Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our April/May 24 buddy read of A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett. The first in the Mrs Pargeter series, this was first published in 1986.

The Devereux is a nice residential hotel which caters for a nice class of guest. But the arrival of Mrs Pargeter, an attractive widow, seems to act as a catalyst of disaster for everyone connected with the hotel. On the morning after her arrival, the corpse of one of the frailer residents is found at the foot of the main staircase, and shortly after that another death shakes the gentility of the hotel. Deciding to investigate herself, Mrs Pargeter discovers that more than one person in the Devereux has a motive for murder.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

I really enjoyed this. I have read a few of the Fethering series and it's made me want to go back and re-read them.

I have just finished my re-read of this - I enjoyed it again - it's nice to see a woman in her sixties still spry and intelligent!

I've got this on order from the library and I'm looking forward to it. I've read all the Fethering series. For some reason I've resisted this series, but looking at the synopsis I don't know why now as it looks like something I'd enjoy.

Probably just too many series, Ruth. You cant read everything, things just peter out, even if you like them I find, due to lack of time.

Ruth wrote: "I've got this on order from the library and I'm looking forward to it. I've read all the Fethering series. For some reason I've resisted this series, but looking at the synopsis I don't know why no..."

Hope you do, and I think the series gets better as we get to know her late husband's associates.

Read this and enjoyed it and am eager to find out more about her husband. I appreciated that there was a reason she could do all sorts of odd nefarious things. Made her a more likely sleuth than many amateurs.

Having read other books by this author, I was eager to try this series. This book is a quick, easy read as not only short, the chapters are short, making it easy to just read one more.
Mrs Pargeter is a widow who is trying to find a pleasant place to spend her retirement years, so takes up residence in a seaside hotel, occupied by people who are looking for the same sort of place. We are not told what Mr Pargeter did for a living, but it would seem it was something that would have at least, been verging on crime. ( Maybe we find out in a later book.) However it did appear it was something that left Mrs Pargeter, more than a bit comfortably off. Mrs Pargeter does not quite conform to the hotel's rules, and right from the start one of the residents dies, in a fall down the stairs, which disturbers our character.
I found I was not able to pin down the murder, as I kept changing my mind. This definitely added to my enjoyment. I am more than willing to read on with this series.

Susan wrote: "I really enjoyed this. I have read a few of the Fethering series and it's made me want to go back and re-read them."

Same here! I read the Charles Paris (I think was the lead) books many years ago, lead me to the Fethering books. I’d definitely reread those, I don’t remember a thing! But I look forward to reading on, seeing what Mrs. Pargeter gets up to next!

Rosina wrote: "I have just finished my re-read of this - I enjoyed it again - it's nice to see a woman in her sixties still spry and intelligent!"

I know, right?! Gives me something to aim for! ;o)

Susan wrote: "Probably just too many series, Ruth. You cant read everything, things just peter out, even if you like them I find, due to lack of time."

So true - sometimes I’m browsing at the library, or here among the reviews of GR friends, and I come across a book that seems vaguely familiar…then I realize I probably read it before 2008, when I got on GR, started keeping track of my books!

Susan in NC wrote: "Susan wrote: "Probably just too many series, Ruth. You cant read everything, things just peter out, even if you like them I find, due to lack of time."

So true - sometimes I’m browsing at the libr..."

I do that. I tried keeping lists before I joined goodreads in 2012., but often forgot to do it.

I really enjoyed this and found it a very quick read - hard to put down! I find it hard to believe that Mrs Pargeter would want to stay at the Devereux hotel in the first place, but that's similar to Miss Marple and Poirot going to some unlikely locations.

Just adding a link to the spoiler thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Perhaps Mrs Palfrey (Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont) would have been more contented with a murder or two to solve!

I wonder if that type of residential hotel for the gentry still exists. I've read about them - in Christie and other Golden Age fiction.

At least the food at the Devereux was decent! too often food in English hotels is portrayed in the worst possible light.

I also loved this one. Would love to add the Fethering ones as a buddy series once we finish these.

Susan wrote: "I also loved this one. Would love to add the Fethering ones as a buddy series once we finish these."

Oh, yes, that would be fun to get back to those, I only read the first couple, many years ago.

They are fun. Let's see if there is any interest, but I do think Mrs Pargeter is one of the better books we've tried recently!

