Death in the Opening Chapter (A Simon Bognor Mystery, 11) - Hardcover

Heald, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0727898973 ISBN 13: 9780727898975

Publisher: Severn House, 2012

Synopsis

A Simon Bognor mystery - On the eve of the Flanagan Fludd Literary Festival, the Reverend Sebastian Fludd is discovered gently swinging from the end of a rope in his own church. While Sebastian’s cousin and lord of the manor, Sir Branwell Fludd, is keen to wrap up the affair with the minimum of fuss, Branwell’s friend, Sir Simon Bognor, is more concerned to get to the truth. Did the mild-mannered vicar really take his own life – or was his unexpected demise the result of something more sinister?

About this title

About the Author:

Tim Heald (b. 1944) is a journalist and author of mysteries. Born in Dorchester, England, he studied modern history at Oxford before becoming a reporter and columnist for the"Sunday Times". He began writing novels in the early 1970s, starting with"Unbecoming Habits"(1973), which introduced Simon Bognor, a defiantly lazy investigator for the British Board of Trade. Heald followed Bognor through nine more novels, including"Murder at Moose Jaw"(1981) and"Business Unusual"(1989) before taking a two-decade break from the series, which returned in 2011 with"Death in the Opening Chapter".
Heald has further distinguished himself with official biographies of Prince Philip and Princess Margaret, as well as accounts of sporting heroes like cricket legends Denis Compton and Brian Johnston. He is also an experienced public speaker. Heald s forthcoming novel, "Yet Another Death in Venice"(2014), is the latest in the Bognor chronicles.

Review:

As the title promises, the first chapter of Heald's stately new entry in his Simon Bognor series (Red Herrings, etc.) does indeed find the Rev. Sebastian Fludd hanging in the nave of St. Teath's in Mallborne, a feudal relic of an English seaside town. It's the eve of the annual Flanagan Fludd Literary Festival named for a distant ancestor, and this doubting and almost radical clergyman, who was also at odds with his wife, Dorcas, had been preparing tomorrow's sermon. Sebastian's baronet cousin, Sir Branwell Fludd, a believer in order and tidiness, is sure the vicar committed suicide, but Bognor, a special investigator for the Board of Trade, suspects otherwise. The witty Bognor, while guest of Sir Branwell, begins his own inquiry with a methodical if at times unorthodox approach to interviewing suspects. Those who prefer rambling, allusive, mildly humorous English mysteries will be most rewarded. --Publishers Weekly, May 30, 2011

About this edition

• Publisher: Severn House
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0727898973
• ISBN 13: 9780727898975
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320