Thu 18 Jul 2019
Archived Mystery Review: SUSANNAH STACEY – Goodbye, Nanny Gray.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
SUSANNAH STACEY – Goodbye, Nanny Gray. Superintendent Bone #1. Summit, US, hardcover, 1988. First published in the UK by Bodley Head as by Jill Staynes & Margaret Storey. Pocket, US, paperback, July 1989.
When Phoebe Gray inherits the bulk of a rich man’s estate, the dead man’s brother has a right to be surprised. But then Miss Gray disappears and is later found dead. Was sge murdered? Or had she only bumped her head and wandered off to die? Supt. Bone needs to know.
This is his debut, and with cares at home mixing in with his devotion to his job, I wouldn’t mind calling this a “cosy” at all. Details in the case, time, day of the week, etc., are kept rather vague, however, and deliberately so, for it all comes down to that.
Bibliographic Notes: This was the first of eight outings for Supt. Bone (no first name known). Under the name Elizabeth Eyre, the two female collaborators wrote another six novels set during the Italian Renaissance. The leading protagonist in those books was a knight and/or a soldier of fortune by the name of Sigismondo da Roca.
July 19th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
The Italian series sounds a little closer to my tastes perhaps.
July 19th, 2019 at 9:49 pm
Not my favorite time period the read about, I’m afraid, and I never tried one. i may have tried another adventure of Supt Bone, but this one was probably a one and done for me.
July 20th, 2019 at 11:14 am
An earlier Mystery*File entry for Stacey contains their bibliography and an interesting comment by David Vineyard regarding Scotland Yard’s actual role in UK policing and how this has been occasionally misunderstood by mystery writers and consequently readers: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1071
July 20th, 2019 at 12:26 pm
My goodness, Bill. I’d completely forgotten about that old review, posted here over 10 years ago. Thanks!