Scan barcode
the_maggieg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/review-1421-death-has-deep-roots
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/review-1421-death-has-deep-roots
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Death Has Deep Roots is the 5th book by Michael Gilbert with Inspector Hazlerigg (who has a cameo here). Originally published in 1951, this reformat and re-release, out 5th Nov 2019 is part of the British Library Crime Classics series by Poisoned Pen Press. The new edition is 288 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats).
This is a classic courtroom drama/mystery with locked room overtones. This is a really enjoyable and well written legal procedural from an author who wasn't well known to me. I haven't yet read a single clunker from the British Library Classics. This one, as the others in the series, is introduced with background from the ever erudite mystery maven Martin Edwards. These intros are frankly worth the price of admission by themselves and include background info on the authors, the history, and (in this case) the film adaptation. Good stuff.
The language is precise and the book is very well written if ever so slightly dated (it's almost 70 years old). The mystery is cerebral with a very interesting back history about WW2 and the French resistance and WW2. I would definitely recommend it to fans of legal and classic mysteries of the period. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Death Has Deep Roots is the 5th book by Michael Gilbert with Inspector Hazlerigg (who has a cameo here). Originally published in 1951, this reformat and re-release, out 5th Nov 2019 is part of the British Library Crime Classics series by Poisoned Pen Press. The new edition is 288 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats).
This is a classic courtroom drama/mystery with locked room overtones. This is a really enjoyable and well written legal procedural from an author who wasn't well known to me. I haven't yet read a single clunker from the British Library Classics. This one, as the others in the series, is introduced with background from the ever erudite mystery maven Martin Edwards. These intros are frankly worth the price of admission by themselves and include background info on the authors, the history, and (in this case) the film adaptation. Good stuff.
The language is precise and the book is very well written if ever so slightly dated (it's almost 70 years old). The mystery is cerebral with a very interesting back history about WW2 and the French resistance and WW2. I would definitely recommend it to fans of legal and classic mysteries of the period. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
The original Resistance...
Victoria Lamartine is on trial for murder. The Frenchwoman played a role in the Resistance in WW2 and after the war came to London in search of the young English officer with whom she’d had a wartime affair. She was working as a chambermaid in the Family Hotel in Soho when another wartime acquaintance came to stay, Major Eric Thoseby. That night, Thoseby was found stabbed to death in his room in a style reminiscent of the Resistance’s methods, and Vicky was found standing over his body. Her counsel wants her to plead guilty and beg for mercy, but Vicky’s having none of that! So just before the trial proper is about to begin, she dismisses her legal team and her solicitor asks young lawyer Nap Rumbold to take the case. Nap has just a week to find something to prove her innocence, and he must go to France and dig around in the murky history of war to find it...
This is billed as an Inspector Hazlerigg mystery but he’s barely in it. The focus is on Nap and a friend of his, Major Angus McCann, who run around doing the investigative work in France and England, while famous QC Hargest Macrea does his best to undermine the prosecution in court and string the case out as long as possible to give Nap and Angus time. The story flits between them, so that it’s part action thriller, part legal drama.
I’ve loved both of the other Michael Gilbert novels I’ve read, Smallbone Deceased and Death in Captivity, so my expectations were perhaps too high going into this one. Although it’s good overall, it doesn’t quite hit the heights of the other two. The plotting is a bit looser and the characterisation doesn’t have the same depth. The mix of drama and darkness leavened by occasional humour is still there though and the writing is of the same high quality.
The plot is rather convoluted and I don’t think it could really be described as fairplay – there are hints along the way, but not actual clues that a reader (well, this reader) could grasp. It’s almost a locked room mystery in the sense that there is only staircase leading to the victim’s hotel room and there were always people around who in theory would have seen anyone go up. Having caught their suspect the police haven’t bothered to consider other possibilities, so it’s up to Vicky’s new defence team to cast doubt on the prosecution’s evidence or, better yet, find an alternative solution.
Vicky had a child during the war, which later died. She claims the father was the officer she had been in love with. The prosecution claim that in fact Major Thoseby was the father, and Vicky had murdered him for abandoning them. Vicky is an interesting character, and through her story we get a glimpse of life in France under the Occupation for those who weren’t fully committed members of the Resistance but who helped them when they could – ordinary people, in fact. I felt Gilbert didn’t make the most of her – she fades into the background a bit as the story progresses. Gilbert also treats her rather cruelly at one point purely to make a dramatic scene. It’s very effective, but it left me feeling that he was using her simply as a plot vehicle rather than considering the humanity of her situation. (Vague – avoiding spoilers – sorry.)
