Many Deadly Returns

Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery #9

by Patricia Moyes

Detective Inspector Henry Tibbet visits the country estate of Lady Crystal Balaclava who, for reasons known only to herself and her Ouija board, feels her life is in imminent danger. And at her birthday party, she dies--from an apparent heart attack.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Cozy Mystery, Detective, Mystery Thriller, Crime

284 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

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

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it is interesting that most of the GoodReads members who rated this book chose not to add a review. It was tempting to follow suit.

I am working through a group of three Moyes mysteries that I borrowed from a friend whose taste parallels mine. If I didn't have these books sitting in a stack in my reading room, I am not sure I would bring one home from a library or bookstore. Inspector Tibbett and his wife are interesting characters and the two Moyes books that I've read so far are challenging puzzles that somehow lack charm. I can't put my finger on it, but there is a clinical or somewhat plodding technical aspect to the mysteries that detracts from the escapist fun that I like a mystery novel to provide.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The eccentric Lady Crystal Balaclava, the once prominent socialite of the Roaring Twenties, is convinced that someone means to kill her. She calls on influential beaus from her days as a Bright Young Thing to pressure Scotland Yard to send Inspector Henry Tibbett to watch over her birthday celebration. Henry and Emmy are invited for the annual "ritual"--all three of Crystals daughters come home (with husbands in tow) to celebrate. And like the three wise men, they come bearing symbolic gifts. Beautiful, prize-winning roses grown by Violet's husband; the best champagne, brought by Daffodil and Chuck; and Primrose with a cake provided by the famous Bonnet's of Switzerland. And each of these ladies has a vested interest in mama's death--once Crystal is gone, the girls with the floral names will each inherit a third of their father's fortune. The only person in the household with no apparent motive is Dolly Underwood-Threep, Lady Balaclava's companion and general dogsbody.

To prevent any shenanigans with any of the gifts, Crystal has everyone smell the roses and insists that Henry drink from her champagne glass and take a bite of her special marzipan cake topper before she does. And then she promptly keels over dead from an apparent poisoning--under the nose of the Yard's finest. Tibbett works with the local police team to begin the investigation, only to have the post mortem reveal that Lady Balaclava apparently died from...natural causes?! Tibbett doesn't believe it and neither does the local doctor who was first on the scene. Together, they will have to find out how a murderer could kill without leaving a trace of the agent used in the victim's body. Untraceable South American poisons need not apply...

I normally enjoy Moyes's mysteries quite a bit, but, for whatever reason, I just didn't hit it off with this one. Not for lack of interesting characters--Lady Crystal Balaclava is fascinatingly bizarre and I quite liked her gruff, rough-edged companion Dolly Underwood-Threep. The three daughters and their husbands are well-drawn and add much to the story. But the story itself just isn't all that entertaining. Henry and Emmy Tibbett seem like muted versions of themselves. And one would expect that a murder mystery with an unknown and unique method of doing away with the victim would instantly grab the attention. But the investigation is drawn-out and, since Tibbett must act unofficially, has none of the usual police activities or official urgency of the usual police procedural.

The most interesting part of the entire thing for me was the afterword which explains that the basis for the plot was founded in fact. The real life incident wasn't a case of attempted murder (at least no one suspected it, if it was...), but none-the-less it proved that death via the method was definitely possible--providing Moyes with a very unique murder method. It certainly is the first time I've ever come across death by allergic reaction to an antibiotic plant spray. ★★ and 3/4 [rounded up here]

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thank.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly standard, solid crime novel. It had nothing in particular to recommend it, but was a light, interesting read for those who enjoy cosy crime. The only downside is that it was impossible to guess in advance without a lot of specialist knowledge - so it wasn't really quite playing within the rules of the game. The characters were also very hard to like - Dolly was the only one who really kept it going.

[Sarah "Kat" · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The characters were intriguing, as good as an Agathsa Christie line up. Set in England was #8(?) in the Inspector Tibbetts sees. Will definitely read more Patrica Moyes, perhaps starting with the first in the series.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters and situation, let down by an unsatisfactory resolution.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Crystal Balaclava believes someone is going to try and murder her at her 70th birthday party. So Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy are persuaded to attend the party incognito, to keep an eye on her. Present at the party are Crystal’s three daughters, two of her sons in law, and her downtrodden companion, Dolly. Despite Henry Tibbett’s watchfulness, Crystal does indeed expire at the party. And it is up to Henry to find out how she died.
This is quite an enjoyable Murder mystery, and Henry and Emmy are agreeable characters. I hope to spend more time with them.

