Suicide Excepted (Inspector Mallett, #3) by Cyril Hare

Suicide Excepted (Inspector Mallett, #3) Reviews

• 
  Judy

  I don't often give 5-star ratings to detective stories, but this was wonderful and almost impossible to put down. So many great characters and red herrings, and just so cleverly written.
• 
  Ivonne Rovira

  I liked the first novel I read by Golden Age author Cyril Hare, and I thought I would like this one as much as
  Tenant for Death. But Inspector John Mallett, the clever Scotland Yard CID detective who features in both novels, comes in much too late to save Suicide Excepted.
  
  Mallet happens to be on the spot at the Pendlebury Old Hall hotel, located 42 miles outside of London, when old Leonard Dickinson dies. His death is ruled a suicide, which means that the insurance company won’t pay. Dickinson’s family — most of them self-centered, arrogant and simply awful — sets about trying to re-investigate the death to prove that it was murder. Out of a sense of justice? Surely, you jest! No, to make sure they get £20,000 from the British Imperial Insurance Co. Dickinson’s bumptious young son, Stephen, goes as far as to say he doesn’t care if anyone gets charged — in fact, that might just complicate the payout.
  
  I think if Mallett had been active in the novel, Suicide Excepted might have been as good as Tenant for Hire. The Dickinson clan would have been comic relief while a real professional looked into matters. Instead, Mallett is around only for the very beginning of Suicide Excepted and then disappears. I got 70 percent through the novel, and still Mallett had not returned. At that point, I decided to follow Mallett’s excellent example and disappear myself. Did not finish.
• 
  Diane

  Another amusing mystery by Cyril Hare, though rather odd in two aspects:
  
  1. Inspector Mallett makes a brief appearance at the very beginning and the very end. The "detective" work is done by amateurs, who actually don't do a very good job of it. He shows up at the end and offers the solution.
  
  2. The second twist is this concerns the alleged suicide of an elderly man, and his heirs are doing their utmost to prove that he was murdered. Haven't run across that before.
  
  An elderly man strikes up a conversation with Inspector Mallett in an inn, and then is found dead the next day, apparently due to an overdose. It is believed to be suicide, but is it? His family wants a verdict of murder - they cannot collect on his life insurance if he committed suicide, and they are in dire need of money. (Side note: What is it with all these characters in English mysteries who don't work? They just spend their time trying to get inheritances or live off other people. It's like they're allergic to the very idea of earning their own money. Okay, I'm off my soap box.)
  
  I wasn't sure if I liked this one or not, and finally decided that I did, though with some reservations. The characters are amusing (typical Hare) and likable (except Uncle George, who unfortunately doesn't get bumped off). I really didn't suspect the person who turned out to be the killer, which was nice. Hare did an excellent job with the red herrings in this one. Rather like
  Tragedy at Law, the ending isn't perfectly happy. Someone you liked is dead and it affects the other characters.
  
• 
  Leslie

  This 3rd entry in the Inspector Mallett series was a very good Golden Age mystery, even if Mallett himself played a surprisingly small role!
• 
  Jo Walton

  In many Golden Age detective novels the actual plot is feeble and contrived, but one reads them for the crumpets in the library and the footprints on the lawn. Hare, however, is brilliant. This is a delight from start to finish, with a plot both original and excellent. Furthermore, he plays fair and gives you the information you need. I loved this to pieces, and my only complaint is that more Hare needs to be made available as ebooks.
• 
  Puzzle Doctor

  Full review at classicmystery.blog
• 
  Bev

  Cyril Hare was the pseudonym of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark who was an Engligh judge and crime writer. He chose his pen name as a mixture of Hare Court, where he worked in Roland Oliver's chambers, and Cyril Mansions, Battersea, where he made his home after marriage. His novels featured two main investigators, Francis Pettigrew--who was a barrister--and Inspector Mallett--a large police office with a huge appetite. He wrote nine detective novels which were published from 1937 to 1958. Suicide Excepted was his third book.
  
