very heavy going - not my usual sort of book, but fancied a change. Long chapters, great descriptors but not something I’d rush to pick up again.
January 13, 2013
No Tears for Hilda by the ever-entertaining Andrew Garve is another excellent tightly plotted thriller. This one is the first in a series that featured a recurring amateur detective called Max Easterbrook, and in his first case he is trying to save the life of his best friend George who's been accused of murdering his wife Hilda Lambert.
It looks like an open and shut case, with tons of circumstantial evidence stacked against George. So much evidence, in fact, that the police have no option but to arrest him and he faces a trial for murder, with the 1950s penalty being hanging. Is George innocent or guilty? If it wasn't he who murdered Hilda, the seemingly blameless and innocuous wife, then who was it? With no leads and the police and the clock against him, Max has to prove the impossible.
Once again Garve creates an immediately believable world and a convincing set of characters (make allowances for the fact that the book was written in the 1950s, so some of the attitudes and dialogue seem a little stilted). His grasp of psychology and the complexities of human behaviour are a rare example of such motivational depth in mainstream crime writing from that period. On balance, I would say that the puzzle elements are slightly less satisfying than some of his later novels, and even allowing for the age of the book I was slightly uncomfortable with the 'woman who deserves all she gets' justification as an undercurrent. But still this is a great book that will have you hooked.
© Koplowitz 2013
It looks like an open and shut case, with tons of circumstantial evidence stacked against George. So much evidence, in fact, that the police have no option but to arrest him and he faces a trial for murder, with the 1950s penalty being hanging. Is George innocent or guilty? If it wasn't he who murdered Hilda, the seemingly blameless and innocuous wife, then who was it? With no leads and the police and the clock against him, Max has to prove the impossible.
Once again Garve creates an immediately believable world and a convincing set of characters (make allowances for the fact that the book was written in the 1950s, so some of the attitudes and dialogue seem a little stilted). His grasp of psychology and the complexities of human behaviour are a rare example of such motivational depth in mainstream crime writing from that period. On balance, I would say that the puzzle elements are slightly less satisfying than some of his later novels, and even allowing for the age of the book I was slightly uncomfortable with the 'woman who deserves all she gets' justification as an undercurrent. But still this is a great book that will have you hooked.
© Koplowitz 2013
June 10, 2015
A classic light whodunit. Max Easterbrook is an engaging protagonist, and the mystery is set up very effectively. The culprit becomes a bit obvious too soon, but overall this unfolds nicely.
December 17, 2015
Max gets Lambert cleared of Hilda's murder.
August 24, 2022
solid. good plot. wasn’t that surprised at the end. quick read.
January 19, 2017
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April 7, 2017
A very old-fashioned, but thoroughly entertaining, read. The denoument was not up to Agatha Christie's standards (but, then, whose are? :) ), but, even though I guessed the outcome, it didn't detract from my enjoyment. I'd happily read other books by this author. A well-written, engaging book from a golden era of detective fiction.
Want to Read
October 24, 2018Synopsis: Max Easterbrook tries to aid George Lambert who is charged with murdering his wife Hilda.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews