Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our March/April 24 buddy read of Some Die Eloquent The eighth book in the Sloan and Crosby series) was initially published in 1979.

MURDER IN THE MORTUARY. On the pathologist's cold metal table lay the naked body of Beatrice Gwendoline Wansdyke, spinster.Dead of perfectly natural causes at age 59. That Miss Beatrice Wansdyke had died is not particularly surprising. A chemistry mistress at the Girls’ Grammar School in Berebury, she was a longtime sufferer of diabetes who managed to live her modest life to a reasonable age.

'The problem,' mused the good doctor, 'is not so much what she died from as what she died with: a quarter of a million pounds, in a bank account no maiden lady of modest means should have.' Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan could feel in his bones it was murder. He had guessed at the motive. He would surely uncover the method. But why couldn't he find out where-oh-where had her little dog gone? And why would looking almost cost him his life?

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I enjoyed the somewhat complicated plot, and can't help being amused by the humour of these books. Sloan has his mind on the imminent birth of his child, and although his wife is tolerant of his situation, he often neglects her, but her input into the investigation is helpful. Surprisingly, Crosby plays a bigger role in this book and uses his entitative, although not as successfully as maybe others may have been in his place.

I do appreciate the humor in this series, it’s what interested me from the first book, and the way the detectives have to look at cases - the guidelines they have to follow, evidence they have to obtain, politics they have to navigate! Plus, as Jill points out, balance their personal lives and obligations.

This one was particularly interesting and complex, as they just had an odd set of circumstances surrounding a seemingly natural death, not even sure they had a crime on their hands. Just the chance overheard conversation by a former policewoman, and the odd huge amount of money in a bank account- and none of the possible heirs were concerned or even seemed aware of it! Until the pathologist realized the insulin was fiddled with, they were totally feeling their way in the dark. Once it sunk in what someone had done to this poor woman, it seemed particularly heinous to me.

I love this series; the books are an interesting mix of humor, solid police work, good plots and human characters with their personal lives.

The murderer in this one was worse than many, willing to eliminate any one between him and financial gain. I was struck by the timeliness of the major plot point given the publication date. We humans are very good at ignoring the problems we cause.

I noticed a tine correction between my old hardcover book and the audio. When they are talking about the Sherlock Holmes book with the dog that didn't bark, the book mentioned 'Hound of the Baskervilles' while the audio corrected it to 'Silver Blaze'.

Silver Blaze? Is that an alternate title? I’ve never heard of it.

Sandy wrote: "I love this series; the books are an interesting mix of humor, solid police work, good plots and human characters with their personal lives.

The murderer in this one was worse than many, willing ..."

I agree with all of this!

Susan in NC wrote: "Silver Blaze? Is that an alternate title? I’ve never heard of it."

The Holmes story "The Adventure of the Silver Blaze" is the one where the clue of the dog that didn't bark in the night occurs, not Hound of the Baskervilles.

Sandy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Silver Blaze? Is that an alternate title? I’ve never heard of it."

The Holmes story "The Adventure of the Silver Blaze" is the one where the clue of the dog that didn't bark in..."

From Wiki:

"The Adventure of Silver Blaze", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the first from the 12 in the cycle collected as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in December 1892.[1]

Doyle considered "Silver Blaze" among his favourite Sherlock Holmes stories.[2] One of the most popular Sherlock Holmes short stories, "Silver Blaze" focuses on the disappearance of the eponymous race horse (a famous winner, owned by a Colonel Ross) on the eve of an important race and on the apparent murder of its trainer. The tale is distinguished by its atmospheric Dartmoor setting and late-Victorian sporting milieu. The plotting hinges on the "curious incident of the dog in the night-time":

Thanks!

I wonder if that was meant to be an error by whoever mentioned it, or a genuine mistake by Catherine Aird.

I also enjoyed the humour, especially the criminal expecting a child at the same time and the two men confronting each other in the hospital.

Yes - we’re all human after all, etc.

Agreed-I love this series and it was an intriguing mystery-well-crafted and an original murder plot.

I was equally interested in the maternity/hospital setting and policies-that Inspector Sloan pops in and out of the delivery process does seem so crazy now, but I guess both expectations for fathers and hospital policies have changed considerably.

I also enjoy seeing Sloan's relationship with Margaret-they seem well-suited and as if they understand each other and care for each other well. I hope it survives the chaos that a new baby brings!

Good point! They’ll be exhausted, but hopefully still happy!

Expectations have changed. Mind you, when I first went into hospital to have my eldest, my husband was packed off home, where he promptly fell asleep and didn't arrive back for some hours!!!

I quite enjoyed this but didn't think the plot hung together as well as some of the others in the series. Nice to see Crosby becoming a bit better as a detective, anyway, and to see the Sloans' baby arriving (a boy after all)!

I thought the "other" doctor, Esplin, was a likely culprit, but glad he wasn't.

I enjoyed the most of those I have read so far. I agree about the plot, but I think the characters work better now the series has settled down.

Susan wrote: "Expectations have changed. Mind you, when I first went into hospital to have my eldest, my husband was packed off home, where he promptly fell asleep and didn't arrive back for some hours!!!"

Lol, I wonder if some men would consider that the good old days!

Judy wrote: "I quite enjoyed this but didn't think the plot hung together as well as some of the others in the series. Nice to see Crosby becoming a bit better as a detective, anyway, and to see the Sloans' bab..."

Me, too, ardent young doctor seeing a possible beneficial marriage and a private practice…but glad it wasn’t him, also!

I've become a big fan of this series. Enjoy the humor, too.

I think both Sayers and Christie had used "doctored medication" where the murder is just a matter of time.

Yes! I just finished The Moving Finger, (view spoiler)[!poison from the garden shed, intended for wasps, snuck into sleeping medicine powders! (hide spoiler)]

It was quite a clever ending I thought. I hadn't considered that the victim had the large amount of money put into her account without realising it. I guess phones would lose that possible plotline as the thing pings whenever you use your account.

That’s what I was thinking at first, how could she not know? But yes, the old technology plays better with this plot!

And if the new technology is not used, the plot works today. My phone does not ping with any account activity.

My phone definitely pings, Sandy! It is useful, to be honest and I would be immediately aware of my nefarious relatives tricks with my bank account...

Susan wrote: "My phone definitely pings, Sandy! It is useful, to be honest and I would be immediately aware of my nefarious relatives tricks with my bank account..."

And you could have withdrawn all that money the murderer was hiding!

That was a big plot hole for me, how could the murderer be sure the victim might not check the bank balance? As I recall, the “insulin” (water) would eventually take a toll, but it wasn’t a sure fire murder method, so the victim might have found the money in her account and raised an alarm.

I once found an excess amount in one of my accounts. I had to track it back over a month. I could have just let it slide. But I didn't. For some reason a deposit made by someone found its way into my account. I just thought the correct person might be going frantic, or might be on a fixed income. I just thought the bank should find the correct person. I guess they did because it left my account shortly thereafter.

My phone doesn't ping. I would find that irritating.

I’m sure the other bank customer was extremely grateful!