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Sergeant Cribb #1
Wobble to Death
In 1879, race walking competitions, known as “wobbles,” were all the rage. The death of a contender, followed by a second murder, introduces Sergeant Cribb, who goes on to investigate sports-related deaths in a series of eight books.
167 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
Peter Lovesey
196 books640 followersPeter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath. He was also one of the world's leading track and field statisticians.
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September 8, 2024
Wobbling!
Wobbling is when you race a predetermined amount of miles. Usually around a track.
Today it’s called speed walking. The walking looks funny because the people wobble as they walk
This book is placed in the Victorian era in England. A group of men are wobbling around a track. They must perform for six days
Of the two leaders and favorites, there is hatred between the two. So when a murder occurs, the detectives are on the case, investigating the clues.
When another murder occurs, it becomes dangerous for other racers, but who will be next?
What’s more important…who is the murderer?
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
Wobbling is when you race a predetermined amount of miles. Usually around a track.
Today it’s called speed walking. The walking looks funny because the people wobble as they walk
This book is placed in the Victorian era in England. A group of men are wobbling around a track. They must perform for six days
Of the two leaders and favorites, there is hatred between the two. So when a murder occurs, the detectives are on the case, investigating the clues.
When another murder occurs, it becomes dangerous for other racers, but who will be next?
What’s more important…who is the murderer?
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
March 15, 2024
Wobble to Death? What an intriguing title for a crime novel!
Was the victim perhaps upended into a huge vat of jelly? Or done to death, wobbling on a highwire trapeze? What about being electrocuted by one of those road drilling machines? That would make the sorry victim wobble for sure …
The answer is sadly none of these, and the murder methods employed are far more conventional. The word “wobble” in the title refers to a specific competitive sport, which we now know as speedwalking. Sorry if that’s a letdown.
It’s easy to see why the sport was given such an apt appellation. The gait employed in such a race is characteristically ungainly; most odd, in fact unique. In the 1880s these “wobble” races became popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Since the English crime writer Peter Lovesey also writes non-fiction histories of track and field athletics, he decided to draw on his interest in this to introduce Sergeant Cribb to his reading public via a “wobble” race, setting the story when they were all the rage. Sergeant Cribb is thus a Victorian-era police detective based in London, who proved so popular that he went on to feature in 7 further novels, all of which are sports-related.
Wobble to Death is the first novel in the series, and was written in 1970 in the typical whodunnit puzzle style of an earlier Golden Age Mystery. The setting is the Agricultural Hall of Islington, North London in 1879. This is not to be just an ordinary walking race “wobble”, but a bizarre six-day endurance race, arranged by Sol Herriott, who usually organises horse racing events. He has hired Walter Jacobson as his manager - who also has no experience with “pedestrian” events, as these are called.
Not only is this wobble to take place over 6 days, but the entrants are drawn from all levels and walks of life; it is open to all. This proves to be a big draw. Also, the anticipation of a degrading spectacle as men gradually become more spent and exhausted as the event continues, means that large crowds descend on the arena every day, from all over London. Plus Sol Herriott has had a brainwave.
Instead of the “toffs” being in with the hoi-polloi, he has designed a two-lane track. Thus a select few who do not wish to mingle with the unwashed, may remain separate at all times, whilst keeping their challenge of equal length and duration. The “pedestrians” make their way round the track at their own speed, and each has a dedicated person recording their laps. At the end of each day these are tallied up.
This is a neat way to divide up the novel, too. At the beginning we are faced with quite a few names of contestants, and at the end of each day they are listed with their progress. Since there is not one but two murders (as in all the best crime novels) and some drop out through exhaustion, the list narrows down nicely through the 18 chapters of the novel. We also have assistants and trainers, but oddly, only two female characters in the entire novel, and one of these is a mere cameo role.
The bookies’ favourite is Captain Erskine Chadwick, running both for pride in challenging himself, and for the honour of his regiment. He is aided by Harvey, his batman. Chadwick is independently wealthy, and has bet quite a bit on himself to win, since he is a world class amateur athlete. Notwithstanding, his power of endurance matches the other favourite, Charles Darrell.
Darrell comes from a lower class, but he is a professional athlete, so has been put in the same track as Captain Chadwick, to increase the visible competition and attract the crowds. He also has an experienced trainer in Sam Monk. Darrell’s wife Cora sometimes comes to watch - and also to be watched - which she clearly enjoys. She is, in the vernacular of the time, a flashy female, “no better than she ought to be”. Her maid enjoys sharing confidences about her mistress, who is .
Of the rank and file, a few stood out to me. Feargus O’Flaherty (evidently an Irishman) is also a good pedestrian, and will give it his best shot. There is Peter Chalk; George Williams; Billy Reid with his trainer, his brother, Jack; and a thin weedy chap Francis Mostyn-Smith, who is a doctor in his professional life. The crowd tend to make fun of Mostyn-Smith, because of his physique, so he prefers to run at night, when few are there to watch. Mostyn-Smith is also a well-off competitor, and quick on the uptake. (It’s always good to have a doctor on hand in a murder mystery …)
Wobbles like these were different from races today, as the pedestrians could take part whichever hours they liked. They were allowed to take breaks; resting, sleeping, washing and eating what they chose, either in the basic and insanitary double cabins provided, or at hotels or houses outside, if they wished.
The story has an omniscient narrator, and although it is true to 1870s London in its setting, dress, details, and social mores, the language is up to date apart from the names of a few Victorian artefacts etc. So when I heard “half-breed” used to refer to someone, just as casually as “doctor”, “Irishman” or “wife”, I was shocked. When did English people ever breed humans? Even slavery had ended in England just over a century earlier, in 1772. This seems to be a sickening aberration on the part of the author, since it was used purely as an indicator, and not to show any one character’s racist point of view, nor to reflect an opinion. The word is not one I had ever heard before, (and do not wish to again) although when this novel was written, it is possible some people still used the word “half-caste”. I am familiar with quite a few English novels written in the late 19th century, and nowhere have I ever read the word “half-breed”.
The pedestrian referred to thus was George Williams. “Williams” is a Welsh name, and the city of Liverpool borders Wales. As Liverpool is a main port, traditionally it has always been ethnically diverse, like London. Therefore I deduce that George Williams is of mixed race, probably from this locale with one black parent and one white. Still, the half dozen times it occurred in the novel, I found this word very jarring and offensive.
Moving on, we have a motley collection of “proven pedestrians” starting off at 1am on a November Monday morning. It does not take long before one of them is dead. However in time neither of these reasons is shown to be the case, although the victims are dead nonetheless.
