What do you think?
Rate this book
The Felse Investigations #3, 12, & a non-series novel
The Detective Omnibus: City of Gold and Shadows / Flight of a Witch / Funeral of Figaro
This omnibus contains: "City of Gold and Shadows", DCI Felse has to solve a puzzle whose roots are in ancient Rome; "Flight of a Witch", Annet Beck disappears for five days, but swears she's been away two hours; and "Funeral of Figaro", a murder causes DI Musgrave to delve into the past for clues.
- GenresMystery
474 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 1992
40 people want to read
About the author
Ellis Peters
207 books1,146 followersA pseudonym used by Edith Pargeter.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. Born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), she had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) were set in Wales and its borderlands.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service, and received the British Empire Medal - BEM.
Pargeter wrote under a number of pseudonyms; it was under the name Ellis Peters that she wrote the highly popular series of Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries, many of which were made into films for television.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 20, 2018
Have only ever read the Brother Cadfael stories by Ellis Peters until now. Really enjoyed this omnibus of detective stories.
The first story involved an archaeological dig on a Roman site. Several finds were missing, believed stolen then sold. Then there was the problem of the missing famous archaelogist, great uncle to a very tenacious young woman called Charlotte. She tries to find Uncle Alan when his solicitor has heard nothing from him for over a year, which is a previously unheard of occurence. Alan Morris' latest book is also his least enthusiastic for his subject, another unusual occurence. Charlotte and an undercover policeman investigate, and they find the truth about the book, along with the missing archaeologist, after a series of twists, turns and 'accidents'. The criminal is never who you think it is, despite the clues in the text.
The second story involves local myths and legends of witches. Annet disappears for five days and, on her return home, swears blind she's only been gone for a few hours. During the time of her disappearance, a Birmingham jeweller is murdered and robbed, the stolen items being hidden in a local area close to Annet's house, where witches are supposed to appear. George Felse, the lead investigating detective, links both events together and eventually discovers the truth of Annet's disappearance and who her supposed accomplice is. Again, there are several plausible suspects, all with good reasons to commit crimes for Annet, but the real perpetrator, for me, was again totally unexpected.
The third novel centres around a Mozart opera, Figaro. The baritone who sings Figaro is killed in plain sight on stage during a performance. DI Musgrave, an Ellis Peters classical music buff (similar to Colin Dexter's Endeavour Morse) investigates. The operatic company is run by a man who led a rather interesting life during the second world war, along with various cohorts he acquired along the way. Set against the backdrop of some beautiful music (I love Mozart myself), the murderer is uncovered at the very end of the book, just when the reader believes it to be somebody else.
Ellis Peters is a brilliant storyteller, whether she tells of Brother Cadfael during the twelfth century at the time of the war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, or telling more modern tales.
The first story involved an archaeological dig on a Roman site. Several finds were missing, believed stolen then sold. Then there was the problem of the missing famous archaelogist, great uncle to a very tenacious young woman called Charlotte. She tries to find Uncle Alan when his solicitor has heard nothing from him for over a year, which is a previously unheard of occurence. Alan Morris' latest book is also his least enthusiastic for his subject, another unusual occurence. Charlotte and an undercover policeman investigate, and they find the truth about the book, along with the missing archaeologist, after a series of twists, turns and 'accidents'. The criminal is never who you think it is, despite the clues in the text.
The second story involves local myths and legends of witches. Annet disappears for five days and, on her return home, swears blind she's only been gone for a few hours. During the time of her disappearance, a Birmingham jeweller is murdered and robbed, the stolen items being hidden in a local area close to Annet's house, where witches are supposed to appear. George Felse, the lead investigating detective, links both events together and eventually discovers the truth of Annet's disappearance and who her supposed accomplice is. Again, there are several plausible suspects, all with good reasons to commit crimes for Annet, but the real perpetrator, for me, was again totally unexpected.
The third novel centres around a Mozart opera, Figaro. The baritone who sings Figaro is killed in plain sight on stage during a performance. DI Musgrave, an Ellis Peters classical music buff (similar to Colin Dexter's Endeavour Morse) investigates. The operatic company is run by a man who led a rather interesting life during the second world war, along with various cohorts he acquired along the way. Set against the backdrop of some beautiful music (I love Mozart myself), the murderer is uncovered at the very end of the book, just when the reader believes it to be somebody else.
Ellis Peters is a brilliant storyteller, whether she tells of Brother Cadfael during the twelfth century at the time of the war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, or telling more modern tales.
September 25, 2011
Three novels, two with Felse and one with Musgrave. All from the 60s or early 70s and quite dated at this point. One is set around a Roman archeological site, another is set in the same region but with a young girl who vanishes for 3 days around the time of a murder. The last takes place in a small opera company where one of the singers is killed onstage. The mysteries are well crafted - but the characters are dated and their motives hard to empathize with at this point 50 years or so after they were written.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews