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Mrs. Malory Mysteries #1
Gone Away
Everyone knows that impertinent Lee Montgomery is marrying Charles Richardson for his money. After Lee vanishes, Charles’ friends breathe a sigh of relief. But Charles loves his pretty fiancée and is determined to get her back. He enlists the talents of Mrs. Sheila Malory, whose pastimes include reading nineteenth-century novels and ferreting out the truth. Mrs. Malory, a reluctant amateur detective, is soon convinced that Lee has been the victim of foul play. The residents of the sleepy seaside village of Taviscombe, England, are about to discover just how difficult it is to keep their terrible secrets with Mrs. Malory on the case. Gone Away is the first of Hazel Holt’s Mrs. Malory mysteries.
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 1989
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1043 people want to read
About the author
Hazel Holt
36 books72 followersHazel Holt is a British novelist. She studied at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, and then Newnham College, Cambridge. She went on to work at the International African Institute in London, where she became acquainted with the novelist Barbara Pym, whose biography she later wrote. She also finished one of Pym's novels after Pym died.
Holt wrote her first novel in her sixties, and is a leading crime novelist. She is best known for her "Sheila Malory" series. Her son is the novelist Tom Holt.
Holt wrote her first novel in her sixties, and is a leading crime novelist. She is best known for her "Sheila Malory" series. Her son is the novelist Tom Holt.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
February 16, 2013
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Book Description: The first book in the delightful British cozy mystery series featuring Mrs. Sheila Malory, a plain-spoken widow residing in the little seaside town of Taviscombe, England. When pretty but avaricious Lee Montgomery disappears, her fiancé Charles Richardson (an old flame of Mrs. M's) enlists Mrs. Malory's help. The dauntless Mrs. Malory soon suspects the worst. Little does she realize the terrible secrets her investigation will reveal....
Or this superior jacket copy from the UK reprint of the book: Everyone knows that impertinent Lee Montgomery is marrying Charles Richardson for his money. After Lee vanishes, Charles' friends breathe a sigh of relief. But Charles loves his pretty fiancée and is determined to get her back. He enlists the talents of Mrs. Sheila Malory, whose pastimes include reading nineteenth-century novels and ferreting out the truth. Mrs. Malory, a reluctant amateur detective, is soon convinced that Lee has been the victim of foul play. The residents of the sleepy seaside village of Taviscombe, England, are about to discover just how difficult it is to keep their terrible secrets with Mrs. Malory on the case.
My Review: This is a very good debut mystery, and a pleasure to read. Imperfect, of course, in that it feels a bit rushed, and some characterizations get slighted, but better that than the Dreaded Book Bloat that seems to afflict so many writers in the 21st century. "Why use one word for gore when fifty-six will do? Oh, split them between gore and sex? Naaah, sixty-eight words about sex. Emotions? Not unless it's a woman pining for/plotting revenge on an abusive man!"
*snore*
So here is Mrs. Malory, a widowed Marple-esque unthreatening Everylady of A Certain Age ("fifty-four, if I'm honest," she says charmingly) owned by a Siamese named Foff and a Westy named Tris, mother of an Oxford student, and lifelong resident of a seaside village that's so much like Jessica Fletcher's Cabot's Cove, Maine, that I raised my eyebrows into my hairline. As this now resides east of my ears, this is no mean feat.
I love moments in the book such as her reunion with her girlhood crush-object, her older brother's boarding school chum. Holt writes a short vignette of Mrs. M's girlish moment of Rapture as this older, handsome god grabs her for the final dance at the Hunt Ball, a memory she has while sitting in a tatty but clean cottage lounge across from the sixty-year-old wreckage of that beautiful boy. It is so moving, and so very much the way a person of this vintage feels and thinks (well, *I* do and so do most of my friends), and says volumes about the sleuth and the course of the series.
Imagine a mystery series set in Barestshire, written by Angela Thirkell's granddaughter, and there you have the affect of the series. Its effect on me was to cause me to reserve the next three books.
