With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare

With a Bare Bodkin Reviews

• 
  Roman Clodia

  This is a light-hearted murder mystery that takes most of its fun from its setting: the bureaucratic Pin Control monitoring the nation's usage of pins during WW2! Hare loads up with a secondary target by poking fun at a mystery writer plotting a murder in the corridors of power with the murder weapon - a bodkin (a kind of manual paper hole-punch, it seems). But when a real murder eventually takes place, the victim is someone quite different...
  
  Francis Pettigrew is a delight and it's fun to bring back Inspector Mallett (who always reminds me of Christie's Inspector Battle). Most of the pleasure, though, comes from the gossipy nature of the setting with not much investigation taking place. It's also the case that the final arrest takes place off-stage and we have the whole story retold in the aftermath. We do, though, have the pleasures of Pettigrew's romance.
  
  So only so-so as a mystery - but Hare's writing is witty, and the pleasures come from the characters.
• 
  Susan

  Having loved the first Francis Pettigrew mystery, 'Tragedy at Law,' I was looking forward to continuing the series and I am pleased to say that I really enjoyed this. 'With a Bare Bodkin,' was first published in 1946 and sees Francis Pettigrew sent to do wartime work at the seaside resort of Marsett Bay, with the Bureau of Pin Control. Having been blitzed out of his chambers, he is relocated to a boarding house, where he shares space with those from his department. These include his secretary, Miss Brown, an elderly, religious lady, named Honoria Danville, Miss Clarke, who runs the department and keeps a fierce eye on everyone, Rickaby, described as a poisonous young man, a middle-aged, widowed solicitors clerk, named Phillips, Edelman, who seems to work alone, the 'Merry Widow,' Mrs Hopkinson and Wood, who writes crime novels, under the pen name Amyas Leigh.
  
  You can tell that Cyril Hare had a lot of fun with this novel. The characters are away from home, safe from bombs, but bored and fractous. When Wood is outed as a crime writer, it is suggested that the members of the Fernlea Residential Club write a plot, involving the people living there, and this soon gets out of hand and causes upset. A murder occurs of course and Inspector Mallett, Pettigrew's old friend, is on hand to help solve the case. I loved the wartime setting and the bizarre idea of the pin department, which of course is being investigated, as there is a conflict for some between public duty and private interest. A great series and I will definitely be reading on.
• 
  John Carter

  It was very amusing for me that almost the next book I read was a Sara Woods/Antony Maitland, Error of the Moon, with the same basic premise. During World War II, a lawyer is sent to a facility in the north of England to (ostensibly with an innocent reason for his arrival) suss out a suspected case of treason. And in both cases (no surprise) there is treason, and in both cases (no surprise) the proof of the treason comes after a couple of murders. That said, they’re very different books. With a Bare Bodkin is much more light-hearted, as you’d expect—if only because Pettigrew is at the Pin Control whilst Maitland is at an aircraft research facility. Pettigrew’s investigation is confused by the murder’s occurring in the middle of a murder game. The motive’s an unusual one, and I was guessing until the end.
  
  (I just noticed that both books take their titles from Shakespeare…)
  
• 
  Sid Nuncius

  I thoroughly enjoyed With A Bare Bodkin. Cyril Hare writes excellently with a rather witty and very readable style and gives us an enjoyable mystery and some nicely drawn characters.
  
  Francis Pettigrew is seconded to the Pin Control, doing vital War Work ensuring that pin production is properly controlled and battling the dangerous black market in pins. A death occurs among his new colleagues and, with the redoubtable Inspector Hackett on hand, Pettigrew becomes involved in the subsequent investigation.
  
  Needless to say, Hare uses this background to gently satirise the bureaucracy of such places during the Second World War, which he does beautifully and without it intruding on the plot. He creates interesting and generally credible characters (I am especially fond of Inspector Hackett) and a rather intricate plot which kept me interested throughout – and largely fooled as to the identity of the villain.
  