Sergeant Cribb from Scotland Yard is called in. He is:
“tall, spare in frame, too spry in his movements ever to put on much weight. His head … was burdened with an overlong nose … and heavy eyebrows …” An authoritative presence, Sergeant Cribb also sports stylish “Piccadilly Weepers”, which are long, bushy but carefully combed side whiskers, of a type most fashionable in the mid to late 1800s in London, (and I’m sure you will have seen in period dramas such as Sherlock Holmes).
The sergeant is aided by Constable Thackeray:
“… a burly, middle-aged man with a fine grey beard …”. He takes notes assiduously, but it is clear that Constable Thackeray lacks the quick wits of his superior officer; his brain power seems as stolid as his build. The interactions between the two are amusing to read.
Sergeant Cribb suspects poisoning at first, in various ways, but this is another case of the 1870s being very different from modern times (or even 1970, when this novel was written). All sort of drugs were allowed. Strychnine, for example was routinely given in small doses, as a stimulant for energy, in a tonic. There were all sort of dirty tactics employed by unscrupulous trainers too, against the opposition, such as
There follows a series of revelations and red herrings. As I say, the novel is paced well, and Sergeant Cribb and his sidekick know that they must solve the crime(s) within the 6 six days of the wobble, or else the contestants will diperse all over London, and even further afield. We follow them down blind alleys galore.
It is a shame that I did not enjoy this more, but 2 stars on Goodreads means "it was OK", and this is what I felt overall. The penultimate chapter (17) involved an exciting chase through North London, after . I did feel this was observed well, with many authentic features I recognised both from life, and details of the time from Charles Dickens’s later novels. However, mostly I found the writing to lack verve and wit. I learned about wobbles, for sure, and some likely facts and figures. The top prize for this 6 days wobble was £500; the winning prizes varied between £500 and £5, the basic prize for completing the course - which not everyone did. By the end there only seemed to be 9 who actually won any money. Bearing in mind that this wobble was held in a huge arena which has evidently previously been used by farm animals, not everyone was hardened to the basic living conditions, never mind the pedestrian wobble itself. The cabins were filthy, the camp beds ditto, and although gas was laid on both for heating and for cooking, this presented its own dangers.
Another interesting fact was that although most wobbles were set for distances of 50m., 100m., or 150 miles in total, because in this arena the pedestrians wobbled round and round the track in the Agricultural Hall of Islington, it was anticipated that the winner would walk at least 500 miles, setting their paces at 90-100 miles per day!
However, the daily descriptions of the race, and interaction between the pedestrians was … pedestrian (sorry!) Moreover, I did not feel it was possible to work out the murderer (not that I'm ever very good at that!); it was sprung on us in the last chapter, and even Sergeant Cribb admitted that was a mystery to him! And as for the motive … We may believe that someone would be upright enough to No, I’m sorry but this is not psychologically plausible, or consistent with such a moral world view.
Nevertheless the critics seemed to enjoy it:
“Here are true Victorians, not pious frauds of legend. A first-rate story of sustained thrill.”
- John Dickson Carr
“First prize-winner, and a worthy one … excellently done.”
- Edmund Crispin: Sunday Times
“Brilliantly evocative … It is long since I came across so original a setting.”
- Cyril Ray: The Spectator
“A brilliant reconstruction.”
Maurice Richardson: The Observer
Wobble to Death is listed in the Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Mystery Novels, and won the Macmillan/Panther First Crime Novel Prize of £1000 in 1970, from about 250 entries.
A piece of trivia which might make you smile concerns the actress Barbara Windsor. This Cockney sparrow grew up from humble origins, but was always very bright, and once won a mathematics competition out of the whole of London. Nevertheless, despite the fact that she was very intelligent it was her well endowed figure which people remarked on. Her most popular roles were in the increasingly lewd “Carry On” films, carrying on the comic tradition of 19th century English music hall and bawdy seaside postcards.
Barbara Windsor was known to be a good sport, and a crowd-pleaser, so perhaps it was predictable that on publication day for Wobble to Death, a 24-hour charity “wobble” was staged around Sloane Square, started by Barbara Windsor jointly with the author.
I may try to track down some later ones in the series. I also understand there was also a TV series made between 1980 and 1981, with Alan Dobie as Sergeant Cribb. In the end though, I do think the best thing about this crime book is its title.
And you're not likely to forget what a wobble is now, are you?
Was the victim perhaps upended into a huge vat of jelly? Or done to death, wobbling on a highwire trapeze? What about being electrocuted by one of those road drilling machines? That would make the sorry victim wobble for sure …
The answer is sadly none of these, and the murder methods employed are far more conventional. The word “wobble” in the title refers to a specific competitive sport, which we now know as speedwalking. Sorry if that’s a letdown.
It’s easy to see why the sport was given such an apt appellation. The gait employed in such a race is characteristically ungainly; most odd, in fact unique. In the 1880s these “wobble” races became popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Since the English crime writer Peter Lovesey also writes non-fiction histories of track and field athletics, he decided to draw on his interest in this to introduce Sergeant Cribb to his reading public via a “wobble” race, setting the story when they were all the rage. Sergeant Cribb is thus a Victorian-era police detective based in London, who proved so popular that he went on to feature in 7 further novels, all of which are sports-related.
Wobble to Death is the first novel in the series, and was written in 1970 in the typical whodunnit puzzle style of an earlier Golden Age Mystery. The setting is the Agricultural Hall of Islington, North London in 1879. This is not to be just an ordinary walking race “wobble”, but a bizarre six-day endurance race, arranged by Sol Herriott, who usually organises horse racing events. He has hired Walter Jacobson as his manager - who also has no experience with “pedestrian” events, as these are called.
Not only is this wobble to take place over 6 days, but the entrants are drawn from all levels and walks of life; it is open to all. This proves to be a big draw. Also, the anticipation of a degrading spectacle as men gradually become more spent and exhausted as the event continues, means that large crowds descend on the arena every day, from all over London. Plus Sol Herriott has had a brainwave.
Instead of the “toffs” being in with the hoi-polloi, he has designed a two-lane track. Thus a select few who do not wish to mingle with the unwashed, may remain separate at all times, whilst keeping their challenge of equal length and duration. The “pedestrians” make their way round the track at their own speed, and each has a dedicated person recording their laps. At the end of each day these are tallied up.
