Scan barcode
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Delightful. Sloan is called away from attending a doctor's visit with his very pregnant wife to oversee a postmortem on a woman who died of diabetes: and the postmortem confirms she died of diabetes. Natural causes? Not so fast. Not with a sudden influx of a quarter of a million pounds in her bank account, and a missing dog ... Sloan has a struggle to maintain work/life balance as his wife nears her due date and he's got a case to work on.
Clever and interesting, light but well written.
Clever and interesting, light but well written.
sandylc's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
4.0
This was a fun entry in the series with each cast member given moments to shine and Sloan forced to balance his responsibilities. The mystery was excellent and the resolution so timely that I had to verify the publication date (1979). We humans are very good at ignoring problems.
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't too surprising when Beatrice dies, it was surprising that her bank account all of a sudden had a quarter of a million pounds in it. How did it get there and was there more to her death? Those are the questions for Inspector Sloan to work through while attempting to support his wife through the last days of her pregnancy. Nice classic mystery.
mxinky's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting plot but the book is not that enjoyable. I find the Sloan series can be read in any order, as there is very little interiority shown and likewise little character growth. Sloan grows roses, full stop.
cmbohn's review against another edition
5.0
It wasn't so much how Beatrice Wansdyke died that was the trouble - it was what she had when she died. £250,000 - which I calculated to be worth $1.2 million today. So what was a quiet, elderly schoolteacher doing with that kind of money? Her lifestyle didn't reflect a taste for the good life. She lived in a modest home in a quiet suburb that the police describe in the most glowing terms - "no trouble, even on Saturday nights!"
So when the medical examiner finds a few suspicious indications, he informs Inspector C D Sloan. Sloan is plenty busy on his own. His wife is 9 months pregnant with their first baby, and growing more irritable and uncomfortable by the minute. (Hm, wonder what that's like.) But Superintendent Leeyes is just as determined that Sloan figure out how the woman died, where the money came from, and whether there was any foul play involved.
I really enjoy this series. I love the dry, English humor that runs through the books. The exchange between Inspectors Sloan and Harpe has all the humor of Abbott and Costello, but with a British flavor. My only complaint is that sometimes the books leave a lot of loose ends. But this one is one of the best and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
So when the medical examiner finds a few suspicious indications, he informs Inspector C D Sloan. Sloan is plenty busy on his own. His wife is 9 months pregnant with their first baby, and growing more irritable and uncomfortable by the minute. (Hm, wonder what that's like.) But Superintendent Leeyes is just as determined that Sloan figure out how the woman died, where the money came from, and whether there was any foul play involved.
I really enjoy this series. I love the dry, English humor that runs through the books. The exchange between Inspectors Sloan and Harpe has all the humor of Abbott and Costello, but with a British flavor. My only complaint is that sometimes the books leave a lot of loose ends. But this one is one of the best and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
When a rich old lady dies in a mystery, there is often a rush to figure out how she was murdered and by whom. In the case of Miss Beatrice Wansdyke, it comes as surprise that the woman was actually rich. I mean, she was a chemistry teacher in a girls' school, where did the money come from? She had managed her diabetes for years but her autopsy shows that she is distinctly lacking insulin. Plus there's the weird thing that her dog has disappeared as well.
Inspector Sloan is sort of distracted as his wife is about to give birth and we get a lot of details related to that miraculous happening. But that also takes up a lot of the book leaving less room for Aird to show on page how the mystery actually gets solved.
An interesting story but maybe a little too short.
Inspector Sloan is sort of distracted as his wife is about to give birth and we get a lot of details related to that miraculous happening. But that also takes up a lot of the book leaving less room for Aird to show on page how the mystery actually gets solved.
An interesting story but maybe a little too short.