  
  Suicide Excepted is a lovely mystery novel that would likely appeal to both mystery fans and general readers who are fond of British work. The novel is a combination of intricate puzzle, a bit of a thriller, and a slice of British life. It starts out with the death of an odd elderly man who has kept a scrapbook of rather morbid quotations. He has been staying at an obscure country hotel and it would be convenient if the overdose of sleeping medication were just an accident or even suicide. But is it that simple? Is there a cold-blooded murderer at work? For you see, his family stands to lose a tidy sum in insurance money if the verdict is suicide--and the family can definitely use the money. Contrary to most mysteries where no one wants a murder to have happened, the heirs begin drumming up evidence to try and influence a verdit of foul play. The amateur "sleuths" do find some interesting clues, but while they're beavering away, Inspector Mallett of Scotland Yard is following his own line.
  
  Suicide Excepted works well as a traditional whodunit--there is a floor-plan, a houseful of suspects, and all kinds of suspicious activities going on behind the scenes. It also gives a humorous look at family life in 1930s Britain--with all the infighting between siblings and cousins. We are also given a good look at various levels of society. We are taken from the country hotel to a Lincolnshire country estate, from the shore of Brighton to the "sticky heat of London." The book has delightful dialogue filled with Hare's playful wit and the plot is informed by his profound knowledge of British law.
• 
  Lisa Kucharski

  The economy of An English Murder was needed here in the telling of this story. While the layout of the situation and was unique, it languished in the overwhelming pile of dialogue and dimwitted characters. So, while I found the overall plot a great idea, I found the telling of the story- long winded.
• 
  Roberta

  GAD mystery and a good one, I think. My only qualm is that I am not sure that one of the of clues was entirely fair however, I was very surprised by the killer. It made perfect sense, but I was very much led by the author to go another way even though in retrospect, he made it clear that the supposed killer had a bad habit that he was indulging in rather than murder.
• 
  Colin

  Superbly written mystery. I've given this four stars as opposed to five - even though my overall enjoyment tempted me to give it full marks - due to the fact I spotted the murderer very early on. That aside, it's a cracking book.
• 
  Kate

  For my full review click on the link below:
  
  https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
• 
  Calum Reed

  B-
• 
  Daniela

  3 1/2 stars
  
• 
  J. Rubino

  
  Inspector Mallett, CID is vacationing at the sub-par country hotel. On the last evening of his holiday, a fellow lodger, the elderly, garrulous Mr. Leonard Dickinson strikes up a conversation and invites Mallett for a drink. Mallett finds the man's ramblings about his history, his family, his vague allusions to his own death both intriguing and depressing. When he asks the old man, "I shall see you at breakfast?" the old man replies, "Perhaps!"
  On the following day, as Mallett is preparing to pay his bill, he learns that Dickinson is dead, an apparent suicide, which is the ruling of the coroner's inquest.
  The verdict of suicide is a blow to Dickinson's wife and two his two adult children, who are beneficiaries of a life insurance policy that will not be paid in the event of suicide. So Steven and Annie Dickinson, and Annie's fiance, Martin set out to investigate the man's final days in order to prove that his death was not a suicide, but murder.
  I am a fan of Hare's short stories, which are cleverly written and pull off some neat plot twists, and the Hitchcockian irony at the conclusion of this tale does not disappoint. The problem is that it is too rambling, and not with any sense that the reader is being purposely misdirected - yes, a few of the red herrings do play into the finale, but much of it is just over-writing, and it would have benefited by some objective editing.
  Still - a real surprise at the end of the tale, and Hare is well worth checking out for lovers of a good plot twist.
• 
  Jill

