“Murder in the South of France” by Roy Lewis

The Morpeth Department of Antiquities and Museums in northern England faces a daunting challenge. An archaeological excavation team needs time to do its job properly, but the landowner had bulldozers, road builders, and construction crews ready to roll. The department needs more people and funding for the project, so Arnold Landon and his boss Karen Stannard head to a conference in southern France where they just might find the funding. 

The local police back in Morpeth have their hands full. A child’s torso placed in a plastic bag has washed up; a raid has netted several pedophiles but not the kingpin, someone called “The Doctor;” and the new assistant commissioner is more than anxious to nail a local luxury car owner, suspected of leading a car theft ring.

 

In Murder in the South of France, British author Roy Lewis has woven all of these disparate threads into a fine tapestry of a story, the 18^th in the Arnold Landon series. The only trouble is that Arnold Landon is once again something of a secondary character, at least as far as the police investigation goes, and the murder doesn’t happen in the south of France. (The book’s original title was Headhunter, which is less misleading but still a bit off.) There’s also less emphasis on the specific archaeology, which gave the earlier books so much of their character and feel and usually tied into the murder in some way. 

 

Roy Lewis

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Despite the difference from the earlier books in the series, Lewis still tells a cracking good story. And Murder in the South of France is a cracking good story. I have four left in the series to read, and I’ll miss Arnold Landon and his colleagues when I finish No. 22.

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Dawn Princess by Roy Lewis.

Murder in Wolfcleuf Woods by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at Abbey Head by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Murders for January – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

When All Your Stories Get Scrambled – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review on Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa.

 

The pseudoscience behind Britain’s open borders – Rob Bates at The Critic Magazine.

 

Orwell Saw This Coming – Charles Labe at The Free Press.

“Murder at Abbey Head” by Roy Lewis

A landslide has opened up a seaside cave. That would geologically interesting by itself, but the cave shows signs of having been used by humans, perhaps for thousands of years. The Morpeth Department of Antiquities and Museums undertakes the task of investigating the cave and overseeing the construction of a seawall to prevent encroachment and flooding by the expected winter storms. 

Arnold Landon is the man assigned to the work, while his boss, Karen Stannard, handles all of the public-facing activities, a task for which she’s well suited. But one day, she decides to climb an interior wall; the top of the cave opens way above on the bluff and was likely the portal for human sacrifice. Stannard encounters human bones, and while it’s thought it might be from an age-old sacrifice, it so happens that the bones are much more recent, as in only 20 years old.

 

The manor and land on which the cave sits are due to be sold. And a young graduate student has been asking questions of any and all concerning what might have happened to a man who helped save his father’s life in World War II, but the man also happened to be a German concentration camp guard. Someone doesn’t want those questions answered, to the point where the student’s body is found in the cave, pitched or pushed through the opening at the top.

 

Roy Lewis

Murder at Abbey Head is the 17^th Arnold Landon mystery by British author Roy Lewis (1933-2019). It’s the first in the series in which Landon plays almost no role in the solution to the crime, with local DI John Culpepper taking most of the honors. It’s almost as if Lewis was reaching the end of possibilities in Yorkshire for Landon to investigate. Or maybe he became bored with Yorkshire. Adding to that is that the last five in the series are all set in other countries.

 

Lewis was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Murder at Abbey Head is well written, plotted well, and contains several twists and turns. I’m going to miss Yorkshire, though, with its rolling hills, ancient history, and manors dating back to medieval times.

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Dawn Princess by Roy Lewis.

Murder in Wolfcleuf Woods by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Kafka’s Tricksy Translations – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review.

 

Escaping the Brave New World – Paul Kingsnorth, speaking at Grove City College.

 

Ancient Wisdom: A Middle Finger to the Digital Age – Joseph Epstein at The Free Press.

 

The Graffiti in the Cathedral. A Very Victorian Stunt – Henry Oliver at The Common Reader.

 

Too Much Screen Time or Coming to Terms with My Idolatry – Katie Andraski at Katie’s Ground.

“Murder in Wolfcleuf Woods” by Roy Lewis

It’s a classic standoff. A property developer, with strong local political connections, wants to build a significant development, but the access road will skirt and likely affect a historical woodland. The woods themselves are part of a local estate, whose owner is lukewarm about the proposed development and preserving the woods; he’d rather not get involved.  

The task for charting a path forward falls to the Morpeth Department of Antiquities & Museums, and since it’s so heavily political, the issue falls in the lap of Arnold Landon. His boss, Karen Stannard, want to do nothing to jeopardize a promotion, and her boss simply wants to please the powers-that-be. So, it’s Arnold’s task to determine what to do. The issue is complex; an archaeological team is excavating nearby, and they think the woods may hold artifacts and the bodies of old sacrifices. 