The Book Description: The first book in the delightful British cozy mystery series featuring Mrs. Sheila Malory, a plain-spoken widow residing in the little seaside town of Taviscombe, England. When pretty but avaricious Lee Montgomery disappears, her fiancé Charles Richardson (an old flame of Mrs. M's) enlists Mrs. Malory's help. The dauntless Mrs. Malory soon suspects the worst. Little does she realize the terrible secrets her investigation will reveal....
Or this superior jacket copy from the UK reprint of the book: Everyone knows that impertinent Lee Montgomery is marrying Charles Richardson for his money. After Lee vanishes, Charles' friends breathe a sigh of relief. But Charles loves his pretty fiancée and is determined to get her back. He enlists the talents of Mrs. Sheila Malory, whose pastimes include reading nineteenth-century novels and ferreting out the truth. Mrs. Malory, a reluctant amateur detective, is soon convinced that Lee has been the victim of foul play. The residents of the sleepy seaside village of Taviscombe, England, are about to discover just how difficult it is to keep their terrible secrets with Mrs. Malory on the case.
My Review: This is a very good debut mystery, and a pleasure to read. Imperfect, of course, in that it feels a bit rushed, and some characterizations get slighted, but better that than the Dreaded Book Bloat that seems to afflict so many writers in the 21st century. "Why use one word for gore when fifty-six will do? Oh, split them between gore and sex? Naaah, sixty-eight words about sex. Emotions? Not unless it's a woman pining for/plotting revenge on an abusive man!"
*snore*
So here is Mrs. Malory, a widowed Marple-esque unthreatening Everylady of A Certain Age ("fifty-four, if I'm honest," she says charmingly) owned by a Siamese named Foff and a Westy named Tris, mother of an Oxford student, and lifelong resident of a seaside village that's so much like Jessica Fletcher's Cabot's Cove, Maine, that I raised my eyebrows into my hairline. As this now resides east of my ears, this is no mean feat.
I love moments in the book such as her reunion with her girlhood crush-object, her older brother's boarding school chum. Holt writes a short vignette of Mrs. M's girlish moment of Rapture as this older, handsome god grabs her for the final dance at the Hunt Ball, a memory she has while sitting in a tatty but clean cottage lounge across from the sixty-year-old wreckage of that beautiful boy. It is so moving, and so very much the way a person of this vintage feels and thinks (well, *I* do and so do most of my friends), and says volumes about the sleuth and the course of the series.
Imagine a mystery series set in Barestshire, written by Angela Thirkell's granddaughter, and there you have the affect of the series. Its effect on me was to cause me to reserve the next three books.
May 24, 2017
This was an intriguing mystery, a very cozy "cozy" really. I liked Mrs. Malory, a widow for two years but still going through the grieving process, who keeps busy with life in her small town and just a bit on the busybody side! Will probably check out the second book in the series.
September 26, 2022
Taviscombe, West Country, England. 1989. Hazel Holt’s Mrs. Malory Investigates is the first book in this series. Mrs. Malory, a widow who has a son at Oxford, keeps herself busy with what her son calls
“My Work”, writes literary criticism of Victorian works, volunteers at various places, and joins friends for tea. Although this is a short read, I found myself putting the book down much more than I should. The writing/plot appeared choppy to me and did not truly keep my attention. Mrs. Malory has a close English friend who is working in America. She receives a call at the end of January from this friend, Charles, who had been back to Taviscombe to sell his late mother’s house, but he had returned to The States. In his call Charles asks Mrs Malory to locate his missing fiancée. She agrees, but the choppiness of the writing made this story confusing. At the end I was not sure exactly what the suspect was going to do. No pun intended, but this is definitely not my ‘cup of tea’. 3 stars.
“My Work”, writes literary criticism of Victorian works, volunteers at various places, and joins friends for tea. Although this is a short read, I found myself putting the book down much more than I should. The writing/plot appeared choppy to me and did not truly keep my attention. Mrs. Malory has a close English friend who is working in America. She receives a call at the end of January from this friend, Charles, who had been back to Taviscombe to sell his late mother’s house, but he had returned to The States. In his call Charles asks Mrs Malory to locate his missing fiancée. She agrees, but the choppiness of the writing made this story confusing. At the end I was not sure exactly what the suspect was going to do. No pun intended, but this is definitely not my ‘cup of tea’. 3 stars.