This is a neat way to divide up the novel, too. At the beginning we are faced with quite a few names of contestants, and at the end of each day they are listed with their progress. Since there is not one but two murders (as in all the best crime novels) and some drop out through exhaustion, the list narrows down nicely through the 18 chapters of the novel. We also have assistants and trainers, but oddly, only two female characters in the entire novel, and one of these is a mere cameo role.
The bookies’ favourite is Captain Erskine Chadwick, running both for pride in challenging himself, and for the honour of his regiment. He is aided by Harvey, his batman. Chadwick is independently wealthy, and has bet quite a bit on himself to win, since he is a world class amateur athlete. Notwithstanding, his power of endurance matches the other favourite, Charles Darrell.
Darrell comes from a lower class, but he is a professional athlete, so has been put in the same track as Captain Chadwick, to increase the visible competition and attract the crowds. He also has an experienced trainer in Sam Monk. Darrell’s wife Cora sometimes comes to watch - and also to be watched - which she clearly enjoys. She is, in the vernacular of the time, a flashy female, “no better than she ought to be”. Her maid enjoys sharing confidences about her mistress, who is .
Of the rank and file, a few stood out to me. Feargus O’Flaherty (evidently an Irishman) is also a good pedestrian, and will give it his best shot. There is Peter Chalk; George Williams; Billy Reid with his trainer, his brother, Jack; and a thin weedy chap Francis Mostyn-Smith, who is a doctor in his professional life. The crowd tend to make fun of Mostyn-Smith, because of his physique, so he prefers to run at night, when few are there to watch. Mostyn-Smith is also a well-off competitor, and quick on the uptake. (It’s always good to have a doctor on hand in a murder mystery …)
Wobbles like these were different from races today, as the pedestrians could take part whichever hours they liked. They were allowed to take breaks; resting, sleeping, washing and eating what they chose, either in the basic and insanitary double cabins provided, or at hotels or houses outside, if they wished.
The story has an omniscient narrator, and although it is true to 1870s London in its setting, dress, details, and social mores, the language is up to date apart from the names of a few Victorian artefacts etc. So when I heard “half-breed” used to refer to someone, just as casually as “doctor”, “Irishman” or “wife”, I was shocked. When did English people ever breed humans? Even slavery had ended in England just over a century earlier, in 1772. This seems to be a sickening aberration on the part of the author, since it was used purely as an indicator, and not to show any one character’s racist point of view, nor to reflect an opinion. The word is not one I had ever heard before, (and do not wish to again) although when this novel was written, it is possible some people still used the word “half-caste”. I am familiar with quite a few English novels written in the late 19th century, and nowhere have I ever read the word “half-breed”.
The pedestrian referred to thus was George Williams. “Williams” is a Welsh name, and the city of Liverpool borders Wales. As Liverpool is a main port, traditionally it has always been ethnically diverse, like London. Therefore I deduce that George Williams is of mixed race, probably from this locale with one black parent and one white. Still, the half dozen times it occurred in the novel, I found this word very jarring and offensive.
Moving on, we have a motley collection of “proven pedestrians” starting off at 1am on a November Monday morning. It does not take long before one of them is dead. However in time neither of these reasons is shown to be the case, although the victims are dead nonetheless.
Sergeant Cribb from Scotland Yard is called in. He is:
“tall, spare in frame, too spry in his movements ever to put on much weight. His head … was burdened with an overlong nose … and heavy eyebrows …” An authoritative presence, Sergeant Cribb also sports stylish “Piccadilly Weepers”, which are long, bushy but carefully combed side whiskers, of a type most fashionable in the mid to late 1800s in London, (and I’m sure you will have seen in period dramas such as Sherlock Holmes).
The sergeant is aided by Constable Thackeray:
“… a burly, middle-aged man with a fine grey beard …”. He takes notes assiduously, but it is clear that Constable Thackeray lacks the quick wits of his superior officer; his brain power seems as stolid as his build. The interactions between the two are amusing to read.
Sergeant Cribb suspects poisoning at first, in various ways, but this is another case of the 1870s being very different from modern times (or even 1970, when this novel was written). All sort of drugs were allowed. Strychnine, for example was routinely given in small doses, as a stimulant for energy, in a tonic. There were all sort of dirty tactics employed by unscrupulous trainers too, against the opposition, such as
There follows a series of revelations and red herrings. As I say, the novel is paced well, and Sergeant Cribb and his sidekick know that they must solve the crime(s) within the 6 six days of the wobble, or else the contestants will diperse all over London, and even further afield. We follow them down blind alleys galore.
It is a shame that I did not enjoy this more, but 2 stars on Goodreads means "it was OK", and this is what I felt overall. The penultimate chapter (17) involved an exciting chase through North London, after . I did feel this was observed well, with many authentic features I recognised both from life, and details of the time from Charles Dickens’s later novels. However, mostly I found the writing to lack verve and wit. I learned about wobbles, for sure, and some likely facts and figures. The top prize for this 6 days wobble was £500; the winning prizes varied between £500 and £5, the basic prize for completing the course - which not everyone did. By the end there only seemed to be 9 who actually won any money. Bearing in mind that this wobble was held in a huge arena which has evidently previously been used by farm animals, not everyone was hardened to the basic living conditions, never mind the pedestrian wobble itself. The cabins were filthy, the camp beds ditto, and although gas was laid on both for heating and for cooking, this presented its own dangers.
Another interesting fact was that although most wobbles were set for distances of 50m., 100m., or 150 miles in total, because in this arena the pedestrians wobbled round and round the track in the Agricultural Hall of Islington, it was anticipated that the winner would walk at least 500 miles, setting their paces at 90-100 miles per day!
However, the daily descriptions of the race, and interaction between the pedestrians was … pedestrian (sorry!) Moreover, I did not feel it was possible to work out the murderer (not that I'm ever very good at that!); it was sprung on us in the last chapter, and even Sergeant Cribb admitted that was a mystery to him! And as for the motive … We may believe that someone would be upright enough to No, I’m sorry but this is not psychologically plausible, or consistent with such a moral world view.
Nevertheless the critics seemed to enjoy it:
“Here are true Victorians, not pious frauds of legend. A first-rate story of sustained thrill.”
- John Dickson Carr
“First prize-winner, and a worthy one … excellently done.”
- Edmund Crispin: Sunday Times
“Brilliantly evocative … It is long since I came across so original a setting.”
- Cyril Ray: The Spectator
“A brilliant reconstruction.”
Maurice Richardson: The Observer
Wobble to Death is listed in the Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Mystery Novels, and won the Macmillan/Panther First Crime Novel Prize of £1000 in 1970, from about 250 entries.
