No Known Grave

Detective Inspector Tom Tyler #3

by Maureen Jennings

From the well-known author whose books inspired the wildly popular Murdoch Mysteries TV series, comes the third WWII-era DI Tom Tyler mystery; for fans of Foyle's War, wartime dramas, and, of course, Maureen Jennings!
     It's summer, 1943, and after a tough couple of years, DI Tom Tyler is making a fresh start in Ludlow, Shropshire. On the outskirts of town, St. Anne's Convalescent Hospital, staffed by nursing sisters who are Anglican nuns, has been established in an old manor house to help victims of the war to recover. After a horrifying double murder is discovered on the grounds, Tyler must figure out how the crime could have occurred in such a secluded and presumably impenetrable place, where most of the patients are unable to walk or are blind, or both, not to mention deeply traumatized.
     To add to the puzzle, Tyler begins almost immediately to receive mysterious letters recounting terrible crimes far away. He realizes that he is not only seeking the murderer, but that the horrors of the war are closing in on this place that was meant to be a refuge.
     Maureen Jennings, beloved author of the Murdoch novels that inspired the popular TV series (known as The Artful Detective in the US), surpasses herself in this vivid portrayal of wartime Britain, brilliantly blending a classic murder mystery with a deeply human story of how the effects of war live on far from the fields of battle.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Canada, Historical, World War II

341 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2014

About the author

Maureen Jennings, now a Canadian Citizen, was born on Eastfield Road in Birmingham, England and spent her formative years there until she emigrated to Canada at the age of seventeen with her mother.

This has meant that she still feels a deep connection with her homeland. It has also no doubt been a strong influence in her love for, and her writing about, the Victorian period. She attended the University of Windsor where she attained a BA in philosophy and psychology.

A couple of years trying to decide what she really wanted to do with her life resulted in her returning to university, the University of Toronto, this time where she earned an MA in English literature.For the next eight years, she taught English at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute at a time when the English department seemed to be chock full of writers. Eric Wright, went on to write the highly successful Charlie Salter mystery series, Graeme Gibson, Peter Such, and others were writing both novels and poetry. An exciting time in so many ways but after eight years, another change of direction and in 1972, Maureen left Ryerson to become a psychotherapist, which was a long time interest. She has continued in private practice since then, although nowadays she mostly conducts creative expression groups and writes. Always passionate about dogs, she is happy to own a border collie named Jeremy-Brett and a mixed breed named Varley.

Series:
* Detective Murdoch
* Christine Morris
* Detective Inspector Tom Tyler

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

To state that I had become addicted to the writings of Maureen Jennings would be a bit of an understatement. This is the twelfth story by Jennings that I have read in 11 weeks. This is the third of 4 Inspector Tom Tyler stories I have read. And of the three read it is my favorite. Jennings does an amazing job of transporting us back in time to England during World War II in these novels.

This story takes place three years after the previous in the series. And a lot has happened in that time. Tom is now separated from his wife. He has taken a new position at a different precinct and is now in Ludlow, Shropshire. But the mysteries keep coming. This story begins with a double homicide and soon there is a third body. The bulk of the story takes place at St. Anne's Convalescent Hospital, staffed by nursing sisters who are Anglican nuns. There is at least 1 cross over character from an earlier story. As soon as DI Tyler begins investigating, he starts receiving disturbing letters, type written at the hospital, but recounting a terrible crime and events far away in Nazi occupied territory. What makes this investigation especially difficult is most of the patients at Sr Anne’s are disabled, disfigured, and many non-ambulatory. So, Tom must figure out not only how the crimes were committed and by whom, but he must determine if one or more of the patients are not as disabled as they are letting on.

As a Catholic, it is interesting to see the subtle Catholicism in Jennings stories. DI Tyler himself is a Catholic, even is somewhat lapsed at the time of this story. It was also interesting to encounter the Anglican nun’s. The story moves along at a good pace. And Tom and many of the other characters are great to engage with. And the work with the patients with physical and mental injuries add some real torque to the story.

Of Jennings 4 series I have been reading this is my least favorite, but this is the best story in that series. It is a great historical fiction mystery. And problems the depth of mental anguish and debilitating grief. It is well worth the read for fans of the genres. And for any Jennings fan I am sure it will be a hit.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Maureen Jennings.

[Amy Thorleifson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in England in 1942, Inspector Tom Tyler has just been relocated to Shropshire when he is called upon to investigate two murders. A father and son are found shot in their cottage on the grounds of an infirmary for recuperating war victims. It soon becomes clear that the murderer must be someone from the staff or patient roster. But many of the patients are blind and/or suffering from severe burns. Tyler works with his new team to learn who the killer is and what the possible motive could be.
With much feeling for the period and the terrible losses incurred by war, the case is resolved.
Well written, with a cast of unusual characters, this novel is a good one for the lover of historical mysteries. (This is the third book in the Tom Tyler series, I have not read the previous two.)