Yes, definitely agree with that.

I'd like that. I have read most of them, but I'm up for a re-read. I agree they are fun and pleasant - the sort of murder mystery I enjoy.

I have the whole set on Kindle and enjoying them so much, I'm reading them nonstop although I had thought I'd spread them out,

Sounds good. Let's add them once we have finished with Mrs Pargeter. What did we think of the characters in the hotel? Did anyone have a favourite?

I’m almost done and also quite enjoying Mrs Pargeter and look forward to reading more about her and her late husband.

Also, for those using an audiobook, is it Par-jetter or Par-geter (hard g)? Or something else?

Frances wrote: "Also, for those using an audiobook, is it Par-jetter or Par-geter (hard g)? Or something else?"

It is the j sound. The audiobooks pop up from time to time on YouTube. They are read by the author Simon Brett.

Thanks!

I have not listened to the Audible books but as I read, in my mind, I use the hard 'G' for Mrs Pargeter's name. I know the 'rule' that says C and G is usually soft when followed by I and E, and hard with A.O and U but there are plenty of exceptions as in, for example Celtic.
Somewhat like the 'I before E except after C' where there are also plenty of exceptions, Rather weird isn't it?

Pargeter - the person who did pargetting, a mediaeval wall plastering technique. And parget as a verb comes from French, possibly parjeter (to throw about).

So the g should be soft, not hard.

Thanks Rosina, We can learn something every day

I had to google to confirm it, but I knew that Pargeter was one of the old occupational surnames.

Like Walker!

(By the way, I have a cousin called Keith Walker.)

The story about my family name is that we originated making rope for ships on the 'ropewalk' in Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland We were 'ropewalkers'

A lot of English 'Walkers' were originally gamekeepers 'walking' the forests to protect the deer for the King in the Middle Ages
There is a Maori whanau (extended family) in Marlborough, New Zealand called 'Waaka' who told me their name came from a Scottish whaling captain from the Clyde who married a Maori wahine (girl). Maori had no written language until some British philologists devised one in the late 1700 early 1800s.

There must be a fair few Keith Walkers around, I found that some 50 years or so ago, there were six of us in New Zealand. I came to New Zealand in October 1962 from the UK. I think I might stay.

Rosina wrote: "Pargeter - the person who did pargetting, a mediaeval wall plastering technique. And parget as a verb comes from French, possibly parjeter (to throw about).

So the g should be soft, not hard."

thank you, Rosina, I like learning things and now I know I've been saying her name correctly.

Keith wrote: "The story about my family name is that we originated making rope for ships on the 'ropewalk' in Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland We were 'ropewalkers'

A lot of English 'Walkers' were origin..."

The 'main' origin of Walker as a surname is as one of the wool trades - like Shearer, Dyer, Fuller, and of course Weaver. But ropewalker sounds possible too!

Keith wrote: "The story about my family name is that we originated making rope for ships on the 'ropewalk' in Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland We were 'ropewalkers'

A lot of English 'Walkers' were origin..."

I think you should stay, seems a good fit!

Rosina wrote: "Keith wrote: "The story about my family name is that we originated making rope for ships on the 'ropewalk' in Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland We were 'ropewalkers'

A lot of English 'Walker..."

Thank you, I love picking up information like this on GR - a clever bunch here, that also enjoy digging for facts and information. I vaguely remember before Google, the good old encyclopedia or my mother’s big chunky dictionary (always on hand for crossword puzzles) was the next best thing!

Susan in NC wrote: "Rosina wrote: "Keith wrote: "The story about my family name is that we originated making rope for ships on the 'ropewalk' in Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland We were 'ropewalkers'

A lot of ..."

Oh yes. also we had Pears' Cyclopaedia, and a Who's Who.

We still have the Pears' Cyclopaedia from 1973 (or about that time).

When I worked in the Home Office Main Building, I used to sneak into the library where they had the Dictionary of National Biography - great for historical figures!

Ooooh, nice!

I still enjoy checking in older dictionaries to see if word meanings have changed over time.

Ruth wrote: "I still enjoy checking in older dictionaries to see if word meanings have changed over time."

True, one can never be sure!

Wicked - used in two senses: evil and wonderful ... You just need to know the context.

A post has been removed in case it causes offence, in line with our group rules. Thanks everyone.