Review - W J BURLEY - "Wycliffe and the Three-toed Pussy"

Publ: 1968
Stornoway Library
ISBN: 0 552 14205 7
Genre: Crime fiction
Pages: 221p
Continuing the Wycliffe series.
Rating: *****

What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing the Wycliffe series.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
This was Burley's first Wyclffe book - and not his best! Another cosy crime set in Cornwall. The murderer of Pussy Welles had torn off her stocking and shoe to reveal that she had a deformed foot bearing only three toes. Superintendent Wycliffe discovers that she had been lethal in her dealings with men, and people had reason to hate her. Soon he realises her murder was more subtle than it first seemed.

What did you think of the characters?
Less credible than the others in the Wycliffe series.

What did you think about the style?
Enjoyably easy.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
see comment on the Cycle of Death

Would I recommend it?
Probably not.

W J BURLEY see Wyclffe and Death in Stanley Street

Review - W J BURLEY - "Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death"

Publ: 1988
Stornoway Library
ISBN: 0 552 14109 7
Genre: Crime fiction
Pages: 223p
Continuing reading the series
Rating: ***** ***


What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing reading the series.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Superintendent Wycliffe of the Cornish crime squad finds himself caught up in the various feelings of bitterness and resentment among the family of a murdered bookseller and local councillor. When Matthew Glynn is murdered, Wycliffe is mystified. Why would anyone want to kill him? But a look at Glynn's background reveals tension within the family. Alfred Glynn, an eccentric recluse, has born a grudge against his brother for years. The other brother, Maurice, argued bitterly with Matthew over the sale of family land. His sister Sara is caught out in several crucial lies to the police. Add to this a discontented son, the discovery of valuable documents in the bookseller's safe, and the mysterious, still unexplained disappearance of Matthew's wife years earlier, and Wycliffe faces one of his most impenetrable cases yet.

What did you think of the characters?
All very believable and well drawn.

What did you think about the style?
It is noticeable that the action takes place 30 years ago and the style is also very much of those days - comparatively gentle and un-gruesome! Cosy crime set in cosy Cornwall.

What did you like most about the book?
I didn't guess whodunit!

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
I much prefer book jackets not to have the face of a TV star on them as the one I read had. When you haven't seen the TV series it just ruins an otherwise pleasant cover.

Would I recommend it?
Yes. Ideal for cosy crime lovers.

Totally irrelevant side note:
I may be slow but I still haven't worked out the reason for the title.

Quotations:
"Gina's husband was perched on a stool by the refrigerator. To his straw-coloured hair and blue eyes he added an obvious desire to please, at lest to be agreeable, attributes which were rare amongst the Glynns. In zoological terms Barry was a commensal - a tolerated intruder from another species."

W J BURLEY see Wyclffe and Death in Stanley Street