Twice in a Blue Moon

Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery #19

by Patricia Moyes

What could be more delightful than a long-forgotten relative who dies and leaves you a tidbit in his will? How about if that tidbit is in fact a charming country pub, and that pub is now yours—lock, stock, and barrels of beer?

Susan Gardiner is delighted, even when it becomes clear that the establishment has a lineup of regulars, not all of them as endearing as one might prefer. No, she doesn’t love all her new customers, but she certainly didn’t intend for one of them to be poisoned by a bad batch of mushrooms. The outlook is dire for both Susan and the Blue Moon . . . until Inspector Henry Tibbett steps in. He and Emmy just want a spot of lunch, but they are, as ever, willing to take on more than they had bargained for, in this compelling British mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 1993

About the author

Moyes was born in Dublin on 19 January 1923 and was educated at Overstone girls' school in Northampton. She joined the WAAF in 1939. In 1946 Peter Ustinov hired her as technical assistant on his film School for Secrets. She became his personal assistant for the next eight years. In 1960 she wrote the screenplay for the film School for Scoundrels starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Alastair Sim. She married photographer John Moyes in 1951; they divorced in 1959. She later married James Haszard, a linguist at the International Monetary Fund in The Hague. She died at her home on the island of Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands) on 2 August 2000.

Her mystery novels feature C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, Who Saw Her Die (Many Deadly Returns in the US) was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1971. She also wrote several juveniles and short stories.

Series:
* Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

”When I left school with quite acceptable O levels, but with no thought of even attempting any A’s, my parents predictably suggested a secretarial training. However, I strongly objected. I hated offices and all that goes with them. I like living in the country, and the only thing I was ever really good at was cooking.” p. 3

Susan Gardiner is an ordinary young woman who is contacted about a legacy from an uncle she barely remembers. Does this sound like a familiar plot? When I was in high school, many of the books I read began with a similar stratagem. At that point in time they were gothic romances by Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Now I have read a mystery that started out that way and I enjoyed it immensely.

The story is not quite a cozy mystery, but it was not too violent. The characters, except for the villains, all behaved with perfect British aplomb, or at least my expectation of that style.

I thought I had read Patricia Moyes before, but I was conflating her with Dorothy Simpson and Elizabeth Lemarchand. All three women wrote mysteries set in the British Isles with one main protagonist and many different mysteries. I have picked up books by all of them over the years and enjoyed entering their worlds.

I suspect that none of these women wrote to change anyone’s life. Maybe they needed the money or just liked to write. Since I am not British and know little about that country, I have taken their words and made a British mystery environment that probably none of these wonderful women ever expected. I enjoy my visits to this country and hope to return again soon.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though it was pretty clear from the beginning who was behind several murders, the how and why seemed impossible so one did keep guessing how so many seemingly unrelated events were connected. I enjoyed the voice of the narrator so rounded my 3.5 stars up to 4.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many of the modern "cozy" series are somewhat formulaic and predictable. That is not true of Moyes' series. There are some characters who re-appear every now and then, such as the Manciples who make almost a cameo in this one. A few locations are revisited, such as the fictitious Tampica and British Seawards). And she usually makes a dig at mystery books: In this one, on p 96 Henry replies to someone: "Of course. I understand. It's only in works of fiction that people have curiously vivid memories stretching back over years."

But the plot in each one seems fairly unique, and I think that's why I keep reading them! One off-putting aspect in this book is the first person narrator. But despite that, I enjoyed it.

possible spoiler: Just realized this is another case of fiancé tries to kill woman, or somehow mooch off her. Also happens in Murder Fantastical, and maybe another?