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the Tom Tyler series set during WWII. In this one he has been transferred to Ludlow in Shropshire as a detective. The murders are connected with a convalescent home for wounded soldiers and war workers. Although most seem to be in bad shape--blind, paralyzed, mute--someone inside the hospital is committing murders of innocent people: a blind hospital worker, his sixteen-year-old son, and a nun. Add to this that the daughter of the dead man is pregnant out of wedlock and there is plenty to investigate. The killer has a reason for his actions and writes notes to Inspector Tyler about atrocities being committed in Czechoslavakia, although his replicating them seems just as evil.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using WWII as a backdrop Jennings has developed what appears to be a variation on a locked room mystery but turns out to be more when te perpetrator and his motives are finally revealed.

[Zora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A WWII era mystery/police procedural set in England. Disfigured war heroes, nuns, doctors, murders, and the chief inspector, a likeable chap. Really well done. A page-turner. A tragic backstory that gives depth to a murder mystery.

I was surprised to learn it was #3 in the series upon posting this review. I certainly didn't miss a thing by not reading 1 and 2. I have never before read one of her books, and now I will read more.

[Chara · Rating 4 out of 5]

DI Tom Tyler is first of all humane. A police officer in WWII Britain, In his mid 40s, with family, easy in the eyes, and a pretty messy personal life.
Secondary characters are really deep and well developed. The crimes take several twists and turns but are worth the ride.

What I liked most in the series is that not all the good or likable people get to have a happily ever after. Some of them even end up dead and we get to experience their point of view beforehand.
Pity the series has been discontinued so far.

The audio books get an extra star for the excellent narration.

[Diana M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery set during WWII.

[Mainer207 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad story done well. I'm coming to like Tom Taylor. Good narration. I'm looking forward to the next in this series.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 3rd book of the Detective Inspector Tom Tyler Series....and for me, the best in the series so far.
1942.
Tyler is now in a market town. A Convalescent Hospital, St Anne's has had a murder. Tyler investigates.
My complaint about the 2nd novel was that Tom Tyler seemed to be a minor guest star.
He is very present in this story and it makes the novel so much better.

[Verity W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any Maureen Jennings before and I found this interesting and unpredictable. Proper review to follow - but I'll be keeping an eye out for more.

I reviewed this book for Novelicious: http://www.novelicious.com/2015/02/re...

No Known Grave is the third book in the DI Tom Tyler series by Maureen Jennings – who also wrote the Murdoch Mystery books. This time though, instead of late nineteenth century Canada, the setting is England during the Second World War.

Tom Tyler has just arrived in Ludlow to take up a new job with the local police force, when a disabled Great War veteran and his son are found brutally murdered in their cottage in the grounds of a convalescent home, run by Anglican nuns in a former manor house. He has to figure out who carried out the crime from a list of suspects which includes patients who can’t walk or who are blind and others who are traumatised – and some who are a combination of the three. And then the anonymous letters start arriving.

Firstly, I was a little worried that I might feel like I was missing something because I hadn’t read the first few books in the series. But because Tyler has just moved to a new town, that really didn’t feel like it was the case. Yes I was missing some of the backstory about the mysterious (to me at least!) Clare – and his failed marriage, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the detection – the plot is interesting enough to outweigh that.

I liked Tom Tyler – he feels like a real person, unlike some fictional detectives who can feel a bit perfect or all-seeing. There is a large cast of characters, and the residents of the convalescent home took me a while to get straight in my head, but it is worth making the effort. I’m a sucker for a good murder mystery – particularly the sort set in a time without CSI (and which don’t have too much gory detail) – and this ticked a lot of boxes for me. This is quite a dark and unpredictable thriller, which created a gripping scenario in a believable portrait of Britain during WW2.
8/10

[Val Sanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Tyler has transferred to a new station in what is to be his new start at life. Near 50 years of age, separated from his wife, his son dead, this is harder than he imagined. A dual homicide at a convalescent home for blind and disabled men and women brings Tyler close to those who have suffered and given so much for their country: site, voice, healthy bodies and hope. A blind man-- a father, and his son are shot on the grounds, the younger son spared. The backdrop of religion, aristocracy, death, revenge and despair swirl in this tense murder mystery, the 3rd in the series. Tyler is exhausted and out of leads, until a chance encounter in town, by one of the patients with a lie told by another starts to bring the murders in to focus. Another death deepens the sense of hopelessness felt by the men and women and those who care for them. Disguised as suicide, it is another murder of an innocent woman, a sister who dedicated her life to others. Throughout this macabre play unfolding scene by scene, D.I. Tyler is receiving typed letters articulating unspeakable horrors perpetrated by Nazi's in some unknown European town. I like this the least of the three books so far in the series, but that's not to say I didn't like it. Compelling and taut, as we expect from Maureen Jennings, this is a story ultimately about betrayal and trust; despair and hope. Fantastic.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this mystery set in a convalescent hospital outside of Ludlow, Shropshire. Detective Tom Tyler has moved there for a fresh start after the death of his son and a separation from his wife. There has been a brutal double murder at the hospital. Later on a nun is murdered as well, but Tyler quickly learns her death was made to look like a suicide. Tyler is relentlessly piecing together clues, but the clues tend to lead in no particular direction. Finally after a young pregnant girl goes missing, everything starts to come together after some useful information from an MI 5 operative. Everything points back to a special operation by commandos to kill Herr Heydrich (Operation Anthropoid).