A piece of trivia which might make you smile concerns the actress Barbara Windsor. This Cockney sparrow grew up from humble origins, but was always very bright, and once won a mathematics competition out of the whole of London. Nevertheless, despite the fact that she was very intelligent it was her well endowed figure which people remarked on. Her most popular roles were in the increasingly lewd “Carry On” films, carrying on the comic tradition of 19th century English music hall and bawdy seaside postcards.
Barbara Windsor was known to be a good sport, and a crowd-pleaser, so perhaps it was predictable that on publication day for Wobble to Death, a 24-hour charity “wobble” was staged around Sloane Square, started by Barbara Windsor jointly with the author.
I may try to track down some later ones in the series. I also understand there was also a TV series made between 1980 and 1981, with Alan Dobie as Sergeant Cribb. In the end though, I do think the best thing about this crime book is its title.
And you're not likely to forget what a wobble is now, are you?
October 23, 2019
Dame Agatha Christie and Her Peers
BOOK 25
An unusual set for a story, certainly: wobbling!
CAST - 4 stars: Sol Herriott is the promoter of a 6-day "walk/wobble" race but he's never been in this kind of business. Why now? Herriott hires Walter Jacobs as his manager, and he has no experience with these wobbles. Again, why now? The cast of wobblers (14 men) is very good: Captain Erskine Chadwick is a world champion and is racing for 500 pounds, as well as his Regiment. Charles Darrell is his only real competitor and, with Chadwick, they get their own center track as they are considered 'wobbler royalty'. Billy Reid's trainer is his brother, Jack. Feargus O'Flaherty turns into a major competitor. No one expects anything from the older, skinny F.H. Mostyn-Smith and rumor has it that he bribed his way into the race. Those are the five main athletes upon which Lovesy focuses. Then there is Sergent Cribb: "...tall, spare in frame, too spry in his movements ever to put on much weight. His head...was burdened with an overlong nose...and his heavy eyebrows..." reminded me of Hercule Poirot's mustaches. Cribb's sidekick is Constable Thackery: "...a burly, middle-aged man with a fine grey beard..." incessantly taking notes. Lovesey sticks to just a few main characters as opposed to baffling us with a massive cast (a huge mistake for this genre when you're trying to keep track of the movements of, say 40+ people) but here only about a dozen.
ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars: I didn't know this, but "wobbling" was all the rage in Victorian England, this novel is set in 1879. "Wobblers" participate in a walking competition and this particular race will go for 6 days, and whoever is still standing and has walked the most miles wins 500 pounds. It's common knowledge that stimulants are used in "wobbling" but we learn that stimulants were popular for many athletes in various sporting events. Times have changed! The racers can take breaks whenever they want, sleep, eat, bath, etc. There is some ribbing, pushing and various other attempts to weaken fellow racers, so one 'athlete', Mostyn-Smith, decides to rest mostly during the day and race at night in comparative peace. There is betting before and during the race. Each racer has a trainer, some of whom might be rather poor coaches and have other things in mind than a win for his racer. The event is held in a huge hall often used for animals: the stench is a sort of character and plot-driver. Unusual set and I wanted to know more about wobbling: when did it start? There is discussion of atrophine and strychnine as stimulants (in small doses) but wasn't there an opium craze at one point? What other stimulants did athletes at the time use, and in what other sports? I ended the book with many questions about wobbling than when I started. BUT, I also learned much about this 'sport' and the times.
PLOT - 3 stars: There is what appears to be an overdose of a stimulant. Then, it appears there is a suicide. And one runner is plotting a third victim, but we don't know if this runner had anything to do with the first 2 'accidents.' There is suspicious betting, at least one affair. This is a regular who-done-it in an original setting. The winner of the race? Oh, you'll know very early, and that's a bit disappointing but gratifying at the same time, as there IS a lot going on.
INVESTIGATION - 2 stars: Cribb seems to ask the same questions repeatedly. Then, Cribb and Thackery seem to review the same clues often. The racers have huts in which they use gas to heat the huts as well as to cook. And you just know there will be a fire. (There is...and oddly it doesn't seem to be part of the plot.) A repeated review of clues felt like space-filler at times.
SOLUTION - 3 stars: It's all resolved clearly but there are no big surprises.
SUMMARY - 3.0 stars. So much potential here. I liked that at the end of every section/day, there is a list of the runners and their position in the race. But Lovesey doesn't push the mystery, or the exciting elements of the race. This SHOULD have been a one-sit read. Even though I am giving this 3 stars, I wished for a page-turning read that felt like it was just under the surface.
BOOK 25
An unusual set for a story, certainly: wobbling!
CAST - 4 stars: Sol Herriott is the promoter of a 6-day "walk/wobble" race but he's never been in this kind of business. Why now? Herriott hires Walter Jacobs as his manager, and he has no experience with these wobbles. Again, why now? The cast of wobblers (14 men) is very good: Captain Erskine Chadwick is a world champion and is racing for 500 pounds, as well as his Regiment. Charles Darrell is his only real competitor and, with Chadwick, they get their own center track as they are considered 'wobbler royalty'. Billy Reid's trainer is his brother, Jack. Feargus O'Flaherty turns into a major competitor. No one expects anything from the older, skinny F.H. Mostyn-Smith and rumor has it that he bribed his way into the race. Those are the five main athletes upon which Lovesy focuses. Then there is Sergent Cribb: "...tall, spare in frame, too spry in his movements ever to put on much weight. His head...was burdened with an overlong nose...and his heavy eyebrows..." reminded me of Hercule Poirot's mustaches. Cribb's sidekick is Constable Thackery: "...a burly, middle-aged man with a fine grey beard..." incessantly taking notes. Lovesey sticks to just a few main characters as opposed to baffling us with a massive cast (a huge mistake for this genre when you're trying to keep track of the movements of, say 40+ people) but here only about a dozen.
ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars: I didn't know this, but "wobbling" was all the rage in Victorian England, this novel is set in 1879. "Wobblers" participate in a walking competition and this particular race will go for 6 days, and whoever is still standing and has walked the most miles wins 500 pounds. It's common knowledge that stimulants are used in "wobbling" but we learn that stimulants were popular for many athletes in various sporting events. Times have changed! The racers can take breaks whenever they want, sleep, eat, bath, etc. There is some ribbing, pushing and various other attempts to weaken fellow racers, so one 'athlete', Mostyn-Smith, decides to rest mostly during the day and race at night in comparative peace. There is betting before and during the race. Each racer has a trainer, some of whom might be rather poor coaches and have other things in mind than a win for his racer. The event is held in a huge hall often used for animals: the stench is a sort of character and plot-driver. Unusual set and I wanted to know more about wobbling: when did it start? There is discussion of atrophine and strychnine as stimulants (in small doses) but wasn't there an opium craze at one point? What other stimulants did athletes at the time use, and in what other sports? I ended the book with many questions about wobbling than when I started. BUT, I also learned much about this 'sport' and the times.