[Maggie Aduol · Rating 5 out of 5]

An almost perfect murder.

Four airline tickets, two from Geneva, two from Paris. A double cabin on The Hook-Harwich ferry. Six packed suitcases. An elaborate iced cake. Two dozen dark red roses. A case of vintage champagne. All converging on the house known as Foxes' Trot, near the village of Plumley Green in the County of Surrey.

The aged but indomitable Lady Crystal Balaclava, famous in her younger days for sybaritic socials, is celebrating a birthday at Foxes Trot, her country estate. Detective Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emily are on hand because Lady Balaclava, for reasons known only to herself and the Ouija board she frequently consults, feels her life is in imminent danger. Henry watches her receive presents from her three daughters--a large cake specially baked in Switzerland, a case of French champagne, and a handsome bouquet of roses. Seconds later, before his amazed eyes, Lady Balaclava gasps, clutches her throat, and collapses; dead from an apparent heart attack.

The suspects are her three daughters, Violet, Primrose and Daffodil and their husbands and her companion- help Dorothy Underwood- Threep.

I loved the travelogue during the investigative trips to France, Switzerland and the Netherlands by Detective Inspector Tibbett and his wife Emily.

It is a most tidy tale complete with an afterword by the author explaining how she came upon the murder method which is based on a real life case that occurred in Italy.

Worthy of the nomination for the 1971 Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Patricia Moyes offers one of her best puzzles ever, an amazing and amusing intrigue that will surely captivate all lovers of Golden Age Mystery.

I really enjoyed reading this one :) .

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have always enjoyed Moyes' work and thought I had read them all until my daughter found this one at a bookstore in MYC and shared it with me. What a treat! Love the European locales and clever writing.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, well-written mystery with the cozy company of initially baffled detectives Henry and Emmy Tibbett made for a very good read.

[Linda Brue · Rating 4 out of 5]

MANY DEADLY RETURNS, Patricia Moyes, 1970
Detective Inspector Henry Tibbet is sent to spend the weekend with Lady Crystal Balaclava, who has asked for him specifically. She feels that her life is in danger, although she can't give any more information than that. She is having her annual birthday bash and all her children (3 girls) and their husbands are coming to her estate for the weekend. She is not estranged from her children, but they definitely don't have a close relationship. Crystal lives alone with only her friend, Dolly, for help and company. Crystal's husbands' will set them up for trouble when he gave each of them an allowance, with the bulk of his large estate to be divided between the 3 girls upon their mother's death. So everyone has a motive for killing Crystal. It is a very tense situation that greets Henry Tibbet and his wife, and furthermore, Crystal doesn't want anyone to know who he is, which makes it even more awkward when she dies before their eyes at her birthday dinner.

This may have been written nearly 50 years ago, but your could never tell from the reading of it. The writing still seems fresh and current with the exception of the lack of things like cell phones. I enjoyed the complex plot, and the thought and research that went into the cause of death. The characters are all portrayed as fully developed people, and I can't help but note that family dynamics certainly haven't changed in the last 50 years. Very satisfying read.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry Tibbets of Scotland Yard is invited as a special guest to the 70th anniversary of Crystal, Lady Balaclava, because the birthday girl is convinced that someone is trying to murder her. This relic from the Roaring Twenties, has convened her three daughters and their husbands to Foxes' Trot. And so they converge : Violet and her Dutch flower-growing husband; Primrose and her Swiss physician, and Daffodil and her American millionaire. Henry tastes the champagne and the cake, as a sort of Medieval taster, and pronounces the goodies safe. But minutes later Crystal keels over dead. Poison? To everyone's surprise, no poison can be found in either the champagne or the cake. A keen-eyed local GP suspects an anaphylactic reaction. Before long, Henry is on the trail of a long-forgotten medical episode in Crystal's life that may have left her with a fatal drug allergy, and this involves travel to Holland, Paris and Switzerland to check the alibis of all three daughters and sons-in-law.

This is a pretty run-of-the-mill mystery. The three foreign son-in-laws and the travel that they force Henry Tibbets and his wife Emmy to do, offered a bit of an exotic touch- this book dates from 1970s, when European travel still involved some adventure.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a golden age of crime classic, and this 1970s mystery draws on all of the best elements, which is probably why it works.
Our hero, Henry Tibbett, is asked to go away for the weekend to protect Lady Balaclava who inevitably dies anyway - but then the fun of trying to work out whodunnit begins. And it is fun, it's rather daft, right down to the daughters of the murdered ladies - the main suspects - all of whom are named after garden flowers. Admittedly this did get a little confusing at one point towards the end, but I can happily gloss over that when the mystery itself is clever and has a rather nice element of science added.