December 17, 2013
Oh, what a treat! A tidbit read, quick and easy, but quite satisfying in humor and in plot. Sheila is superb, because she is as real as she is entertaining. And I will remedy missing this series when it was written by reading them all 20 years after the fact. Different country, but the exact same small town "meet up" factors and multiple connection relationships within my lake village Michigan, USA. And they dish and know habits in precisely the same way, as well. In this first book the awful, but successful, husband stealer seems to get her just desserts. Thanks to GR friends for finding this series for me!
September 10, 2022
Most series in our home library begin with discount volumes. After obtaining the first, I usually complete our collections. If it is weak, like this novel, I try the sequel and stop, or am pleasantly surprised. A pretty Siamese graces both versions of “Gone Away” and alternate title, “Mrs. Malory Investigates”. Our 22 year-old Siamese sweetheart lived until March this year. I chose this soothing water view a few years ago. At first, I enjoyed the fresh voice of author, Hazel Holt. She cared about animal rights even if she did not go as far as refusing meat. Pets and horses made nice backgrounds. The fictional Sheila Malory seemed kind.
She angered me however, for disrespecting a grown Son. Even tiny children connect with items personally in ways we can’t know. I would remove nothing without consulting them. Dumping an adult’s collection on a pretext of surprising him with new paint, was rude. He should choose the paint too, in that rare case. An interesting mystery dropped to two stars. Here are some examples that spoil no plots. I felt like questionnaire bullets formulated Hazel’s story with heavy-handed stereotypes.
Sheila happened to drive somewhere readers know will become pivotal. She was not fallible. Whomever she loathed was overtly evil. A second unlikeable culprit actually explained their shortcomings psychologically to readers and re-homed their animals, to turn themselves in. 1930s Stratemeyer villains were contrite at the eleventh hour! Hazel added the nonsense of people choking on their attractions. Boohoo! Is anyone bolder about committing crimes, than flirting?
There was a chauvinistic line about finding clues because “men don’t clean properly”. I groaned that these biddies actually “nodded sagely”! This is a 1989 novel! I will see if the sequel heralds in an improvement, solely because I have the next mystery already.
She angered me however, for disrespecting a grown Son. Even tiny children connect with items personally in ways we can’t know. I would remove nothing without consulting them. Dumping an adult’s collection on a pretext of surprising him with new paint, was rude. He should choose the paint too, in that rare case. An interesting mystery dropped to two stars. Here are some examples that spoil no plots. I felt like questionnaire bullets formulated Hazel’s story with heavy-handed stereotypes.
Sheila happened to drive somewhere readers know will become pivotal. She was not fallible. Whomever she loathed was overtly evil. A second unlikeable culprit actually explained their shortcomings psychologically to readers and re-homed their animals, to turn themselves in. 1930s Stratemeyer villains were contrite at the eleventh hour! Hazel added the nonsense of people choking on their attractions. Boohoo! Is anyone bolder about committing crimes, than flirting?
There was a chauvinistic line about finding clues because “men don’t clean properly”. I groaned that these biddies actually “nodded sagely”! This is a 1989 novel! I will see if the sequel heralds in an improvement, solely because I have the next mystery already.
March 30, 2013
Mrs. Sheila Malory is a literary middle-aged widow who putters between charities, neighbors, chores and pets, and who finds herself suddenly involved in a search for a missing person that becomes murder. This small English village drama escapes being too Miss Marple; not only is Sheila Malory younger, but she also has a much more hopeful and warm-hearted approach to people than Miss Marple does, who is famously known for thinking the worst of everyone. Mrs. Malory reminds me more of the characters from the tv show Rosemary & Thyme, with her eagerness and sensitivity, not wanting anyone to be hurt by accusations during the investigation. Holt also has a great sense of visual detail of characters' small actions, perhaps from her background in television. There were so many great wordless 'beats' that feel oh, so British - like exactly when Mrs. Malory takes a biscuit in one conversation over tea, to indicate her approval of the hostess's well-behaved children. Even when characters are lightly sketched, none are cartoonish, and all have a mix of murky and redeeming features. There are several believable suspects - the whodunit isn't too easy. Altogether Holt's first Mrs. Malory Mystery is delightfully understated, subtly questions how well neighbors truly know one another, and leaves you wistful rather than triumphant.
