The Haunted Season
by G.M. Malliet
Well, I actually picked up a book in hard copy from
our library for a change! I read one chapter at lunch and often one in the
evening. It was just what I needed to unwind.
Our book club theme for October was simply “Spooky
Reads” and I grabbed The Haunted Season based simply on its’ title and
that it was a mystery, number five in the Father Max Tudor mysteries. It was a
very pleasantly relaxing, slow, read set in the English village of Nether
Monkslip.
I will admit that a couple of things gave me pause in
the reading of the book.
First, Father Max Tudor is introduced in the most
exalted terms. I almost gave up after reading it.
“…if Max had a fault, it was that he had been born
open and trusting, expecting and generally receiving the best from people.
Along with his handsomeness, it was the equivalent of a one-two knockout punch
as far as women were concerned.”
Oh, really? I’m just not a fan of overly idealized
characters. I prefer characters to look interesting. This had also come just
after the author spent a very lengthy paragraph (fourteen lines) disparaging a
middle-aged woman for her looks and the way she was dressed. Yeah, I almost
chucked the book right there.
But, I kept going. I’m not big on giving up on a book
and I’d already had a good prologue to pique my interest. In fact, the
introduction of the junior priest in the parish, the Reverend Destiny
Chatsworth, in a sauna where she overhears some incriminating conversation, was
lovely. Unfortunately, we don’t see her again until nearly halfway through the
book, and then only as a much more minor character. Kind of disappointing.
The mode of murder was interesting and the explanation
of how it was accomplished was solid. Father Max is a former MI5 agent so that
gives him some interesting background to draw on, and he’s quite besotted with
his new son and his wise wife. (She seems a bit idealized as well.)
The identity of the murderer was not really something
the reader could have figured out for themselves, but I’m okay with that. I was
a little more annoyed by the *shocked gasp* presentation of who it was. While I
couldn’t figure it out ahead of time, it wasn’t in any way shocking to me.
There’s a subplot going on that’s very minimal so its
use at the end was a bit of a surprise.
I like the police procedural style of Father Max going
and interviewing people, getting a lead, and following up on it, then reporting
in with the local police. The plot is solid and pacing is good, edging toward
slow.
I think the setting and description is one of the
strongest points of the book.
“It was fall, and the patchwork fields around Nether
Monkslip were changing color from gold and jade to bronze and topaz in that
strange alchemy of the turning seasons.”
It’s a solid book, enjoyable and relaxing, I’d give it
3 stars out of 5. I might read another, but I also might look for something a
little more modern.
Have you read any of the series? What did you think?