The only downside? Our detective drags his poor wife through his investigation (and all around Western Europe in the slightly eyebrow raising lead up to the finale) and she doesn't even get the joy of being his sidekick. This being the 70s is that a rather jolly young female (gasp!) doctor gets to do that instead.

Daft and fun but with a slightly rushed ending, I'd happily look our for more Tibbett mysteries.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid cozy mystery written with an eye towards providing amusement as well . The key mystery is how and that is not crackable (looks like I made up that word) without specialist knowledge .In fact the killer also relies on this fact(very factual sentence!) . The chemistry between Henry and Emmy is great and as a whole it was very engrossing read .
As a mystery its not in the rank of the greats but it does entertain very well .Overall a solid 4 star ..highly recommended if you are looking for some light entertainment .
This was my first Moyes and it was a pleasure throughout .

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic mystery set up --a mysterious death in a room full of those who will benefit. Was it murder or a "natural" cause? I was pleased that the Moyes included a afterword with a description of the real life story that formed the idea for this mystery.

I have probably read too many Henry Tibbett mysteries in a short period of time as I was pulled out of the story several times thinking that Henry would not have done that.

[Susan Collinsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I've heard of or read anything by this author.
Very engaging, lots of clues sprinkled throughout, lots of plausible culprits to keep the reader guessing. Slightly frustrating how the detective allowed certain things to happen without investigating or questioning. But the book was written in 1970 so maybe that had something to do with it?
Also very interesting note at the end about how the author was given the idea for the case. I will definitely be looking for more by her.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

very tricky.

I very much like this series. Yes some of the plots are highly unlikely but they are entertaining. And I like the realism of the police cooperating and getting along with one another. This is definitely different from most police procedurals because the inspector solves it pretty much alone. The SOCO group is very background..scarcely mentioned at all. If you want violence and suspense…this is not your cup of tea.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Shades of 'Keeping Up Appearances'! This book has three sisters with flower names: Primrose, Daffodil, and Violet. They are invited to their mother's 70th birthday and are supposed to bring designated presents. Unbeknownst to them, their mother has also invited Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy since she suspects foul play may be afoot. This is an entertaining story if a bit dragged out. I skipped over some of the narrative as a result.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically excellent - the plot, the layout of all clues, the police procedures of Henry Tibbett, the nicely timed twist and resolution at the climax…why didn’t I like it more? Perhaps the sort of mechanical depictions of “trope” personalities, the slightly sterile characters’ lives, a bit the overarching atmosphere of those characters that “we’re the elite, not the hoi polloi” certainly…a good read but somehow left me nebulously unsatisfied.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also titled Many Deadly Returns, this Inspector Tibbett (and his wife) mystery is a clever poisoning puzzle with an elderly "bright young thing" still clinging to the jazz age, her lesbian companion and three daughters and their husbands. None of the husbands are British, so there is a discussion of different inheritance rights for wives in the UK and US vs Holland and Switzerland.

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book that I have read by Patricia Moyes and I found it delightful. This book actually is a detective story wrapped around a medical mystery. The detective and his wife must try to determine if a murder has actually happened or if the person died a "natural" death.

[Linda Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

He Was Witness

The Superintendent saw the victim die. But when the reports showed no poison her system; he had tasted her food and drink, his superiors deemed a natural death, what was he to do? His career was on the line. Excellent mystery.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three sisters and a rich mother who dies mysteriously at her birthday party. The well known “nasty family inheritance murder.” Not the best Moyes. The writing is a little stodgy and there are too many moving parts in the machinery.

[Jlnpeacock Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tibbetts are a nice mixture of serious talent and delighting in entertainment together. It is pleasant to read of working on cases together and the interplay between them. The mystery was well done.

[Marijalas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very vintage, very charming. Very Interesting. This is not a books where all the characters are unlikeable. Good wins over evil.
She is such a good writer. The plot was based on a true story. I really enjoyed it.

[Brian Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute treat to read -- great British detective fiction: Tibbett has come up against "the perfect murder" and his personal reputation is on the line.

"This must be the most peculiar job you've ever had, darling" -- Emmy Tibbett to Chief Superintendent Tibbett.

[Ellyreynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read - I love these crime classics

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A pretty good whodunnit for 1970!

[Mekaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic whodunnit mystery that reminds me of Agatha Christie mysteries. The characters were interesting and the story moved at a brisk pace without too many asides. Good book!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Tibbet Mystery #9