May 22, 2017
I'd previously read later books in this series so it was good to finally read the first one and see how it all began.
I like the main character, Sheila Malory, as she's not shy of asking questions and getting involved and she is genuinely interested in all the people she meets along the way.
I like the main character, Sheila Malory, as she's not shy of asking questions and getting involved and she is genuinely interested in all the people she meets along the way.
June 13, 2013
First published as Mrs. Malory Investigates in 1989, Gone Away follows the investigation into the death of a gold-digging real-estate agent (“estate agent” in BritSpeak) who goes missing. The investigator, Sheila Malory, a retired widow, doesn’t even really like the shallow Lee Montgomery, who freely admits that her interest in her fiancé, Sheila’s friend Charles Richardson, centers on his money and his capacity to help her real-estate firm with his business acumen. (Charles, for his part, seems besotted with the woman, and he’s even planning on quitting his job in America with a multinational petrochemical company to come home and marry Lee.) But, despite her reservations about the betrothal, Sheila looks into the sudden disappearance because Charles has become quite worried about his fiancée, who has disappeared without a word to anyone — not even her office staff.
The first three chapters meander some, but the action picks up with Chapter 4. Who was blonde, beautiful, showy, self-absorbed Lee Montgomery really? Needless to say, Sheila Malory will find out quite a few unflattering secrets about the grasping woman — and about some of her friends, too. While Sheila’s preternaturally curious — what amateur detective is not? — she’s a good-hearted soul who devotes herself to mourning her late husband, now dead two years, and the good works that help her to cope in her bereavement. She’s a protagonist you can’t help but like. While I wasn’t that enthusiastic about Gone Away at the beginning, it grew on me — just like Mrs. Malory herself.
Sheila’s village lies on the Bristol Channel, and the stormy sea in winter becomes almost a character in this unexceptional British cozy. The descriptions of the Bristol Channel and of the seaside in the off season ranks as some of the best bits of the book. Author Hazel Holt’s no Agatha Christie — the dialogue sometimes sounds wooden and the secondary characters tend to be either flat or stereotypical stock characters — but Gone Away provides a decent enough cozy and the ending proves to be quite good. I’ll be sure to get around to the sequel, The Cruellest Month, this summer.
The first three chapters meander some, but the action picks up with Chapter 4. Who was blonde, beautiful, showy, self-absorbed Lee Montgomery really? Needless to say, Sheila Malory will find out quite a few unflattering secrets about the grasping woman — and about some of her friends, too. While Sheila’s preternaturally curious — what amateur detective is not? — she’s a good-hearted soul who devotes herself to mourning her late husband, now dead two years, and the good works that help her to cope in her bereavement. She’s a protagonist you can’t help but like. While I wasn’t that enthusiastic about Gone Away at the beginning, it grew on me — just like Mrs. Malory herself.
Sheila’s village lies on the Bristol Channel, and the stormy sea in winter becomes almost a character in this unexceptional British cozy. The descriptions of the Bristol Channel and of the seaside in the off season ranks as some of the best bits of the book. Author Hazel Holt’s no Agatha Christie — the dialogue sometimes sounds wooden and the secondary characters tend to be either flat or stereotypical stock characters — but Gone Away provides a decent enough cozy and the ending proves to be quite good. I’ll be sure to get around to the sequel, The Cruellest Month, this summer.
September 27, 2018
Very sad ending. Another great Ms. Malory mystery - this one had a classic movie type feel to it. An old friend of Sheila’s childhood and town popularity intends to marry and his fiancé winds up missing then dead. Secrets of her life emerge as the killer is revealed.
August 30, 2022
A very enjoyable and intelligent mystery. May be listed as Mrs. Malory Investigates or Gone Away (Mrs. Malory Mystery #1), this is the first book in the series. Definitely recommended to anyone that enjoys British village mysteries like Agatha Raisin.
