Fri 20 Jan 2017
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: OSMINGTON MILLS – No Match for the Law.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
William F. Deeck
OSMINGTON MILLS – No Match for the Law. Geoffrey Bles, UK, hardcover, 1957. No US edition.
While undoubtedly there will be many reviews [in this issue] of novels dealing with St. Geoffrey’s Day, another presumably won’t hurt. As all of you should know, though maybe the Archbishop of Canterbury doesn’t, St. Geoffrey of Michester received his sainthood, as well he should, for decreeing that no lawyer could set up practice within the bounds of the city.
In observance of St. Geoffrey’s Day, a cricket match takes place between the “law” — members of the bar — and “order” — local civil officials. Mr. Justice Craven, an immensely unpopular jurist with both those who come to his court and with his family, having scored 42, takes a break and drinks a beverage he made himself from a recipe he found in an old book. Three hours later he dies of oxalic poisoning.
Because of the judge’s unpopularity, the list of suspects is long. When the judge dies, Chief Inspector Baker of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch is at the cricket match and handles the investigation in exemplary fashion, but how was he to know about the joker in the woodpile? An excellent whodunit.
Bio-Bibliographic Notes: This was the third of ten appearances for Inspector Baker as chronicled by “Osmington Mills,” a pen name of Vivian Collin Brooks, (1922-2002), a female journalist and writer.
January 21st, 2017 at 11:28 am
I’ve been a mystery reader for over fifty years, and have never heard of Osmington Mills. None of her books is in any Michigan library, academic or public, as best one can tell from Internet research. She is really obscure. Maybe she wasn’t much published in America.
Osmington Mills is a town in Britain. If you do an online search, you get lots about the town, little about the author.
January 21st, 2017 at 1:14 pm
Three of the Baker books she wrote were published in this country, plus two in another series starring P.C. (Sgt.) Patrick C. Shirley and Chief Insp. Rupert “Rip†Irving; there were five in this series.
There can’t be much of a coincidence between the town of Osmington Mills and the author’s choice of a most unusual pen name. I came across the town myself while looking for a image of the cover of NO MATCH FOR THE LAW. I didn’t find one, as everyone should have noticed.
January 21st, 2017 at 8:45 pm
By the way, I’m not surprised that this one is one of those not published in this country. Readers in the US simply have no idea how cricket is played.
Not if I’m any example.
January 22nd, 2017 at 9:23 pm
Read at least one Mills and was suitably impressed.