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Gently In The Sun
The Inspector George Gently Case Files – Book VI
Alan Hunter

Robinson (Constable and Robinson)
21 April 2011/ ISBN 1849015031
Classic Mystery / 1959 Norfolk, England
Amazon US || UK

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

As the seaside resort of Hiverton broils in the hottest summer anybody can remember, beautiful new girl in town Rachel Campion is found dead on the beach. Instantly there are questions raised about who she was, why she was there and the dubious business practices of her employer, but when an older skeleton is also found on the beach the plot thickens.

I can see why this series of books ran to forty-six as there are so many things to enjoy about them. Firstly their brevity, pace and linear but convoluted plots, secondly the likeable character of Gently himself and lastly but not leastly Mr Hunter’s remarkable talent for brief but telling descriptions. You can almost feel the intense heat, and there are equally tangible descriptions of a seaside boarding house and a waterfront pub filled with salty old fishermen. This isn’t historical fiction but it is something rather better, fiction written at a particular time in the recent past and managing to capture it perfectly. I’m going to savor every single one of these reprints; recommended to everybody who enjoys a good murder mystery.

Other reviews in this series

Gently Does It - Book I
Gently by the ShoreBook II
Gently Down The Stream Book III
Landed Gently Book IV
Gently Through the Mill - Book V
Gently In The SunBook VI
Gently With The Painters Book VII
Gently To The Summit Book VIII
Gently Go Man - Book IX
Gently Where The Roads Go – Book X
Gently Floating - Book XI
Gently Sahib - Book XII
Gently With The Ladies - Book XIII
Gently Northwest - Book XV
Gently Continental - Book XVI
Gently With The Innocents - Book XVII

Reviewed 2011
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