September 16, 2012
This is the first in the Mrs. Mallory mystery series. It was originally title Mrs. Mallory Investigates. Overall, this was a good mystery, though I hated the ending. It was beyond sad and a little depressing, at least to me. This is the first time I’ve read a cozy mystery where I actually wanted the killer to be someone else.
Having said that, the reason for the murder also didn’t really make sense. To me, it kind of came out of nowhere. And, it didn’t really ring as a motive for murder to me. I might have been okay with the killer if the reason had been a little different, which was what was hinted at until the “reveal.”
I did like Sheila Mallory. I liked that she was a retired academic. I liked her pets. She seemed to have a nice little life going and didn’t really investigate. She came across information just interacting with people. Which she didn’t share with the police because she didn’t think it was her place to. I’m still not sure what I think of that.
While I enjoyed the mystery and liked Mrs. Mallory, I didn’t really feel like I got to know any of the characters or the community. I did sort of figure out the killer, but not for the reason that I thought (as mentioned earlier, the true reason came out of the blue). Even though it was a good read, I don’t think I’ll be reading more in this series.
Having said that, the reason for the murder also didn’t really make sense. To me, it kind of came out of nowhere. And, it didn’t really ring as a motive for murder to me. I might have been okay with the killer if the reason had been a little different, which was what was hinted at until the “reveal.”
I did like Sheila Mallory. I liked that she was a retired academic. I liked her pets. She seemed to have a nice little life going and didn’t really investigate. She came across information just interacting with people. Which she didn’t share with the police because she didn’t think it was her place to. I’m still not sure what I think of that.
While I enjoyed the mystery and liked Mrs. Mallory, I didn’t really feel like I got to know any of the characters or the community. I did sort of figure out the killer, but not for the reason that I thought (as mentioned earlier, the true reason came out of the blue). Even though it was a good read, I don’t think I’ll be reading more in this series.
April 7, 2024
This is my first Mrs. Malory and my first Hazel Holt.
Guess what? I am now a huge fan of both!
What a fabulous start to what I hope will be a most enjoyable cozy mystery series.
I adore a great cozy mystery and this one is exactly what I feel a cozy mystery should be. Mrs. Malory is younger than most of the amateur detectives I usually read about and that was actually a lovely change.
I look forward to the next in this British whodunit series!!
Guess what? I am now a huge fan of both!
What a fabulous start to what I hope will be a most enjoyable cozy mystery series.
I adore a great cozy mystery and this one is exactly what I feel a cozy mystery should be. Mrs. Malory is younger than most of the amateur detectives I usually read about and that was actually a lovely change.
I look forward to the next in this British whodunit series!!
July 30, 2012
I just love reading about Sheila Malory and her investigations in the small village of Taviscombe. A great 'cozy" mystery series.
May 21, 2020
This is a new cozy mystery series for me. I really enjoy a middle-age sleuth and Sheila Malory did not disappoint.
September 30, 2020
There's a cat on the cover, and I think it's misleading. At least it's not pink, with teacups and food, the general indication that something's going to be exceptionally cosy. This is cosy, but in a straightforward, not especially violent way, rather than a twee, cloying way. It's what I like best: the middle path between hard-edged, "manly" mysteries, and dainty soft "feminine" mysteries. I just want gender neutral mysteries! (And if only this cover were lacking the cat, it would be perfect: it looks just sober enough).
Anyway, yes, I liked it. Quite a lot. I even (and it surprised me) got a bit emotional at the end. I thought the author did a superb job of rendering how people might feel/act/react after a murder (and if they were reacting oddly, it was noted). (I just finished a book where all the devastated beloved relatives of the victim would chuckle and laugh in response to various questions from the detective, urgh).
So well worth trying, especially if you prefer Goldilock's mystery books (not too this, but not too that. Just right). I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her before, since she's right up my alley, but better late than never.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
Anyway, yes, I liked it. Quite a lot. I even (and it surprised me) got a bit emotional at the end. I thought the author did a superb job of rendering how people might feel/act/react after a murder (and if they were reacting oddly, it was noted). (I just finished a book where all the devastated beloved relatives of the victim would chuckle and laugh in response to various questions from the detective, urgh).
