Gently Where the Roads Go

Chief Superintendent Gently #10

by Alan Hunter

Book 10 in the Chief Inspector George Gently case files finds Gently dodging bullets when he investigates the murder of a trucker who died in a hail of gunfire.Murdered in a lonely lay-by in the heart of the countryside, the trucker is identified as a Polish immigrant. Was this a revenge killing, a quarrel over money, an underworld execution or something even more sinister?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, British Literature

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Alan Hunter was born at Hoveton, Norfolk and went to school across the River Bure in Wroxham. He left school at 14 and worked on his father's farm near Norwich. He enjoyed dinghy sailing on the Norfolk Broads, wrote natural history notes for the local newspaper, and wrote poetry, some of which was published while he was in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

He married, in 1944, Adelaide Cooper, who survives him with their daughter. After the war he managed the antiquarian books department of Charles Cubitt in Norwich. Four years later, in 1950, he established his own bookshop on Maddermarket in the city.

From 1955 until 1998 he published a Gently detective novel nearly every year. He retired to Brundall in Norfolk where he continued his interests in local history, natural history, and sailing

Reviews

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gently and the Truckers
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2011) of the Cassell hardcover original (1962).

This is the 10th Inspector George Gently book and also my 10th review. I've managed to source all of the early 1950s & 1960s books on Kindle but after that it becomes a bit more haphazard as only 30 of the 46 have come out as eBooks and the paperbacks will be harder to find. I latched onto the series after enjoying the TV adaptations, but discovered that the original book character is rather different. He has the same unflappable nature and persistence, but you don't get the same sense of the gruff charm as portrayed by actor Martin Shaw. A curious addiction to peppermint sweets in the first several books disappears later on and pipe-smoking is the only remaining quirk.

Gently Where the Roads Go finds the Scotland Yard CID man called in when a trucker of Polish extraction is found murdered by the side of the road. The investigation trail leads to a road house run by a woman who acts suspiciously and then on to a nearby RAF base where supplies and arms have gone missing. There are various tie-ins back to World War II and the issue of Polish refugees working for the RAF. Gently manages to uncover a more sinister connection in the end.


The dust cover of the original hardcover published by Cassell in 1962. Image sourced from Abe Books.

Trivia and Links
Gently Where the Roads Go was adapted as the 2nd Episode (actually called Season 2 Episode 1, as the 2007 Pilot was considered Season 1) in 2008 of the Inspector George Gently TV series (2007-2017) where it was renamed The Burning Man, with the plot being considerably changed. Very few of the other TV episodes are based on the original books and the characters are quite different e.g. Sgt Bacchus does not appear in the books. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. The full episode can be seen on YouTube here. The framing of the video makes it somewhat awkward to watch.

[Maria Thermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure that I like this one. Although excellently plotted until almost the end, the author seemed to have had an attack of "literary aspirations" here, with strange inserts about the Road leading or ending chapters that seem out of place. It tries very hard to become a spy story but then peters out because one has the impression Hunter couldn't be bothered to do more research.

The ending is not what I would have expected from the clues strewn across the story up to that point. In fact, it makes little sense. A far better revenge story, in my writer's opinion, would have been to use "the other Polish war-time comrade", namely the one who went missing after parachuting into enemy territory. If the villain of the story had been a secret collaborator, he could have betrayed his friend's arrival to the Nazis. Somehow, the ending chosen instead seems contrived and too cliché.

I also feel that the MI5 man is a bit of a caricature, another cliché. This book tries very hard to follow in Graham Greene's footsteps but misses by many, many miles.

Still, it's entertaining enough, especially the part where Gently meets the army chaps at the small airfield for the first time. Not one of Hunter's best murder mysteries but still worth a respectable 3 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books I randomly try just to see what they are like. I have seen a number of George Gently investigations and have wondered what they were like since they are set in the 50s. Crime fiction of this kind always intrigues me since they not only have to tell of a crime and how it is solved in an interesting way (like all good crime novels) but also to tell it in a realistic manner. Now I may not be old enough to remember the 50s but there are plenty out there who do - (and yes I know there are enough historic crime novels out there but many use their historical settings as something as fantastic as the story they tell) so they have to be authentic and one thing I did notice about this novel was that there were little paragraphs dotted through each chapter which give the air of the era it was set in without it turning in to a dry lecture on the times. As a result not only was it a good crime novel - I didn't see it coming though in hindsight I should have - but it was also fascinating as a window in to a era I realise I knew so little about. I think if I come across any more Alan Hunter books I will certainly be taking a closer look

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I miss the old peppermint eating Gently.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder on the A1, unsolved by the local police and Gently is sent in from Scotland Yard - a decent if slightly dated police procedural.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspector Gently is called in to investigate the murder of a Polish refugee now making a living as a truck driver. The murder scene represents some puzzling features : why so many bullets? Who would know where to lay in wait and ambush the truck driver during a pit stop? The Special Branch becomes interested because of the Eastern Europe connection - could this man have been a Russian spy? Other trails lead to a nearby military base, where a supplies officer has just gone missing. And what is the role of the woman keeping the nearby pub, who seems to have been pretty indiscriminate in handing out her personal favors, and who seems to be fixating on Gently in an unnerving fashion.

This is a decent mystery with a fair number of red herrings and unexpected connections. I tumbled onto the culprit very late in the book, which I count as a plus. The background of suspicion about refugees from Poland and Russia is interesting (this was the Cold War, remember!).

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gently Goes to the Weasel

One of the finest qualities of Alan Hunter’s writing is his ability to reveal subtle humor without telling a joke. Likewise, the unraveling of the plot comes in bursts, among evocative and sometimes melancholy scenes. Literature among the discoveries.

[Niki Carey]

Another great story

This one is special with a a twist at the end. I love all of them though. Each story is unique. This time Gently has a counterpart who is his opposite which highlights the wholesome ways of Gently.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this even though I'd seen an drama episode which used aspects of this story, confusing me slightly. Written well with enough to hook and keep my attention. I defintely want to read more.

[Carolyn Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his best.