Corpse in a Gilded Cage
New York: Dell Publishing Co. Inc., 1985. First Dell printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. [6], 211, [7] pages. Cover has some wear. Cover states "1st Time in Paperback". Signed by the author on the title page. Robert Barnard (23 November 1936 – 19 September 2013) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He went on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories. Barnard said that his favorite crime writer was Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie. Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement. Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard published two standalone novels and two alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age. Derived from a Kirkus review: Barnard's satiric gaze hones in this time on England's lower-class citizenry along with his more usual aristocratic targets--when forthright ironmonger Percy Spender, barely making ends meet with lugubrious wife Elsie, somehow inherits Chetton Hall and the title of Lord Ellesmere. How does Percy respond to his first weeks inside Chetton? He decides to sell the whole works . And Percy's kin seem to have their own, conflicting ideas about what to do with Chetton Hall. So, when Percy is found murdered the day after his birthday party, they all become suspects: daughter-in-law Dixie, wife of eldest son Phil; Dixie's escort Chokey; Percy's younger son Trevor, accomplished welfare-cheat and part-time porno film-actor; plus prim daughter Joan and her calculating husband Digby. That's the challenge for Superintendent Hickory. Barnard at his sardonic, smooth, pitch-perfect best: super entertainment from the reigning master of English mystery/comedy. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Percy Spender, Clapham, Chetton Hall, Lord Ellesmere, Lillywaite, Murder, Welfare-cheat, Pornographic Film, Actor, Superintendent Hickory, Chokey, Ironmonger
ISBN: 0440114659
[Book #75864]
Price: $45.00