So well worth trying, especially if you prefer Goldilock's mystery books (not too this, but not too that. Just right). I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her before, since she's right up my alley, but better late than never.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
August 2, 2020
2 1/2 stars
"I didn't feel somehow, that I could tell Inspector Dean about my find." - Gone Away
I dislike amateur detectives who will not share information with the police.
I found this to be only mildly interesting.
"I didn't feel somehow, that I could tell Inspector Dean about my find." - Gone Away
I dislike amateur detectives who will not share information with the police.
I found this to be only mildly interesting.
September 13, 2020
This is cozier than my usual fare--widow in a pleasant village who occupies her free time with a pleasant mix of solving murders, making marmelade, going out for lunch, and ferrying pensioners to their medical appointments--but it's better done than some and doesn't overdo the tweeness. Sheila Malory might make marmelade, but Holt doesn't pause the plot to give us the recipe. And although Sheila has a cat and a dog (two dogs, by the end), they don't help her solve the crime. So thank goodness for that.
October 4, 2018
What a find and over 20 more in the series. Hazel Holt was the editor for Barbara Pym and I sense ?Pym's influence in Mrs. Malory. Proper English widows. Charitable deeds. Solid story line.
August 12, 2018
"Gone Away" was truly a very gentle comfortable cozy mystery. However, the victim probably wouldn't agree. The U.S. title of this book is called "Mrs. Malory Investigates" Sheila Malory is a widow who lives in the village of Taviscombe, England. Her son Michael is away at Oxford. She receives a call from her childhood friend Charles who is living and working in the U.S.. His girlfriend Lee who he is going to marry seems to have disappeared. He asks Mrs. Malory to see if she can locate Lee. Mrs. Malory recently met Lee and did not care for her. The reader is taken on a journey with Mrs. Malory as she talks to her friends and residents of Taviscombe. She is the one who finds Lee who has been murdered. Mrs. Malory continues her investigation to find out who committed the crime.
As I read this book I thought "This is really a very cozy mystery." The readers see Mrs. Malory at home with her pets and making lunches and drinks. One sees her daily village life activities along with her investigation. She is a very likable person.
I knew who the murderer was but was surprised at the murderer's reason for killing Lee. The ending too was different than most mystery books. It was a fast cozy read and the style was different than many mystery books. Besides being a mystery writer, Hazel Holt is a very good story teller.
As I read this book I thought "This is really a very cozy mystery." The readers see Mrs. Malory at home with her pets and making lunches and drinks. One sees her daily village life activities along with her investigation. She is a very likable person.
I knew who the murderer was but was surprised at the murderer's reason for killing Lee. The ending too was different than most mystery books. It was a fast cozy read and the style was different than many mystery books. Besides being a mystery writer, Hazel Holt is a very good story teller.
November 10, 2012
Mrs. Malory is a younger version of Miss. Marple. Just a widower in a small, country town in England. She knows most of the folks in town ... and has a uniquely inquisitive mind able to connect the dots. I enjoyed the story. I still don't know why an African American man who has never been to England is so enamored by British detectives, spies and widowed busy-bodies with a penchant for solving crimes ... but, I'm going to continue to go for it. I suspect that I will read more of Hazel Holt's novels featuring Mrs. Malory again in the future!
October 20, 2011
Susan gave this one to me... GREAT choice, Susan! First in a group... lucy coincidence! Love the writing style (certainly the adverbs)... and Mrs. Malory HAS to be in first person, because she is you or she is ME! Have to admire her "confusion" and admitting all sorts of personal inadequacies. She ends up achieving her quest for knowledge most successfully. Yes, I cried, too, Mrs. Malory! Hint: I ordered a few more.
Not heavy, light as a well prepared scone!
Not heavy, light as a well prepared scone!
June 7, 2010
Thanks to my well-read and generous daughter-in-law, I now have privy to her entire Hazel Holt series starring Mrs. Malory, amateur sleuth extraordinaire. This is the 1st in the series and has our middle-aged matron helping a long-time friend discover who has murdered his intended. Another small English village succumbs to murderers and various other scoundrels. Is any place safe???
June 9, 2021
Another dumb woman story.