The French bit is fun, with Nap quickly getting into danger in the best thriller tradition, and much wartime murkiness to be uncovered. Nap is a likeable character, though somewhat underdeveloped in this one – I believe (from other reviews) he may appear in other Inspector Hazlerigg books so perhaps this is an effect of reading them out of order. Meantime Major McCann is doing his bit to break the locked room mystery back in London. But the star of the show is the QC, Macrea, and the courtroom chapters are particularly good as he spots inconsistencies, demolishes evidence and generally runs rings round the prosecution.
So not quite as excellent as the other two Gilbert books the BL has so far re-published, but still an enjoyable read with much to recommend it and, taken together, the three show that Gilbert is an author who thoroughly deserves this opportunity to be appreciated by a new generation of readers.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Victoria Lamartine is on trial for murder. The Frenchwoman played a role in the Resistance in WW2 and after the war came to London in search of the young English officer with whom she’d had a wartime affair. She was working as a chambermaid in the Family Hotel in Soho when another wartime acquaintance came to stay, Major Eric Thoseby. That night, Thoseby was found stabbed to death in his room in a style reminiscent of the Resistance’s methods, and Vicky was found standing over his body. Her counsel wants her to plead guilty and beg for mercy, but Vicky’s having none of that! So just before the trial proper is about to begin, she dismisses her legal team and her solicitor asks young lawyer Nap Rumbold to take the case. Nap has just a week to find something to prove her innocence, and he must go to France and dig around in the murky history of war to find it...
This is billed as an Inspector Hazlerigg mystery but he’s barely in it. The focus is on Nap and a friend of his, Major Angus McCann, who run around doing the investigative work in France and England, while famous QC Hargest Macrea does his best to undermine the prosecution in court and string the case out as long as possible to give Nap and Angus time. The story flits between them, so that it’s part action thriller, part legal drama.
I’ve loved both of the other Michael Gilbert novels I’ve read, Smallbone Deceased and Death in Captivity, so my expectations were perhaps too high going into this one. Although it’s good overall, it doesn’t quite hit the heights of the other two. The plotting is a bit looser and the characterisation doesn’t have the same depth. The mix of drama and darkness leavened by occasional humour is still there though and the writing is of the same high quality.
The plot is rather convoluted and I don’t think it could really be described as fairplay – there are hints along the way, but not actual clues that a reader (well, this reader) could grasp. It’s almost a locked room mystery in the sense that there is only staircase leading to the victim’s hotel room and there were always people around who in theory would have seen anyone go up. Having caught their suspect the police haven’t bothered to consider other possibilities, so it’s up to Vicky’s new defence team to cast doubt on the prosecution’s evidence or, better yet, find an alternative solution.
Vicky had a child during the war, which later died. She claims the father was the officer she had been in love with. The prosecution claim that in fact Major Thoseby was the father, and Vicky had murdered him for abandoning them. Vicky is an interesting character, and through her story we get a glimpse of life in France under the Occupation for those who weren’t fully committed members of the Resistance but who helped them when they could – ordinary people, in fact. I felt Gilbert didn’t make the most of her – she fades into the background a bit as the story progresses. Gilbert also treats her rather cruelly at one point purely to make a dramatic scene. It’s very effective, but it left me feeling that he was using her simply as a plot vehicle rather than considering the humanity of her situation. (Vague – avoiding spoilers – sorry.)
The French bit is fun, with Nap quickly getting into danger in the best thriller tradition, and much wartime murkiness to be uncovered. Nap is a likeable character, though somewhat underdeveloped in this one – I believe (from other reviews) he may appear in other Inspector Hazlerigg books so perhaps this is an effect of reading them out of order. Meantime Major McCann is doing his bit to break the locked room mystery back in London. But the star of the show is the QC, Macrea, and the courtroom chapters are particularly good as he spots inconsistencies, demolishes evidence and generally runs rings round the prosecution.
So not quite as excellent as the other two Gilbert books the BL has so far re-published, but still an enjoyable read with much to recommend it and, taken together, the three show that Gilbert is an author who thoroughly deserves this opportunity to be appreciated by a new generation of readers.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
laci's review against another edition
4.0
Liked it. My opinion at http://www.zblesk.net/blog/2012/10/death-has-deep-roots/
cmbohn's review
3.0
Stayed up late to finish this one. British courtroom drama that revolves around what happened on a French farm during World War II. I thought the last 1/4 of the book kind of lost steam, but it was still an enjoyable read. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to find it, but if you come across it, it was fun.
pauldaly's review against another edition
4.0
A gem
A gem of a book, dug up from the tail end of the classic British crime novel era. How many more gems are hidden in this throve of novels now reprinted in the British Library crime series?
