A Going Concern

I was just bemoaning the fact that the mysteries that used to be shown on PBS, including Sherlock Holmes and the Inspector Morse mysteries, are not as readily available on DVD as such inanity as Gilligan's Island. Luckily for me, I just recently found Catherine Aird's mystery with her Inspector Sloan and his rather speed-happy sidekick, Crosby. And this particular mystery was right up my alley, having to do with chemistry done during WWII in order to win the war (I teach chemistry). In this story chemistry is used to mimic natural death, and it is only because Sloan is determined to find the murderer (and show everyone that an old lady's death is not to be dismissed just because she is an old lady). An old lady sends a dying request that the police be present at her funeral and asks for a thorough autopsy. The old lady was a smart one, and Sloan recognizes and learns to appreciate her intelligence...she sends a letter to all the newspapers announcing her obituary and notifies the authorities to keep watch for someone who will benefit from her death...all of this is done to flush out the murderer. When her house is ransacked after the body is removed it becomes obvious to all concerned, including Sloan that this woman knew or had something of great importance and great worth to someone else. In the end, her own keen insight into human nature, and also her knowledge as a scientist whether a known scientific procedure should be used ever, protects the world of the future from those who would use the procedure she discovered during WWII from being misused. Aird is a hilarious writer. Occaionally I have no idea what she is talking about, but I am sure that is due to my American education versus her English education. These books are enjoyable little morsels of mysteries! Karen Sadler

For those readers who enjoy a well-written story with a wry humour and an intricate plot, they cannot go wrong with Catherine Aird. Her Sloan/Crosby series is truly delightful. She uses wry humour, tongue-in-cheek and puns like an expert, but the plot and story do not suffer from this. Her plots are complex and she enters into all kinds of fields. In this book an elderly lady passes away from what seem to be natural causes, but the preparations she has made in the event of her death are so complex, that it alerts Sloan and his team that there is something more to this. Before he's done figuring out the mystery, he's had to probe into history from the Second World War. The story is told with elegance and style, and is as sharp as tacks. Catherine Aird knows how to write a mystery.