  I read the first Inspector Mallet book and said that we hadn't found out much about Mallet, hoping that future books would feature him more, this being the third and we know very little about him still. Having said that, we meet him at the beginning of this book, and then not again until the end. He does infact meet the victim at a hotel he is staying at at the end of his holiday. The old man, a Mr Dickinson, is dining next to Mallet at the hotel, and starts up a conversation with him. The following morning when Mallet is about to leave, Dickinson is found dead in his bed, apparently from an overdose of his prescribed medicine. Mallet is not entirely satisfied with the local policeman's verdict, but being as it is out of Mallet's area, he leaves to the local police. From this point we meet the victim's family at the funeral, and find out that less than a year ago Mr Dickinson did insure his life for a considerable sum. From then on we follow the family's investigation as to what could possibly be a murder.
  I did enjoy this book as it kept up my interest all the way through. I chose many characters as a possibility of being the murder but was completely surprised at the end. I think this was a clever plot, and a well written addition to my reading.
• 
  Kiki

  This was a slow-paced rather weak mystery and quite the reverse of a normal detective story / murder mystery in that there was no detective and no real murder investigation. There was just a death (ruled suicide by inquest), which the rather dull and dim children of the deceased then attempted to prove was murder simply by tracking down the other people who had been 'at the scene' i.e. staying in the same country hotel that night, to see if there was anything fishy about them. Although this was billed as part of the Inspector Mallett series, he was barely in it aside from right at the beginning and right at the end. But it could've benefited more from his presence. It was a teeny bit tedious and long-winded, and the characters didn't really spring to life for me. However, it did have an unexpected twist at the end which perked things up!
• 
  Isa

  I really like this book. It begins with a man who sounds like he’s contemplating suicide and then he actually does die, seemingly a suicide. Unfortunately, his family will be unable to collect on his insurance policy unless they can prove it wasn’t or at least show some doubt about the suicide. So, the son, the daughter, and the daughter’s fiance investigate and try to prove that the man did not commit suicide. The characters are interesting and there are quite a few red herrings. Inspector Mallett, who apparently was introduced in his previous stories, doesn't figure much here, but remains an important character, especially at the beginning and end, which has a very good twist.
  
  I’m really glad I got introduced to this writer so I’m going to be looking for his other books.
• 
  Liz

  This tale appears to be, like most of Mr. Hare’s books, a slow build. A series of small whirlwinds spinning about just kicking up dust. Until one becomes large enough to damage and kill.
  
  On the other hand, the character building and very detailed knowledge of how family quarrels and spats work, make Jane Austen look absolutely slapdash. It would make a man like the author very uncomfortable to be around as a family member, I think; he sees and understands way too much.
  
  And that is what this tale is about, how family dynamics play out, by making murder both possible and impossible. How easy and how hard is it to hide truths, and when do pecadilloes matter - or not?
  What an ending!
• 
  Joanna

  I was disappointed that, although there were Transcriber Notes, they did not mention that the text has been altered. While I am quite happy to be spared the vile anti-Semitism of one of the characters, 'Suicide Excepted' has been an example for me of the social history one can pick up from reading fiction, and I feel it would be more honest to admit that censorship has occurred. Rewriting history should always be acknowledged, however trivial it may seem.
  
  Apart from that, it is not one of Cyril Hare's best but still a fun tale.
• 
  Atticus

  A good example of the classic British murder mystery - well-written, but lifeless; more crossword puzzle than novel. For instance, when several characters learn of the existence of an unsuspected relative, all of them take it nonchalantly, with no show of emotion. I know British people are reserved, but come on...
  
  As another reviewer pointed out, this one might have been better if the series detective, Mallett, had been in it more, but he's only there for the beginning and end of it. Classic bait-and-switch on the author's part.
• 
  Nicky Warwick

  Another brilliant Golden Age Murder mystery.
  Cyril Hare (pen name) is a new find for me & this is the 2nd of his books I’ve read.
  Here we start with Detective Mallett on holiday & seemingly finding a suicide the morning of his departure.
  The coroner’s verdict of suicide negates the life insurance policy of the dead man so his children decide to challenge the premise & try to prove murder instead.
  The Whodunnit was a total surprise - brilliant!