 

The issue gets more complicated with eco-activists show up to defend the woods, an unscrupulous sub-contractor takes a backhoe to their encampment. And Stannard’s rather beautiful assistant, increasingly at odds with her boss, may be trying to use Arnold as pawn in internal political games, including making a play for Arnold himself.

 

A body is discovered, and it’s not an ancient one. Tests determine that it’s been in the woods only about 20 years. And suddenly a property development case becomes a murder investigation.

 

Roy Lewis

Murder in Woodcleugh Woods is the 16^th novel in the Arnold Landon series by British author Roy Lewis (1933-2019). It’s a fascinating story, but it’s also the first in the series in which Arnold himself doesn’t play a significant role in solving the murder. That’s left to the local police, led by the detective inspector. He does, however, manage to find himself in the thick of the action, including a highly dangerous climactic scene.  

 

Lewis was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Dawn Princess by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

The Royal Mint: A Controversial Transformation – A London Inheritance.

 

How progressivism killed American Protestantism – Chris Mondics at The Spectator.

 

Doreen Fletcher’s Early Drawings – Spitalfields Life.

 

Letter from the Farm, #2 – Brian Miller at Notes from an East Tennessee Farmer.

"Murder on the Dawn Princess" by Roy Lewis

It starts with a fishing boat finding a body floating off the northeast coast of England. No identification, no fingerprints, nothing to say who it might be. Eventually, enough information is shared between police in Britain and Interpol to suggest a possible identity – a man from Spain wanted for questioning in a case. 

Meanwhile, and oblivious to the case, Arnold Landon of the Morpeth Department of Antiquities & Museums is debating with himself about a job offer in the United States, one involving his friend Jane who seems to be taking up permanent residence there. And he’s still dealing with his boss, the beautiful if totally political Karent Stannard, who’s hired an executive assistant who’s as beautiful as she is. She asks Arnold to help orient the new hire, and the two investigate a complaint from a local estate owner that a neighboring estate, run by what looks like a cult, may be building on a noted archaeological site.

 

Arnold soon finds himself in a tangle of boss, politics, a cult-like leader, and the local historical society. And then the estate owner is found dead at the bottom of the tower of his home – and a very suspicious substance in his bloodstream. And Arnold begins to see a link between the man’s death and something he heard when he visited the possible new job in the States, not to mention the body found floating.

 

Roy Lewis

Murder on the Dawn Princess is the fifteenth novel in the Arnold Landon series by British author Roy Lewis (1933-2019). It continues the running theme of its predecessors – how a mild-mannered antiquities official seems to attract crime of all kinds, up t and including murder. And more to the point – how he helps solve them (much to the chagrin the local police and his boss). 

 

Lewis was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

The Arnold Landon series, like the series for Eric Ward and Inspector Crow, is set largely in the period of the 1970s and 1980s. They’re classic, old-fashioned yet greatly entertaining mysteries without the DNA analysis, computers, mobiles phones, and other fixtures of contemporary crime novels. And they’re terrific reads.

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Meaning & Membership – Elizabeth Stice at Current Magazine.

 

A Scrambled Story & a Puzzle to Solve: Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire – Jeff Goins at Miller’s Book Review.

 

I’m a Liberal at a ‘Conservative’ University: How Did I End Up Here? – Boris Fishman at The Free Press.

 

Telling a Hopeful Story: Some notes on Hannah Coulter and the active voice – Gract Olmstead at Granola.

 

The Luxurious Death Rattle of the Great American Magazine – Joe Nocera at The Free Press.

'"Murder on the Golf Course" by Roy Lewis

A promising archaeological site has been uncovered near a quarry, and the nearby landowner has been more than accommodating with both access and financial support. But the team needs more, and Karen Stannard, Arnold Landon’s boss at the Department of Antiquities & Museums in Morpeth, Northumberland, develops a great idea – apply for a grant from the Lottery. The Morpeth Council is impressed, but instead of giving to the boss to follow through, the council ends up hiring an outside consultant. 

 

The outside consultant is a former journalist, accountant, and general jack-of-all-trades. And he’s known – unfavorably known – to the archaeological team. In fact, he’s known to a lot of people involved, and no one seems to like him. When his body is discovered on a golf course a few days after an archaeology conference, the list of suspects is theoretically more than 200 people long. Even narrowing it down, it’s still a lengthy list.

 

Roy Lewis

Murder on the Golf Course is the fourteenth Arnold Landon mystery by British writer Roy Lewis (1933-2019). It’s an unusual entry in the series, as Landon doesn’t play an even minor role in the solution of the crime.  But then, neither do the investigating police – the solution will happen almost by accident. 

 

Still, it’s a fast-paced, intricate story about local politics, internal bureaucratic politics, and politics within the archaeology community. Lewis knew how to write a smashing good story, filled with interesting characters and underlined by an archeology project. And Landon may seem a mild, unassuming man, but he can be as tenacious and determined when the situation calls for it.