I am tired of reading about women going to places alone where in real life they would take someone with them. Or keeping information to themselves or confronting murderers. When this woman withholds info from the police I read the last chapter & am done with the stupidity.
I am tired of reading about women going to places alone where in real life they would take someone with them. Or keeping information to themselves or confronting murderers. When this woman withholds info from the police I read the last chapter & am done with the stupidity.
May 30, 2011
I had had Hazel Holt on my list of "to reads" for a long time and finally got around to it. I would have to give this a B and that is fine for the nights when I want a non-complex bit of reading. I am sure I will read more or her work.
June 22, 2016
This was simply a decent mystery though I had a niggling idea that I knew who did it--and I was right. There was nothing overwhelming about it--none of the characters immediately appealed to me or freaked me out or anything. I think I would maybe give it a B- or C+.
February 7, 2011
The main character is my age (with grown children) and I enjoyed her perspective and also the author's writing, but the ending was, for the most part, easy to figure out.
November 20, 2016
Yep, I've found a new mystery series. Perfect escape read, well written, not insipid. I became interested because the author was a friend and biographer of Barbara Pym.
June 15, 2024
I just checked – there are 21 Mrs.Malory mysteries … why there was even one is a mystery to me. Her son is a fantasy writer and it seems her first book – this one – was published when she was 61 and after her son got into print. Just hanging that out there.
It’s one of those books which you know, within the first paragraph or two, you are not going to enjoy and which you really should be consigning to the reject pile so you can do more entertaining and rewarding things … like the ironing.
It’s hideously bourgeois and terribly, terribly English. It’s a type of writing which hasn’t advanced since the 1920s/30s cosies (and I always think of them as ‘cosies’ not ‘cozies’, as designed to keep the pot warm at the vicar’s afternoon tea). There might be televisions now, and different types of car, and maybe even shorter skirts, but the attitudes and outlook could be hurled back a century or more with barely sketched characters trapped somewhere bland that time forgot.
They’re puzzles to be unravelled without frightening either the horses or the servants, trouble is they’re puzzles which involve the most simplistic of human psychology … there’s no depth or dramatic complexity to the villain, or the sleuth, or the also-rans who get caught up in the storyline, they’re just one dimensional, bland, lacking in depth.
So, what do we get? An ageing widow who will invest her cat and dog with more sophisticated psychology than any of the characters. We’ll get judgemental commentary on the working classes and criminal classes. There’s even a tacit celebration of foxhunting and horsey people. Oh, she’s really ticking all my boxes!
So some rich man working in the States for some multinational conglomerate gets involved in some financial and romantic relationship with a dodgy female estate agent (as if any estate agent isn’t dodgy enough to start with).
And we get a murder, and the widow turned sleuth enjoys a rich hand of coincidences being dealt her, including access to a pliable copper and forensic evidence which confirms on which day the victim died nearly a month ago … well, that’s convenient.
We’ll meet people who share an incestuously claustrophobic connection through the huntin’, shootin’ an’ fishin’ fraternity, good deeds and the bourgeois charity and WI circles, old chums from public school and Oxbridge, and association with the landed aristocracy.
Lo and behold, our widow will solve the crime. A lesson in obviously amateurish plot construction and absence of character construction. And there are 21 of these?
It’s one of those books which you know, within the first paragraph or two, you are not going to enjoy and which you really should be consigning to the reject pile so you can do more entertaining and rewarding things … like the ironing.
It’s hideously bourgeois and terribly, terribly English. It’s a type of writing which hasn’t advanced since the 1920s/30s cosies (and I always think of them as ‘cosies’ not ‘cozies’, as designed to keep the pot warm at the vicar’s afternoon tea). There might be televisions now, and different types of car, and maybe even shorter skirts, but the attitudes and outlook could be hurled back a century or more with barely sketched characters trapped somewhere bland that time forgot.
They’re puzzles to be unravelled without frightening either the horses or the servants, trouble is they’re puzzles which involve the most simplistic of human psychology … there’s no depth or dramatic complexity to the villain, or the sleuth, or the also-rans who get caught up in the storyline, they’re just one dimensional, bland, lacking in depth.