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspected all along, but I was still disappointed on Susan's behalf.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A romance/cozy/mystery, and quite enjoyable. I gloss over how you add at the last minute amanita mushrooms to a sauce without having it be obvious they weren't cooked as part of the sauce--and if they were precooked (in a busy kitchen) wouldn't they have a detectable odor if they were so poisonous? The murder method is a bit fuzzy for my taste. There other little details like this, such as how the main character, Susan Gardiner, and Derek the Detective get to know each other well enough to commit to marriage at the end--it does seem rather sudden, especially since her present husband has just tried to murder her and she has only just instituted divorce proceedings. And if I were Henry Tibbett, I would have arrested a whole bunch of other characters responsible for their collusions in various crimes than he did. Despite all this, I did enjoy the book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When her reclusive great-uncle dies, Susan Gardiner learns that he's left the bulk of his estate to her hitherto unknown cousin James--but he's left Susan a derelict pub in the East Anglian countryside. James suggests she sell, not knowing that Susan has been trained as a hotelier and loves living in the country. Soon the remodeled Blue Moon is a success--until a patron dies after eating a poison mushroom. Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy come to investigate, with Henry's favorite assistant, Derek Reynolds, along to help. The criminal seems apparent, at first, until there's a second death.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read in this series. It was a quick read with likeable characters.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan Gardiner inherits an old inn from her great uncle, and decides to turn it into a smart restaurant. But her troubles begin when one of her customers dies from eating poisonous mushrooms,and it seems it wasn’t an accident. . Naturally Henry Tibbett is called in to investigate.
This was a moderately entertaining mystery, though I didn’t find either murderer or motive difficult to guess, and there were no very memorable characters. Not one of the best in the series.

[John Mccullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

For various reasons not able to read a book in 6 weeks, I wanted an easy return to a practice I very much enjoy. This book was a good choice. My copy was remaindered, then bought by me in a charity store for a dollar and worth it. This is a regular small English village mystery about murder featuring Patricia Moyes' famous character, Inspector Henry Tibbet and his wife Emmy. Susan Gardiner has inherited an Inn from her great-uncle Sebastian Gardiner, a recluse living in a large run-down London home. She visits the Inn, situated in a small village not far from London, The Blue Moon. The inn is even more run down than the old house but Susan, having received first class training in hotel and restaurant management, decides to resurrect it and run it as an upscale restaurant, which she does with the help f her second cousin, James. Then someone dies of eating a poison mushroom which grows in the area and the chase is on for the killer. A pleasant little English murder drama as told by Susan herself. It is an easy read with lots of plot twists as one would hope for. I enjoyed it as an example of the genre. And a good story only partly predictable.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a different approach from other books in the series I have read: the first person pov from a possible suspect, the owner of the pub where the murders occur. I liked Susan and her efforts to make it on her own in spite of a lot of obstacles.

However, I didn't feel the mystery itself came off as well as when it is told in the previous books' narrative. I guessed fairly quickly who the culprit was though there were details I didn't figure out.

One possible spoilerish thing.
I didn't understand why the someone hid something where he did. It really made no sense to put it there.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Gardiner unexpectedly inherits an old country in not far from London, and a distant cousin. She opens a boutique restaurant in the property that attracts a couple unfortunate accidents. Interesting mystery for food lovers.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrator/heroine seemed too gullible for a successful businesswoman, but otherwise this was a pleasant English mystery with charm, interesting plot twists, and old-favorite characters (Henry and Emmy Tibbett).

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another vacation house book that was perfect for a lazy day on the beach. The who was pretty transparent, but the how was interesting. I did keep wondering why the drive was through bucolic countryside while early on the inn was described as being in an area undergoing industrialization.

[Teri Koll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too simplistic. I guessed the killer during the first half of the book. Not intriguing, but an easy read it you're pressed for time.

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read at all. Very quick. Mom and I liked how smart everyone was, but found it hard it startling how abruptly everything wrapped up.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly satisfying conclusion to the long-running Henry Tibbett series

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this. Quick pace, first person narrative. Some minor issues -- uncooked mushrooms in sauce would have been noticeable, why did a blackmailer bury the evidence in the inn?

[Nick Baam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well-written and entertaining little book -- but my God, has there ever been a more obvious culprit? If you've read one Agatha Christie, you know whodunit.

[Alison L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. Patricia Moyes is a breath of fresh air, much like Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie.

[Calum Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

C

[Fada Chaconas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total surprise

Suspenseful and engaging, with lots of interesting characters. I found I could not put the book down! Then the shocking ending! Delightful.

