Under these circumstances it's increasingly easy to imagine how someone might be driven to committing a murder...
'Smallbone Deceased' is the second of the British Library crime classic Gilbert re issues I've read, it has absolutely confirmed my enthusiasm for him, and I am very happy to know that they're looking at more of his books. The biggest mystery here is how he managed to fall out of favour.
Horniman, Birley, and Craine is a legal firm that's both respectable and fashionable (in that it has an extensive aristocratic client list in an era when the aristocracy seemed to have occupied the same sort of celebrity position as today's reality t.v stars). The firms founding member (Horniman) has recently died and Henry Bohun has just been bought into the company.
When a large deed box is opened to reveal the remains of an unpopular client in a state of advanced decomposition it's a nasty surprise all round, especially as it pretty much has to be an inside job. Henry Bohun is the only member of the firm who looks to be off the hook as the body has clearly been there longer than he has. He's also a friend of a friend of inspector Hazelrigg who sets him to snoop around a bit.
One of the things I really enjoy about Gilbert is that he clearly knows the world he's describing. The petty office politics and procedures ground the plot in an unassailable atmosphere of reality. This makes the discovery of the body both easier to swallow, and more ridiculous. Gilbert's sense of humour is another thing I really enjoy. Both together mean a book that you might want to read over and again, never minding that you know who, how, and why, the crimes have been committed.
I've been saving the third Gilbert (Death in Captivity, loosely based on his War time experiences) as a treat, I think I might start it tonight to stop me brooding about the drain situation.
Commiserations on your drain situation. It must be maddening.
ReplyDeleteOddly, I have a feeling I've read something by Michael Gilbert, but having googled him I still can't remember what - he was writing into the late 90s, apparently, so it does seems a shame he's not better known.
It is maddening. Trying to remain calm about it, but I'm getting increasingly stressed. There are a few writers like Gilbert that I've come across in recent years. Once upon a time they'd probably have been the staples of someone's midlist but those days are gone. I don't know what his later stuff would have been like, but the two I've read so far have been excellent. I particularly like this one for the portrait of office life.
DeleteThere are so many of these that it's really useful to have a guide to which to pick - sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt's the detail he uses that I like so much about these, they're definitely worth a look.
DeleteThis sounds really fun. Good luck with your drains: plumbing woes are just awful.
ReplyDeleteYes they are! At least the books are good.
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