PLOT - 3 stars: There is what appears to be an overdose of a stimulant. Then, it appears there is a suicide. And one runner is plotting a third victim, but we don't know if this runner had anything to do with the first 2 'accidents.' There is suspicious betting, at least one affair. This is a regular who-done-it in an original setting. The winner of the race? Oh, you'll know very early, and that's a bit disappointing but gratifying at the same time, as there IS a lot going on.
INVESTIGATION - 2 stars: Cribb seems to ask the same questions repeatedly. Then, Cribb and Thackery seem to review the same clues often. The racers have huts in which they use gas to heat the huts as well as to cook. And you just know there will be a fire. (There is...and oddly it doesn't seem to be part of the plot.) A repeated review of clues felt like space-filler at times.
SOLUTION - 3 stars: It's all resolved clearly but there are no big surprises.
SUMMARY - 3.0 stars. So much potential here. I liked that at the end of every section/day, there is a list of the runners and their position in the race. But Lovesey doesn't push the mystery, or the exciting elements of the race. This SHOULD have been a one-sit read. Even though I am giving this 3 stars, I wished for a page-turning read that felt like it was just under the surface.
May 11, 2018
Maybe I am being generous with my rating, as the detection by Sgt. Cribb didn't impress me, but I thought that the historical fiction aspect was excellent. The setting of the murders was unusual and I learned a new aspect of the late nineteenth century (the professional pedestrian racer whose races last days and who typically go 90-100 miles in a day!).
January 1, 2018
A bunch of endurance walking fanatics in Victorian England have a muder on their hands...and six DAYS of walking left to complete.
Short, sweet, and fun. Almost too many red herrings to be brilliant. But a great, quick, historically interesting, and light mystery read.
Short, sweet, and fun. Almost too many red herrings to be brilliant. But a great, quick, historically interesting, and light mystery read.
December 20, 2020
Peter Lovesey channels the great mystery writers of the late 19th century in this novel, which debuts the quirky but persistent Sergeant Wally Cribb.
The Victorians loved betting on all sorts of offbeat sports, including “wobbles,” a sort of indoor marathon in which contestants undertook 500-mile, weeklong walks. Cribb and his sidekick, the long-suffering Constable Thackeray, investigate the murder of contestant Charlie Darrell. Lovesey fills the novel with the sights and (too often) smells of 1879 London. He also fills it with Victorian lingo, which sent me to Google. Rather than be off-putting, I enjoyed discovering, for example, what were the bushy Piccadilly Weepers that the stylish Sergeant Cribb sported.
You can see the curious sideburns here:
Lovesey’s plot isn’t anything special, but the atmosphere he invokes adds an entire extra star. I was startled to discover that Lovesey first published this novel in 1970 rather than 1880 — that’s how assiduously Lovesey mimicked the Victorian style. This won’t be my last novel in the Sergeant Cribb series.
The Victorians loved betting on all sorts of offbeat sports, including “wobbles,” a sort of indoor marathon in which contestants undertook 500-mile, weeklong walks. Cribb and his sidekick, the long-suffering Constable Thackeray, investigate the murder of contestant Charlie Darrell. Lovesey fills the novel with the sights and (too often) smells of 1879 London. He also fills it with Victorian lingo, which sent me to Google. Rather than be off-putting, I enjoyed discovering, for example, what were the bushy Piccadilly Weepers that the stylish Sergeant Cribb sported.
You can see the curious sideburns here:
Lovesey’s plot isn’t anything special, but the atmosphere he invokes adds an entire extra star. I was startled to discover that Lovesey first published this novel in 1970 rather than 1880 — that’s how assiduously Lovesey mimicked the Victorian style. This won’t be my last novel in the Sergeant Cribb series.
March 8, 2021
A “wobble’, for the uninitiated, is a pedestrian contest wherein competitors walk or run for a set period of time, trying to complete as much distance as possible before time is called. It eventually transformed into the modern sport of speed walking. Just such a wobble is the setting for this whodunnit novel set in London, 1879 and the set time is 6 days. That’s a long walk by anyone’s standards but when one of the primary competitors is found dead by strychnine poisoning, Sgt Cribb and his constable partner, Thackeray are called in to investigate.
This first book in the eight volume Sgt Cribb series is the very first book ever published by the highly regarded Peter Lovesey. I’ve been wanting to sample some of his work ever since I saw him as a panelist at a conference. A witty, charming, and downright hilarious speaker, he has won just about every mystery author award in existence. This book shows plenty of signs of that award winning style and it is difficult to believe this is a first effort written more than 45 years ago. I will say that it got off to a bit of a slow start (no racing pun intended) with the body not being discovered until nearly 20% of the way through. Up to that point it was all about the racers themselves and I was starting to think this was a sports novel rather than a murder mystery. But once Sgt Cribb arrives on the scene, it’s filled with all the clues, red herrings, and final denouement that one expects from such a story. There is also a very subtle humor running throughout the book, more due to the nature of the setting than actual events.
The mystery was good and I will admit to having to wait for Sgt Cribb to ID the murderer for me but in hindsight I could see it clearly. That’s a sign of a solid mystery for me. I do feel that I will need another book or two to really get to know Cribb but Thackeray seemed a bit more fleshed out. Happily, this isn’t a series where the main sleuth is a genius and the sidekick a bumbler who serves as a foil for the reader. Rather, both men are capable investigators and work well together while neither is a perfect detective.
Looking forward to sampling more of this series as well as some of Lovesey’s other works.
This first book in the eight volume Sgt Cribb series is the very first book ever published by the highly regarded Peter Lovesey. I’ve been wanting to sample some of his work ever since I saw him as a panelist at a conference. A witty, charming, and downright hilarious speaker, he has won just about every mystery author award in existence. This book shows plenty of signs of that award winning style and it is difficult to believe this is a first effort written more than 45 years ago. I will say that it got off to a bit of a slow start (no racing pun intended) with the body not being discovered until nearly 20% of the way through. Up to that point it was all about the racers themselves and I was starting to think this was a sports novel rather than a murder mystery. But once Sgt Cribb arrives on the scene, it’s filled with all the clues, red herrings, and final denouement that one expects from such a story. There is also a very subtle humor running throughout the book, more due to the nature of the setting than actual events.