A gem of a book, dug up from the tail end of the classic British crime novel era. How many more gems are hidden in this throve of novels now reprinted in the British Library crime series?
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I'm more than happy I requested this ARC because I discovered a new to me author and a great courtroom mystery.
It's engrossing and entertaining, it keeps you hooked till the end and it perfectly pictures how the impact of WWII and how it was just after the end of the war.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing.
I loved this novel and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's engrossing and entertaining, it keeps you hooked till the end and it perfectly pictures how the impact of WWII and how it was just after the end of the war.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing.
I loved this novel and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
vesper1931's review against another edition
4.0
Victoria Lamartine, an ex-French Resistance fighter and now hotel worker is standing trial for the murder of her former manager in France, and alleged lover, Major Eric Thoseby. A seemingly straightforward trial as she is the only logical suspect.
Just before her trial she changes her defence counsel, and solicitor. The latter, with help try and find new evidence.
It took a few chapters to get into the book but then I came interested in the story and really enjoyed the unfolding of this well-written story.
Originally published in 1951
A NetGalley Book
Just before her trial she changes her defence counsel, and solicitor. The latter, with help try and find new evidence.
It took a few chapters to get into the book but then I came interested in the story and really enjoyed the unfolding of this well-written story.
Originally published in 1951
A NetGalley Book
anjana's review against another edition
4.0
The narration revolved around four main characters involved in defence of a woman jailed for murder. The first is the legal counsel for the defence, Mr Macrea. He is touted to be famous for dramatic twists and turns in the court, and his sudden arrival causes a furore of excitement in the courtroom. Rombold Junior (Nap) and his father are the main people that the accused first approaches and requests for help. The younger sets off to figure out the roots of the crime and adds another man McCann into the mix to did out the more hidden details of the ongoing case.
The entire book felt like I was watching a play. Many of the main characters wove in and out of the other's scenes, but there was a distinct frame within which each operated. It felt like a 'boys' tale, the enthusiasm and the way everything was approached. The title made a surprising amount of sense given the way the story unfolded.
A humorous twist was the giving of compliments when talking of someone new and then saying 'despite this, the person was liked'. As I got more and more accustomed to the characters, I felt it get progressively funnier even if all the threads of the narration seemed to run parallel to each other. The timeline is tight and clues few and far between, but the defence has sincere faith in the innocence of the woman in question and is doing their best to find out the truth. The mystery itself is almost sidelined, and the culprit was not much of a surprise, but the book in its entirety was. I did not expect much from it, but I did enjoy it the ride.
Some lines I happened to highlight because I found it funny. It could have been the timing of it might just be me, but I was chuckling at these for a bit.
" Sergeant Crabbe, a sorrowful man, nodded heavily. He bestowed upon McCann the look which a St.Bernard might have given if, after a long trek through the snow, he had found the traveller already frozen to death. He then sat down dutifully on the edge of the hardest chair."
"'All right. Then we came to the guests at the hotel. There were seven of them, but five were more or less out of it. that left two'. 'Five from seven leaves two' agreed Mrs McCann"
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
The entire book felt like I was watching a play. Many of the main characters wove in and out of the other's scenes, but there was a distinct frame within which each operated. It felt like a 'boys' tale, the enthusiasm and the way everything was approached. The title made a surprising amount of sense given the way the story unfolded.
A humorous twist was the giving of compliments when talking of someone new and then saying 'despite this, the person was liked'. As I got more and more accustomed to the characters, I felt it get progressively funnier even if all the threads of the narration seemed to run parallel to each other. The timeline is tight and clues few and far between, but the defence has sincere faith in the innocence of the woman in question and is doing their best to find out the truth. The mystery itself is almost sidelined, and the culprit was not much of a surprise, but the book in its entirety was. I did not expect much from it, but I did enjoy it the ride.
Some lines I happened to highlight because I found it funny. It could have been the timing of it might just be me, but I was chuckling at these for a bit.
" Sergeant Crabbe, a sorrowful man, nodded heavily. He bestowed upon McCann the look which a St.Bernard might have given if, after a long trek through the snow, he had found the traveller already frozen to death. He then sat down dutifully on the edge of the hardest chair."
"'All right. Then we came to the guests at the hotel. There were seven of them, but five were more or less out of it. that left two'. 'Five from seven leaves two' agreed Mrs McCann"
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.