Sat 12 Sep 2020
A Mystery Review by Barry Gardner: W. J. BURLEY – Wycliffe and the Dunes Mystery.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[5] Comments
W. J. BURLEY – Wycliffe and the Dunes Mystery. Wycliffe #19, St Martin’s, hardcover, 1994. Published first in the UK: Gollancz, hardcover, 1993.
This has been an “old reliable” series for me, which is kind of amazing when you consider that it’s reached #19.
Fifteen years ago, the troubled and troublesome son of a prominent Member of Parliament went missing while on a walking holiday in Cornwall. Now a dog scratching in a dune has uncovered his body, and he proves just as troublesome dead as alive – for six local people (three mixed pairs) who spent a wild weekend 15 years ago, then for Wycliffe (who gets bashed in the head), and finally for a nosy landlord who is forcibly assisted from this vale of tears. The still-influential father of the dead youth provides Wycliffe with a matching pain in the other end of his anatomy.
If you know Burley and Wycliffe, you know what to expect. If you don’t, you’ll find a solidly constructed plot, good Cornish background, interesting characters, and a well-told story. All these are present here, but for some reason I didn’t find the whole to be anything exceptional. I don’t think Burley can write a book I won’t enjoy – at least he hasn’t yet – but this isn’t his best.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC UPDATE: Burley was to write but one more in the series, that being Wycliffe and the House of Fear (Gollancz, 1995). There was a British TV series based in part on the books entitled Wycliffe (1993-1998) as the cover image above would indicate, but none of the episodes seem to be based on this book.
September 12th, 2020 at 2:56 pm
We recently started watching the Wycliffe series on Britbox (I think), but after the first series we gave it up as pretty much a bore. These early ones were hour long condensations of books in the series – Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death (the pilot was 95 minutes with a totally different cast, other than Jack Shepherd as Wycliffe), The Four Jacks, The Dead Flautist, The Scapegoat (basically a ripoff of THE WICKER MAN), The Tangled Web, The Last Rites, The Pea Green Boat. You get a lot nicer Cornish scenery in DOC MARTIN.
September 12th, 2020 at 3:26 pm
I’ll have to try one of TV shows — if it’s on Britbox, I have it — but in all honesty, I have never found any of the books all that exciting. Solidly constructed mysteries, yes, but nothing out of the ordinary. I’m not surprised you gave up on the series as being as much of a bore as you did.
September 12th, 2020 at 6:06 pm
I liked the books, been considering the series. Not a favorite or a must, but a consistently capable writer and likable character.
September 23rd, 2020 at 7:47 pm
I bought the first 8 or 9 and have been occasionally reading them, in order. As Marv used to say, good but not great. Yet these days, good is worthwhile.
September 23rd, 2020 at 8:08 pm
When it comes to coining a phrase, Marv is always right, especially with this one.