So, what do we get? An ageing widow who will invest her cat and dog with more sophisticated psychology than any of the characters. We’ll get judgemental commentary on the working classes and criminal classes. There’s even a tacit celebration of foxhunting and horsey people. Oh, she’s really ticking all my boxes!
So some rich man working in the States for some multinational conglomerate gets involved in some financial and romantic relationship with a dodgy female estate agent (as if any estate agent isn’t dodgy enough to start with).
And we get a murder, and the widow turned sleuth enjoys a rich hand of coincidences being dealt her, including access to a pliable copper and forensic evidence which confirms on which day the victim died nearly a month ago … well, that’s convenient.
We’ll meet people who share an incestuously claustrophobic connection through the huntin’, shootin’ an’ fishin’ fraternity, good deeds and the bourgeois charity and WI circles, old chums from public school and Oxbridge, and association with the landed aristocracy.
Lo and behold, our widow will solve the crime. A lesson in obviously amateurish plot construction and absence of character construction. And there are 21 of these?
April 10, 2022
Sheila Malory is a youngish (54) widow living in Taviscombe in the southwest of England, where she has lived for much of her life and where she keeps herself busy with charity work and the occasional article about very obscure Victorian authors. Her old friend Charles Richardson visits home from America, where he’s been working for a multinational that has made him very wealthy, and asks her to meet Lee, his new fiancee, and of course Sheila is happy to do so. Lee turns out to be very much someone that Sheila instinctively dislikes, but even so she is shocked when some weeks later, Charles calls and asks her to try to find out where Lee is as she’s been missing for a while; she is even more shocked when she stumbles upon Lee’s body with a knife sticking out of her back…. This is the first of the Mrs. Malory series, a lovely cozy that I seem to have missed first time around, although as it happens I actually have two books much later in the series. I remembered liking them without remembering a thing about them, so when casting about for more cozy reading (I’m on a cozy kick these days), I put the author’s name in the Kindle store and “Gone Away” appeared. I’m glad it did, as Sheila is one of those characters who just grows on the reader - she has a life of her own, but is also very much involved in village affairs; indeed, a modern (-ish, the early books at least are set in the 1990s I think, before cell phones anyway) Miss Marple. There are some 21 books in the series, so I have much happy reading ahead of me; recommended!
September 1, 2024
"Sheila Mallory is a middle-aged widow and a published expert on nineteenth-century novelists. She is also possessed of an insatiable curiosity.
"When a good friend asks Sheila's help in finding his vanished fiancee, Sheila agrees, somewhat reluctantly. Before long, however, the circumstances surrounding the young woman's disappearance from the West Country seaside town where Sheila has always lived begin to intrigue her. She sets about investigating, probing the small-town social circles and institutions. What she discovers shed horrifying new light on her familiar hometown.
"Mrs. Mallory Investigates is an intriguing murder mystery in the classic tradition, as well as an affectionate and perceptive portrayal of the lives and manners of a country town whose tranquil routine is disturbed by violent death."
~~front & back flaps
This is exactly my kind of English cozy. Small town or village, lots of teas, lots of everyone knowing each other's business, kindness, loyalty, and respect for the old-fashioned values. These cozys are generally not demanding reads, and the reader always has a panoply of suspects to choose from. Delightful. An intriguing escape from the frustrations of every day life.
"When a good friend asks Sheila's help in finding his vanished fiancee, Sheila agrees, somewhat reluctantly. Before long, however, the circumstances surrounding the young woman's disappearance from the West Country seaside town where Sheila has always lived begin to intrigue her. She sets about investigating, probing the small-town social circles and institutions. What she discovers shed horrifying new light on her familiar hometown.
"Mrs. Mallory Investigates is an intriguing murder mystery in the classic tradition, as well as an affectionate and perceptive portrayal of the lives and manners of a country town whose tranquil routine is disturbed by violent death."
~~front & back flaps
This is exactly my kind of English cozy. Small town or village, lots of teas, lots of everyone knowing each other's business, kindness, loyalty, and respect for the old-fashioned values. These cozys are generally not demanding reads, and the reader always has a panoply of suspects to choose from. Delightful. An intriguing escape from the frustrations of every day life.
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