The mystery was good and I will admit to having to wait for Sgt Cribb to ID the murderer for me but in hindsight I could see it clearly. That’s a sign of a solid mystery for me. I do feel that I will need another book or two to really get to know Cribb but Thackeray seemed a bit more fleshed out. Happily, this isn’t a series where the main sleuth is a genius and the sidekick a bumbler who serves as a foil for the reader. Rather, both men are capable investigators and work well together while neither is a perfect detective.
Looking forward to sampling more of this series as well as some of Lovesey’s other works.
July 11, 2015
A decent murder mystery set in Victorian England among a little known walk-run race called a wobble. Short, sweet and interesting. I shall read more Lovesey
March 20, 2016
This was really...odd. And not convincing.
May 3, 2025
After hearing that Peter Lovesey had passed away in April, I decided to read one of his books. He has written several series, but I was rather intrigued by the Sergeant Cribbs series that take place in Victorian London. This first book in the series focuses on a six day speed walk that is just brutal. Because they are speedwalking on a track, they look like they are wobbling. Naturally, competition, injuries, and murder happen in quick succession, and Sgt Cribbs knows that if he doesn’t solve the crimes by the end of the competition, it will be virtually impossible to catch the killer. I quite enjoyed this one and plan to read more in this series.
January 18, 2024
I wondered about the title at first and then discovered that wobbling was not what I thought! A wooble was a six day athletics event, or endurance event, in late Victorian times and one such fictional meeting provides an excellent setting for an excellent novel. The competitors race and rest, rest and race for the six days and who has completed the most distance over that period of time is declared the winner. But on this occasion mysterious happenings take place that puts the whole event in jeopardy. However, Sergeant Cribb and his trusty Thackeray manage to keep the race alive while investigating the deaths of two of the competitors. The characters are very much alive, except a couple of them, and the suspense is masterful and maintained until the end, just before which a surprise perpetrator of the crimes is unmasked.
July 5, 2009
I had never heard of a "wobble" until I read this book, but apparently they were all the rage in Victorian England. A wobble was the term for race walking competitions. Most of them took place on open roads and had distances of 50, 100, or 150 miles or more. The wobble featured in this book was held indoors on a track, lasted from Monday to Saturday, and it was anticipated that the winner would walk at least 500 miles. So one of the wobblers was killed by an excessive amount of strychnine that had been placed in his "tonic". The racers would be given extremely small amounts of strychnine during the race--especially toward the end--because it gave them energy. The police were called and and the usual mayhem ensued. A good read. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Peter Lovesey.
August 29, 2022
2022 bk 350. The first time I read this book was during the times of an early 1990's Olympics - can't remember which one - and was challenged by my students to find and read a fiction book about speed walking. It was my first Peter Lovesey title and, even though I generally do not like sports related mysteries, he hooked me from the opening chapters with his oh-so-very different walkers, trainers, and sports promoters. This is one of the few books in which I could find no character that I identified with, but which just pulled me into his world - Victorian, male-dominated, walking as a sport, and a pair of police officers part of the newly created Detective Bureau of Scotland Yard. I would go on to follow Cribb and Thackery through the rest of the series. Still an excellent read thirty some odd years later - it still feels fresh.
June 13, 2020
I saw this book in a little free library and I just had to read it. A murder mystery set during a speed walking race? Amazing.
I think it lived up to my expectations. It’s simple, well written, and satisfying. It’s great at putting you in the time period without focusing on the setting. Plus, it feels different from other “classic mystery” books which is a huge plus.
To be completely honest, it probably isn’t as good as some of the other books I’ve rated four stars. However, it was fun to read and, really, isn’t that all we can ask for?
I think it lived up to my expectations. It’s simple, well written, and satisfying. It’s great at putting you in the time period without focusing on the setting. Plus, it feels different from other “classic mystery” books which is a huge plus.
To be completely honest, it probably isn’t as good as some of the other books I’ve rated four stars. However, it was fun to read and, really, isn’t that all we can ask for?
February 25, 2025
A classic murder mystery set against the backdrop of exceedingly the popular Six Day events of the time
February 13, 2021
This review contains no spoilers.
I am a long-time fan of Peter Lovesey's books, having read all the books in the amazing Peter Diamond series, as well as The False Inspector Dew (which was outstanding). His novels have always impressed me with their intelligence, their humor, and the strength of their prose. Lovesey's books have a clarity that I really appreciate. His writing never gets in the way of the story, and he's always able to insert his signature wit throughout. It's extraordinary and so delightful to experience as a reader.
Based on all of that, I was understandably curious to see if all those elements would be present in the very first novel he ever wrote fifty years ago. Given that this one was written for a "first crime novel" contest, I thought it might at least be plausible that the edges might look a bit rough compared to some of his later works. Seems reasonable, right? Maybe a tad unpolished for this offering?
Nope, not at all. It was very professional, it was recognizably a Lovesey work with his distinct voice, and it was excellent. Hard to believe it was his very first novel. It's no wonder he won the aforementioned contest with this one. One of the things I really enjoyed was the description of the "wobble" itself. I was completely unaware that multi-day "go-as-you-please" races were so popular in the late 19th century. Lovesey did an excellent job of educating about this fascinating piece of history while also entertaining with a top-notch mystery.
Wobble to Death was published the year I was born, and it held up very well. The 50th anniversary of this book was an outstanding treat for the 50th anniversary of my life. Very highly recommended.
I am a long-time fan of Peter Lovesey's books, having read all the books in the amazing Peter Diamond series, as well as The False Inspector Dew (which was outstanding). His novels have always impressed me with their intelligence, their humor, and the strength of their prose. Lovesey's books have a clarity that I really appreciate. His writing never gets in the way of the story, and he's always able to insert his signature wit throughout. It's extraordinary and so delightful to experience as a reader.
Based on all of that, I was understandably curious to see if all those elements would be present in the very first novel he ever wrote fifty years ago. Given that this one was written for a "first crime novel" contest, I thought it might at least be plausible that the edges might look a bit rough compared to some of his later works. Seems reasonable, right? Maybe a tad unpolished for this offering?