 

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Related:

 

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

 

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Wendell Berry’s New Decade of Sabbath Poems – Shirley Kilpatrick at Current.

 

5 Things Every Creative Person Should Consider (Inspired by Wendell Berry) – Joshua Heath Scott (video).

 

When the Horse Has Left the Barn – Brian Miller at Notes from an East Tennessee Farmer.

 

Colonization, Replaceable Man, and Love of One’s Own – N.S. Lyons at The Upheaval.

 

Alderman Stairs – Artificial Intelligence, Historical Accuracy and Copyright – A London Inheritance.

"Murder at Haggburn Hall" by Roy Lewis

An ambitious Morpeth councilman, eying a close reelection race, takes on an investigation into the bureaucracy, and for some strange reason, the Department of Antiquities & Museums is the first in the barrel. In seemingly no time at all, Arnold Landon’s boss Karen Stannard is suspended with pay pending the investigation’s outcome. That’s followed by the suspension of the director himself. No charges have been made public, but the implications are rather ominous.

 Mild-mannered but stubborn on matters of principle, Landon is incensed at the treatment of his superiors, much as he dislikes both. When he’s offered the interim directorship, he refuses, and punches home the point by asking for two weeks of vacation leave he’s due.

 

At the invitation of his professor friend, he’s off to Haggburn Hall, where Karen Stannard is also temporarily working on a dig. She’s not exactly pleased to see him, but she’s taken aback when she realizes he’s there as a protest against the investigation.

 

Roy Lewis

The Hall is owned by an eccentric elderly lady, who has various hangers-on enjoying her hospitality, including a kind of wastrel nephew who expects to inherit her wealth and a charlatan looking for money to fund his reincarnation study center. When a young man seen hanging around the local village is found in the Haggburn stable with his head bashed in, the signs seem to point to the reincarnation charlatan. But the police are having a dickens of a time determining motive and opportunity.

 

But then, Arnold Landon is on the scene, and it’s Landon who’ll figure out what actually happened.

 

Murder at Haggburn Hall is the 13^th Arnold Landon mystery by British writer Roy Lewis. It represents something of a change from its predecessors. Landon and his boss are becoming something less than adversaries, although animosity is present as an ongoing condition. Ad Landon seems to be moving in a direction away from his museum work. It’s a good story, and it’s interesting to watch the change in Landon.

 

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Related:

 

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

 

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Thursday Readings

 

The Funniest Things Dorothy L. Sayers Said About (and in) Detective Fiction – Olivia Rutigliano at CrimeReads. 

 

Courage in the Swamp: Nicholas Fox’s Port Hudson Medal of Honor – Peter Vermilyea at Emerging Civil War.

 

How to Create a Great Villain – Nathan Bransford.

 

Year of the Monarch – A Visit to the Craik-Patton House – Laura Boggess at Tweetspeak Poetry.

"Murder in the Cottage" by Roy Lewis

A murder in Prague seems a long way from Morpeth, England, and the work of Arnold Landon in the county Department of Antiquities & Museums, but that's how his latest mystery starts. He’s still managing to deal effectively with his controversy-averse director and Karen Stannard, his immediate supervisor who tries to circumvent Arnold and take credit for his work at every opportunity. 

He’s sent to “be a presence” in a new project involving Saxon tomb excavations at the site of a major housing and hotel development. And with characteristic ease, controversy about the project begins to swirl; what looked perfectly fine on the surface may be anything but underneath. And a new professor at the local university is stirring things up, confronting people at project meetings (after she shows up uninvited) and then making barely veiled accusations on a television program. 

 

The professor also seems to be his boss’s new interest in life; the two women are seen everywhere together. Stannard lets her personal feelings prompt a report on the project, which is promptly mentioned on television by the new professor.

 

Roy Lewis

The new professor will soon find herself the dead professor, and the list of possible suspects is legion. It includes Landon’s boss.

 

Murder in the Cottage is the 12^th Arnold Landon mystery novel by British author Roy Lewis. It’s a bit different from its predecessors; there’s not as much emphasis on medieval masonry, wood construction, and archaeology as there is in the earlier stories. But it’s still a cracking good story, with a murder victim that seems just as nasty a person as the killer turns out to be.

 

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Related:

 

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

 

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Some Thursday Readings

 

Murders for July – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

The Black Spectacles: John Dickson Carr’s Most Unusual Crime Novel – Martin Edwards at CrimeReads. 

 

Fact vs. Fiction: Real Crime Stories Make Good Novels – Laura Essay at CrimeReads. 

 

Poet Laura: Chocolate Elemental – Michelle Rinaldi Ortega at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

Challenging Experts: A Lone Journalist Confronts John Steinbeck – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review.