Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our Oct/Nov 25 buddy read of Gently By the Shore The second book in the Chief Superintendent Gently series was first published in 1956.

You'll find plenty of bodies stretched out on a summer beach - but they're not usually dead...

In a British seaside holiday resort at the height of the season, you would expect to find a promenade and a pier, maybe some donkeys, 'Kiss-Me-Quick' hats, candy floss and kids building sandcastles. You would not expect to find a naked corpse, punctured with stab wounds, lying on the sand.

Chief Inspector George Gently is called in to investigate the disturbing murder. The case has to be wrapped up quickly to calm the nerves of concerned holidaymakers. No one wants to think that there is a maniac on the loose in the town but with no clothes or identifying marks on the body, Gently has a tough time establishing who the victim is, let alone finding the killer. In the meantime, who knows where or when the murderer might strike again?

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I was very disappointed in this book once it became a case of international intrigue. I suppose it was a timely topic at the time, but it does not age well. I skimmed much of the last third of the book.

Yes, Sandy, I agree with your comments. I'm not very keen on plots about international spies or rings of drug dealers - it's a bit disappointing when a book turns out to have this type of plot after appearing to be a normal mystery early on.

Overall, I'm not particularly gripped by this series, and not sure if I want to read on, but I did think with this one there was more atmosphere than in the first book.

It also struck me that Gently isn't actually all that gentle and I'm not sure how much we are supposed to like him. He is very driven - he sometimes seems quite happy for his team to rough up suspects if it will get them talking, which I would be amazed to find in a book featuring GA detectives like Alleyn and Fox or Inspector Grant.

That's the same issue I had with Margery Allingham. All those masked men and secret meetings. I am not too far in yet, but I'm not gripped by the series I must say. We could swop them with the Anthony Bathurst series -
Book 1. The Billiard Room Mystery (1927)
Let me know if so. Is anyone else reading these? Other than the mods!

I don't think anyone else in the group is reading this series apart from us three mods? I'd be happy to forget it after these two and try Anthony Bathurst instead. I did read the first two in that series a while back and enjoyed them but failed to keep on with the series. He is wildly eccentric, think Holmes or Wimsey!

OK, if Sandy agrees, we can ditch Gently and move on.

I agree to ditch Gently.

Thanks Sandy. I think if we've tried one or two books in a series and don't feel very keen, we might as well move on. :)

Especially when it is only the mods reading!

Very true!

OK, I will sort out the books and I may just ditch the Gently I am reading. It isn't really grabbing me.

I don't think you will be missing all that much tbh, Susan.
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Not something I like to do, but I don't think Gently is for me.

I’ve read the first 6 or 7 of these so would have joined in later on, but have no problem with Gently being ditched if he’s not appealing to enough of us. We have lots of great buddy reads on the go.

Thank you, Pamela. Good to hear you are enjoying the other buddy reads.