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Tom Tyler has taken a new post in Ludlow, England during World War II. He is called to investigate a double homicide at a convalescent hospital nearby. The hospital is staffed by Anglican nuns whose patients have experienced traumatic injuries. Tyler has the task of trying to find out why the victims were murdered and who could possibly have committed the crime when the only suspects appear to be incapacitated. I was unable to guess who the murderer was so it was a surprise. The story gives the reader a good idea of what people experienced in wartime Britain.

[Evelyn Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent series set in WWII. Each book is more fascinating than the one before. The plot was excellent and well-paced and the wide range of characters (police officers, nuns, wounded soldiers, and wayward girls, to list a few) were three-dimensional and believable. Since DI Tyler has moved to the area in which this book took place, I really hope we see some of these folks in a future novel. And the reference to a real historical incident has sent me looking for more information on it. I highly recommend this series and, in particular, this book!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third installment in the Detective Inspector Tom Tyler series. The setting is 1942 in Shropshire, England where several murders are committed in St. Anne's Convalescent Hospital. The Detective has many obstacles in his path to solve these murders. The author writes vividly of wartime Britain, the effects of the war on the village and the severely disabled military and civilian men and women.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Tyler must investigate a double murder in a rehab hospital which deals with soldiers wounded in WWII. One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is an insight into the effects of the war, especially those who are disabled and disfigured.

[Caroline Ingvaldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in the Detective Inspector Tom Tyler mysteries set in Britain during World War II: a particularly grim and poignant thriller.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this third book in the series. I've read the other two and this one had the added benefit of a connection with another book I'm currently reading about WWII.
Highly recommended!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall story, but IMO the murderer's rationale for the killings was far fetched

[Bonnie Szirtes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this Tom Tyler series! So glad I discovered Maureen Jennings and this series; I do hope she continues it.

[Faith Hignight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! I like my mysteries fast moving, well written and with some character depth and development. I was not disappointed.

[D J Rout · Rating 3 out of 5]

The difference between these Tom Tyler mysteries and the The Complete Murdoch Mysteries Collection is that these always seem more contrived. That is, you can see where the author manipulating events to make sure there's some sort of dramatic crisis at the end. For example, the pathology of the murder victims is delayed when the pathologist suffers concussion from an accident brought on by a sheep. And Inspector Tyler makes a list of suspects described in such a way as to fool the reader into thinking one of the suspects couldn't possibly be the murderer. You can hear the gears turning.

Oh, well. Such is the influence of TV.

Still, it's rich in red herrings, the characters have multiple storylines, the Shropshire settings are as well described as in Maureen Jennings' other books, but the mystery itself isn't that satisfying.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good locked-room-type murder mystery set in 1942 Shropshire where Inspector Tom Tyler must lead an investigation of a double-murder at a convalescent hospital run by Anglican nuns and with severely affected patients. The motive was too over-the-top and the two main characters felt a bit too much of a homage to Foyle’s War and Call the Midwife, but the setting, the cast (particularly a brain-damaged WWI victim) and a further murder with several red-herrings make for an involving, non-anachronistic read

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author of the Murdoch mysteries, Maureen Jennings has this series about Inspector Tom Tyler which takes place during WWII. Tyler is a good man, maybe not as brilliant as Murdoch, but dedicated to his job and justice. He is assigned to find the murderer of a badly injured man and his son who lived and worked at St. Anne's. The nurses there are Anglican nuns who care for their badly injured patients. This is the third book in the series, well-written, and quite interesting, especially if you are aware of certain historical aspects of WWII.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was a decent read but kind of on the "meh" side. As mysteries go, the solution was amateurish. It was like she introduced 15 suspects and at the end just kind of picked one. Explaining the murderer's motive after the denouement just means that you didn't leave any clues along the way so the reader has no opportunity to figure out whodunnit.

I might pick up one of the Murdoch Mysteries that she is famous for but I'm done with DI Tom Tyler.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom has a new location and he and his wife are divorcing. The murders happen at a convalescent hospice for men and women who have suffered severe war wounds. While a good mystery with an interesting take on a real war event, there was too much description and contemplation of unrelated things and not enough resolution of Shirley.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-written police procedural which took place in Shropshire, England during WW2. The plot built nicely with lots of suspects (maybe a few too many to keep straight) but the ending disappointed me greatly. Ah, well...

[Petra Willemse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I jumped over the second book into this one but still I followed along well enough. Another good history entry but perhaps less enticing in mystery than the first. Also I hate authors who force a romance - unnecessary! Regardless I will read others in the series.

[Marley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like this, ever so much more than the first (I missed the second somehow).

[Rae Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeps you guessing..