Nope, not at all. It was very professional, it was recognizably a Lovesey work with his distinct voice, and it was excellent. Hard to believe it was his very first novel. It's no wonder he won the aforementioned contest with this one. One of the things I really enjoyed was the description of the "wobble" itself. I was completely unaware that multi-day "go-as-you-please" races were so popular in the late 19th century. Lovesey did an excellent job of educating about this fascinating piece of history while also entertaining with a top-notch mystery.
Wobble to Death was published the year I was born, and it held up very well. The 50th anniversary of this book was an outstanding treat for the 50th anniversary of my life. Very highly recommended.
April 6, 2018
Wobble To Death by Peter Lovesey is the first book in his historical mystery series featuring Scotland Yard Sgt Cribb. It is also my first exposure to his writing. It's an interesting premise to say the least.
The story is set in London, 1879 and is centered around a pedestrian race at the Agricultural Hall. From the foreword, these races took place fairly regularly, where groups or walkers would participate in a 6 day race, with the winner being the one who was able to walk the longest distance; somewhere over 500 miles, in the six days. It reminds me of the movie They Shoot Horses, Don't They, which was about marathon dance contests.
Anyway, in this particular race one of the contestants dies and this brings in Sgt Cribb and Constable Thackeray to investigate the circumstances. It turns out the contestant was, in fact, murdered. There are a number of potential suspects that the two intrepid detectives must investigate. It's an interesting story with interesting characters, somewhat light on the mystery but still entertaining. You get a nice picture of the time and the race and contestants. It was a nice introduction to the series and I will find other books featuring Sgt Cribb. (3.5 stars) Lovesey also writes the Peter Diamond mystery series. I have the first book in that series to try as well.
The story is set in London, 1879 and is centered around a pedestrian race at the Agricultural Hall. From the foreword, these races took place fairly regularly, where groups or walkers would participate in a 6 day race, with the winner being the one who was able to walk the longest distance; somewhere over 500 miles, in the six days. It reminds me of the movie They Shoot Horses, Don't They, which was about marathon dance contests.
Anyway, in this particular race one of the contestants dies and this brings in Sgt Cribb and Constable Thackeray to investigate the circumstances. It turns out the contestant was, in fact, murdered. There are a number of potential suspects that the two intrepid detectives must investigate. It's an interesting story with interesting characters, somewhat light on the mystery but still entertaining. You get a nice picture of the time and the race and contestants. It was a nice introduction to the series and I will find other books featuring Sgt Cribb. (3.5 stars) Lovesey also writes the Peter Diamond mystery series. I have the first book in that series to try as well.
August 21, 2015
Sigh, more sports. Well, at least Lovesey provides a couple corpses.
Phew, I never noticed what the women were like in this when I read these decades ago! Mrs. Darrell was one hot number! I suppose it's playing against the Victorian stereotype.
Pedestrian races were apparently very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. The one in this story is a six-day walk/run with a substantial prize for the winner - not to mention all the side-bets. Captain Chadwick is only persuaded to take part if he and Charles Darrell race separately from the riff-raff. The riff-raff are simply not Gentlemen. However, one of them is a queer figure with his own methods, and a doctor. Everything goes swimmingly until someone dies.
Lovesey sets up some amusing visuals - the little whiskered doctor doing his own thing, Thackeray having to interview witnesses while walking - and it all contrasts nicely with the horror of the murders. And Sgt. Cribb has a nice punchline for the end.
There is only one more Sgt. Cribb story in our collection. :(
Phew, I never noticed what the women were like in this when I read these decades ago! Mrs. Darrell was one hot number! I suppose it's playing against the Victorian stereotype.
Pedestrian races were apparently very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. The one in this story is a six-day walk/run with a substantial prize for the winner - not to mention all the side-bets. Captain Chadwick is only persuaded to take part if he and Charles Darrell race separately from the riff-raff. The riff-raff are simply not Gentlemen. However, one of them is a queer figure with his own methods, and a doctor. Everything goes swimmingly until someone dies.
Lovesey sets up some amusing visuals - the little whiskered doctor doing his own thing, Thackeray having to interview witnesses while walking - and it all contrasts nicely with the horror of the murders. And Sgt. Cribb has a nice punchline for the end.
There is only one more Sgt. Cribb story in our collection. :(
April 18, 2022
A mystery centered around an interesting, hitherto unknown, to me at any rate, piece of history. What more could I want on a cold rainy day?
January 19, 2020
I picked this up as part of my alphabet reading challenge, and honestly I would have never picked it up otherwise. I'm glad I though because it was actually a really compelling read.
It's definitely story driven over character, and I prefer character driven stories.
This story follows a 6-day race called the Wobble and my God these men just walk/run a track for 6 days amassing over 500 miles. My feet blister just thinking about that. However during this race one of the top contenders dies under mysterious circumstances, and Srgt Cribb is brought in to determine whodunnit.
I think this book will appeal to fans of Hercule Periot and other detective stories (though Agatha Christie remains queen of this genre). Overall it wasn't my favorite read but I was compelled to the end go see who did it and why (I guess wrong about 5 times. )
It's definitely story driven over character, and I prefer character driven stories.
This story follows a 6-day race called the Wobble and my God these men just walk/run a track for 6 days amassing over 500 miles. My feet blister just thinking about that. However during this race one of the top contenders dies under mysterious circumstances, and Srgt Cribb is brought in to determine whodunnit.
I think this book will appeal to fans of Hercule Periot and other detective stories (though Agatha Christie remains queen of this genre). Overall it wasn't my favorite read but I was compelled to the end go see who did it and why (I guess wrong about 5 times. )
June 28, 2017
Sports aren't really an interest of mine, though the wobbles sounded interesting as something I hadn't heard about before.
Characters not too well defined either, but as this is the first in a series that may improve later.
Characters not too well defined either, but as this is the first in a series that may improve later.
January 4, 2021
Wobble to Death was just republished in a 50th anniversary edition, celebrating its renowned author, Peter Lovesey. In 1969 Wobble to Death won the new Macmillan/Panther First Crime Novel prize (earning Lovesey 1000 pounds) and launching Lovesey's writing career.
September 7, 2024
3.5 stars. Rounded up.
I enjoyed this story set during a 6 day speed walking race. I loved the details about the race and racers. The mystery was fairly obvious but the setting was so interesting that I didn’t mind.
I enjoyed this story set during a 6 day speed walking race. I loved the details about the race and racers. The mystery was fairly obvious but the setting was so interesting that I didn’t mind.
Want to read
March 6, 2019Synopsis: in 1879, race walking competitions, known as wobbles, were all the rage. The death of a contender introduces us to Sergeant Cribb.
