Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our June/July 25 buddy read of Gently Does It by Alan Hunter The first book in the Chief Superintendent Gently series was first published in 1955.

This is the start of a new buddy series so very exciting and thanks for the suggestion from, I think, Sandy if I recall correctly. If not, forgive me!

When a timber merchant is found stabbed in the city of Norchester, the local police find an obvious suspect in his son. But Inspector Gently soon realizes that there is more to it than appears on the surface and sacrifices his holiday to prove his suspicions correct, and require every contention of Gently's to be proved to the hilt before they will take action.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

Here we go with another new series! Who is reading this one? I've ordered it from the library so should have it soon.

The spoiler thread is linked below:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I just finished it.

It was a reread for me but all I remember was the peppermint creams. A very kind, caring and dogged detective.

I am going to start this tomorrow. Have never seen the TV series or read the books before.

I have started this now. I didn't realise it was written back in 1955.

I read this book years ago. Wasn't crazy about it or the lead character. I think I didn't like who they had playing the character on the show on PBS years ago. I only saw parts of one or two parts. So I was kind of turned off fairly early.

Jan C wrote: "I read this book years ago. Wasn't crazy about it or the lead character. I think I didn't like who they had playing the character on the show on PBS years ago. I only saw parts of one or two parts...."

Oh, wow! I just looked this up here and discovered that I never even finished it.

It's a very long series. I am unsure I feel enthusiastic enough to read all of them - has anyone else?

I've only read the first and only some are available through my library system. I'm with Susan regarding level of enthusiasm.

I appreciated the author's note at the front of the book, where he doesn't want to be blamed for not doing something he never intended to do.

Susan wrote: "It's a very long series. I am unsure I feel enthusiastic enough to read all of them - has anyone else?"

I liked it well enough to try the second one, anyway. Couldn't to commit to more at this point.

I've started this and am warming to Gently - he seems to have a lot of determination and some dry humour, which I'm enjoying.

I am getting slightly fed up with the peppermint creams already, just a few pages in. But I realise this book was published in 1955, only a couple of years after sweet rationing ended in the UK, so I suppose being able to buy such a lot of sweets would have had novelty value. (Oddly, peppermint creams have also cropped up in another book I'm currently reading!)

The TV series was completely different from this book - set in the north of England during the 1960s, and much darker in tone than this one has been so far, although it is early days.

I’m planning to try this series-I think I’ve got an eBook already.

Hope you enjoy it, Frances. I'm about a third of the way through now and finding it fairly enjoyable, but I agree with the others that I'm not hooked for the whole 40-plus series as yet.

A *lot* of smoking in this book! I suppose it makes a change from Gently eating peppermint creams, but it feels a bit like padding. I sympathised when Gently opened a window!

Yes, took me back, all that passive smoking I indulged in as a small child...