[Marissa Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was this super predictable? Yup.
Was this like an episode of Midsomer Murders? Uh huh.
Was it really enjoyable and a great way to spend three hours of my life? Absolutely.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, Patricia Moyes...always the RX for frazzled reading doldrums! Her books are solid, comforting standard British Police Procedurals, with a big dose of Cozy thrown in for charm.
This particular book is about two distant cousins who are strangers but both heirs to a great-uncle's estate, who meet over the reading of his will and discover a great interest in each other. The female half inherits a broken-down inn called "The Blue Moon." It is perfect for her to refurbish as an upscale restaurant, using her skills as a hotel/catering management graduate. It is a great success until a dinner guest dies from ingesting poison mushrooms. The mystery is on, now involving an old murder as well as another new one. Suspects abound from the nasty owner of a rival establishment, to an unsavory faux foreign waiter. Chief Inspector Henry Tibbet is on hand, but acts much more like an old friend of the family than a Scotland Yard upper police officer!
It was disappointing that the murderer was so easily figured out; I kept waiting for a surprise element which never developed.
Still, it soothed my jaded reading sensibilities. Patricia Moyes is pretty much my go-to fix for reading indigestion!

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy, mild but very readable. Plucky young woman, somewhat clueless romantically, starts a restaurant in a derelict inn on the river, but encounters dark secrets from the past, colored by a long ago mysterious death. The inspector Henry Tibbets and his wife, Emma, are dears.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twice in a Blue Moon by Patricia Moyes is the final book of the Inspector Henry Tibbett mystery series set in late-20th-century England. Unlike most of the series, this story is told from the point of view of a young woman who inherits a run-down inn from a great-uncle. Everyone expects Susan to dump the wreck, most of all her cousin James, but she sees the location's charm, and jumps at the chance to apply her hotel and restaurant management training. She restores and renovates, and soon has a great business serving wonderful gourmet dinners. Then a customer dies at dinner, and it's murder. In addition to his detective Derek Reynolds, Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett brings his wife Emmy along to investigate, because their good friends the Manciples live nearby. Emmy assists Henry in the case by learning about a past scandal involving the great-uncle, his wife, and others who are still in the area. Henry repeatedly warns Susan to be careful, which very broadly hints at the culprit. The Epilogue is a surprise.

[Sparrow .]

I’m always searching for books that are well-written enough that they’re not painful but not SO well-written that I must compulsively reread every sentence six times. Let’s dip into this book at random:

“Silly woman fell in, trying to rescue a cat, or some such idiocy. Serve her right.” This from the Bishop.

As you can tell from the clipped sentences, odd syntax and misogyny, Moyes is English. Which means she has characters with names like “Isobel,” which is a pleasure in itself.

At this point, every detective novel combines previous genres. This one is a “British procedural” plus “cuisine porn,” with a nod towards the “crossword puzzle” type. Oh yes, it’s also a romance! The hero, an inspector – I forget his name – seems to have no personality, but he does have a wife, who travels with him everywhere, which makes him unique – as far as I know – and is sweet. The villain becomes fairly obvious, at least 10 pages from the end. (I’m not complaining.)

[MaryJo Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've much enjoyed Moyes Inspector Tibbets mysteries so decided to re-read this one, which I couldn't remember very well.
It was a disappointment. The balance between descriptions of characters and character development with the plot itself was not there. The main character came across as a cold fish, with little emotional response the tragedies that had hit her recently - not to mention being orphaned.
It left me cold when the inconvenience of family ties was once again swept aside by the usual auto or plane crash, and every body happens to be an only child.
Then there is the eccentric old uncle... how often is that used?
All of that spoiled my enjoyment of this story.

[Scott Bischke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book to read while backpacking. It includes some plucky English types involved as hero/ine and villain and interesting interplay between locations in rural and urban England. My complaint is that Moyes reveals the mystery right at the end with a piece of information that we could not have known, thus sort of destroying the joy I get trying to puzzle out the "who-done-it".

[Lelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Patricia Moyes fan, you'll like this one, I think. It's told from the first-person point of view of Susan Gardener, whose restaurant is serving the occasional deadly dinner to patrons.
It's fun to get an outsider's view of Henry Tibbett, Emmy and Derek Reynolds, but the reader does end up a bit removed from the actual sleuthing. Nevertheless it's a fun read.