January 30, 2024
This is an entertaining story about a walking race in which two of the contestants are murdered. The audiobook version that I listened to is narrated well and it's a short, fun read (or listen).
November 6, 2021
An interesting setting and premise. The first quarter of the book is spent getting to know all the racers and setting until things start to go wrong. At that point we are abruptly introduced to Sgt Cribb and his constable. We are never given any information about the investigators and they feel very anonymous.
August 24, 2024
Every step of the pedestrian race in the book felt extremely painful! An unusual setting for a murder mystery, but it was very clever.
June 24, 2013
This novel is first in a series by Peter Lovesey about Sergent Cribb and his partner Thackeray from Scotland Yard. The setting is London, November 1879 in the enormous Agricultural Hall. A contest is getting under way and entrants and the press are shivering in the unheated building waiting for the announcements to start. A "Wobble" or "Go as You Please Contest" is being held starting on Monday and continuing through Saturday. These were instituted by Sir John Astley in March 1878, and became very popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The walking contest record was set by an Englishman(of course), George Littlewood in 1888 of 6233/4 miles in spite of his foot being burned when his alcohol bath caught fire. In 1966 a physiologist described Littwood's feat as "probably about the maximum sustained output of which the human frame is possible."
The rules were announced: "The walkers may "go as you please" for six days and nights , finishing next Saturday evening at 10:30. Each on you is allowed one attendant, who may pass you refreshment as you pass. You are not allowed to wear spiked boots or shoes. Any man who willfully jostles or blunders an opponent will be disqualified. Five hundred pounds and the belt goes to the winner. Bloody good luck to you all. Are you ready? Then go!"
At this point someone said, "You mean just go?" Wait. That was in the movie, The Rat Race. Sorry.
The Pedestrian race started at 1 o'clock a.m. on Monday and the man to accomplish the greatest distance would be declared Champion Pedestrian of the World. Details of the race take up the first portion of the book until the first murder takes place, poisoning by strychnine. Now, Sergeant Cribb is on the scene and the murder must be solved before the race ends and suspects are scattered. When the wife of the star pedestrian has an affair with the trainer, she is considered a suspect, but when three more murders occur, it will take the two detectives giving their complete concentration to solve this case.
The rules were announced: "The walkers may "go as you please" for six days and nights , finishing next Saturday evening at 10:30. Each on you is allowed one attendant, who may pass you refreshment as you pass. You are not allowed to wear spiked boots or shoes. Any man who willfully jostles or blunders an opponent will be disqualified. Five hundred pounds and the belt goes to the winner. Bloody good luck to you all. Are you ready? Then go!"
At this point someone said, "You mean just go?" Wait. That was in the movie, The Rat Race. Sorry.
The Pedestrian race started at 1 o'clock a.m. on Monday and the man to accomplish the greatest distance would be declared Champion Pedestrian of the World. Details of the race take up the first portion of the book until the first murder takes place, poisoning by strychnine. Now, Sergeant Cribb is on the scene and the murder must be solved before the race ends and suspects are scattered. When the wife of the star pedestrian has an affair with the trainer, she is considered a suspect, but when three more murders occur, it will take the two detectives giving their complete concentration to solve this case.
March 10, 2013
[This review originally appeared in Historical Novels Review:]
It is a cold November morning in 1879 and a dozen ‘pedestrians’ in silk drawers and white tights gather at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, a structure so vast that it contains its own fog. The occasion is a ‘wobble’—a grueling six-day marathon race. This is the setting of Peter Lovesey’s first Victorian mystery, now reissued.
The competitors are rough working-class types except for Captain Chadwick, ex Guards officer and the favorite to win, and Mostyn-Smith, a puny self-styled doctor who arrives for the contest with a trunk full of mysterious potions. The race is only in its second day when Captain Chadwick’s strongest competitor, Charles Darrell, dies of strychnine poisoning. Enter Detective Sergeant Cribb and his partner, the stolid Constable Thackeray. As Cribb sifts the evidence, the footsore contestants, fewer each day, slog on toward the finish line.
Lovesey, an expert in Victorian sports arcana, guides the plot with a deft touch and plenty of period atmosphere. Readers who have not yet made his acquaintance will find him a delightful companion.
It is a cold November morning in 1879 and a dozen ‘pedestrians’ in silk drawers and white tights gather at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, a structure so vast that it contains its own fog. The occasion is a ‘wobble’—a grueling six-day marathon race. This is the setting of Peter Lovesey’s first Victorian mystery, now reissued.
The competitors are rough working-class types except for Captain Chadwick, ex Guards officer and the favorite to win, and Mostyn-Smith, a puny self-styled doctor who arrives for the contest with a trunk full of mysterious potions. The race is only in its second day when Captain Chadwick’s strongest competitor, Charles Darrell, dies of strychnine poisoning. Enter Detective Sergeant Cribb and his partner, the stolid Constable Thackeray. As Cribb sifts the evidence, the footsore contestants, fewer each day, slog on toward the finish line.
Lovesey, an expert in Victorian sports arcana, guides the plot with a deft touch and plenty of period atmosphere. Readers who have not yet made his acquaintance will find him a delightful companion.
September 19, 2021
A six-day "Go As You Please" footrace, otherwise known as a 'wobble', was a strange phenomenon in the late 19th century. Men basically waled and rested at their own pace along a carefully set out course over a designated time period.
A wobble in Islington, London, is the setting for the first novel about Sergeant Wally Cribb on the London Metropolitan Police.
Peter Lovesey wrote this delightful book for a novel writing competition, which it won.
"Wobble to Death" is a well plotted, well written, crime story with lots of suspects and a satisfying conclusion.
While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes got me interested in crim fiction, it was Peter Lovesey's Sgt Cribb who lead me to expand my interest further into the Victorian era.
Although the book is well over 50 years old, it is still a crisp and delightful read. If you want to read it, it is still in print and available from Book Depository.
A wobble in Islington, London, is the setting for the first novel about Sergeant Wally Cribb on the London Metropolitan Police.
Peter Lovesey wrote this delightful book for a novel writing competition, which it won.
"Wobble to Death" is a well plotted, well written, crime story with lots of suspects and a satisfying conclusion.
While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes got me interested in crim fiction, it was Peter Lovesey's Sgt Cribb who lead me to expand my interest further into the Victorian era.
Although the book is well over 50 years old, it is still a crisp and delightful read. If you want to read it, it is still in print and available from Book Depository.
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