Question of Identity

Inspector Rudd #5

by June Thomson

Par un bel après-midi d'été, .des archéologues sont à la recherche de vestiges saxons. Mais ils découvrent quelque chose de plus sinistre : un cadavre qui, lui, ne remonte certes pas à l’époque des Saxons.L'identité de l'homme est inconnu, mais il semble qu'il pourrait s'agir d'un jeune fermier disparu quelques années plus tôt en abandonnant sa femme.L'inspecteur Finch aura bien du mal à résoudre l'énigme.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

June Thomson, a former teacher, has published 24 crime novels, 18 of which feature Detective Chief Inspector Jack Finch and his sergeant, Tom Boyce. She has also written six short story collections of Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Her books have been translated into many languages. She lives in St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Reviews

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

1977, #5 Inspector Rudd, truculent farmers and dead bodies, rural England; polite police procedural with a kicker of an ending

A body in a farmer’s back field isn’t at all what it first seems to be, as Rudd works through many false leads to find not only the identity of the dead man, but the reasons behind the death. Tidy police procedure mixed with interesting, if extremely low-key, characterizations of villiage folks and rural types, with a nicely dark streak running through. Well-presented police work mixed with a plot that keeps you guessing, more than makes up for the extremely slow, almost reflective pace; the ending is rather thrilling, with the “question of identity” kept nicely out of sight almost to the end.

Recommended for those who enjoy village cosies and classic English procedurals - well done, not sweet. An improvement on her usual competent but somehow more drab earlier books, this one has a heart to it in the dark characterizations and the convoluted plotting. Desperation simply oozes out of the final scenes. Very good stuff.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The archaeological society thought they were prepared for any remains they might find when digging in George Stebbings's back field. Of course, they expected those remains to be at least two centuries old rather than a mere two years, so they're a bit surprised and dismayed when their efforts reveal the moldering fragments of a boot and what is left of the foot within. When they realized they had a much more recent corpse on their hands, they called in Inspector Rudd (originally Finch in Great Britain) to handle the case.

Rudd has a lot of questions as he begins the investigation. Not the least of which is who is this man? There is nothing in the shallow grave to identify the man, his fingerprints have disappeared from what's left of his fingers, he had false teeth (missing), so there are no dental records to trace. The only thing found near him is a silver-plated crucifix. And why was the man laid out as if someone had taken great care over the ceremony of his burial? Rudd also wonders about the burial site itself. It's quite a distance from both Stebbing's home and that of his nearest neighbor, Geoff Lovell as well as being well away from the road. Whoever killed the man and buried him would have had to tote the body a fair ways from any likely spot.

As Rudd and his assistant Sergeant Boyce start asking questions they find a likely candidate for the corpse. But finding enough evidence to prove their victim's identity positively winds up being trickier than they thought. It all ends with a dramatic show-down at the home of one of the farmers. But will Rudd be in time to prevent any more murders?

This is a very atmospheric piece by June Thomson. From the beginning, Rudd senses the desperation and tragedy surrounding the players in the drama. He isn't able to put all the pieces together until it is almost too late, but the clues are there for those who can pick them up. Desperation is the moving force behind the murder and the reactions of those Rudd questions. Finding the reason for the emotion unlocks the puzzle for him. A Question of Identity is another very good police procedural from Thomson with Rudd featured as an insightful detective attuned to the psychology of both murderer and witnesses. ★★★ and a half.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well-written book, which I read a while ago and seem to have neglected to rate here. Good enough to re-read parts of it.