  It is, in short, a lot of fun and a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
• 
  Deb Jones

  I'm thoroughly enjoying this character-driven series. The author, who in "real life" was a judge, wrote interestingly about what might otherwise be considered dull fare. A treat of a reading journey.
• 
  Puzzle Doctor

  Well written, but not enough plot. Full review at classicmystery.blog
  
• 
  ShanDizzy

  “It’s against all reason!” Mallett burst out. “Here you have a woman killed in broad daylight in a building crammed with men and women, within a few yards of half a dozen people at least, and there’s not a rag of evidence against one of them. The only man of known criminal propensities has a complete alibi. So far as the others are concerned, there’s nothing whatever to choose between them on the ground of opportunity but in not one case is there the faintest trace of motive discoverable.”
• 
  Malcolm Noble

  Here is a link to my review on You Tube
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YmF_7...
• 
  Teri-K

  I have soft spot for sharp, amusing mystery novels. I had no idea when I picked up this story, by a new-to-me author, at my local used bookstore that this would turn out to be one. I'm delighted. Set during WWII, it seems that Mr. Pettigrew had been recruited as the legal advisor for the bureau of Pin Control, (yes, pins), and must move with all the others of this group to a mansion, built by the eccentric Lord Eglwyswrw, in Northern England. There he is surrounded by bureaucrats, frighteningly efficient secretaries, and assorted administrators and supervisors. When they discover they have a mystery writer working with them they begin a silly game of imagining a murder mystery that takes place on the grounds. It's perfectly harmless - or is it?
  
  I figured out the culprit and the clues before the end of the story, but that doesn't ruin a book for me. What I look for is a cast of interesting people with several possible solutions to the mystery, and I got that here.
  
  I love the writer's style. This is not a comic novel, but he employs the type of subtle irony that I really enjoy. Discussing one branch at Pin Control, he says, "By sheer dint of bullying (Miss Clark) had made them unquestionably the most efficient section in the whole office. To the public, clamoring for licenses to manufacture, acquire, or dispose of pins, they appeared evasive, dilatory, and imperturbably indifferent; but administratively they were well-nigh perfect."
  
  I'm looking forward to tracking down more of the books in this series.
  
  NB - The cover of my edition is atrocious. It shows a tall urban building with fire pouring out of the windows. There is no fire in this story, and the setting is secluded rural mansion. Granted, in literally the first two pages we learn Mr. Pettigrew is currently working in a London building that has suffered from bombing, but that's all. So anyone who picks this book up on strength of the cover will probably be very disappointed. What pity, as this is a really enjoyable story.
• 
  Jill

  I liked this more than the first in this series. Here we get to learn more about Pettigrew. Having been removed from his chambers because of Blitz damage, he is relocated to a a coastal boarding house, in order to work as an advisor to Pin Control, the war effort to check on the usage of pins in England. The other residents of the house, are also working at this establishment, and so find themselves looking for amusement to pass the evenings after work. These residents are a varying mixture of people, that besides Pettigrew, are the secretary that has been assigned to him, a department head, one of her friends, and elderly, very religious woman, an author of mystery books, a solicitor's clerk, and a couple of other men. The amusement they decide on is to write a murder mystery about themselves. They begin with choosing a victim, and then have to decide on a murderer. The religious woman wants nothing to do with this game, and Pettigrew soon loses interest in it, as does his secretary, and the solicitor's clerk who is very sweet on her.
  Although this is a murder mystery, it mainly carried through with a very humorous, fun style. There is a romantic theme also running through it, helping to keep it light. I will definitely continue with the series.
• 
  Lisa Kucharski

  Would say this is novella length, which is perfect for the story. Hare also gets to poke fun at mystery writers as well as this story has one working in the same place as Pettigrew. A mystery that has personalities at its essence, and attention to detail the nail that nails the crime. To say for than this would be a spoiler.
  
  A fun quick read.
• 
  Ashley Lambert-Maberly

  Very enjoyable. He waits quite a while to introduce a corpse (I think around the 70% mark!) so if you're not able to delay that particular gratification, you might prefer a corpse-first novelist. As usual with a mystery I'm happy if I can tell the characters apart, and I could do so fairly quickly. I was puzzled by the purpose of the people (something to do with pins) but I don't suppose it really mattered--perhaps it made sense back in the day, or perhaps it was always irrelevent, and they could have been in charge of "doodads" or "wickets" or "gizmos" for all the difference it would have made.
  
  Not especially exciting, of course, but a pleasant thing to read before bed. There's something a bit off about Mr. Hare's works, like he'd read one or two mysteries but not enough to get a sense of all the genre conventions, and I actually like that.
  
  (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
• 
  Lorena

  A charming mystery set in WWII England, centered around the people working for England's regulatory department on...pins. Spending their days amidst Byzantine bureaucracy in a remote Great House, and their nights at a guesthouse during blackout hours, the characters become steadily more enmeshed with each other, and addicted to what they call "The Plot," a group attempt to write a mystery novel, which naturally ends up with one of the characters dead. I enjoyed our hero, a somewhat dusty bachelor solicitor, very much.
• 
  Emily

  The mystery is unremarkable, but the characters are engaging and the writing style is enjoyable.
• 
  Pamela Mclaren

  Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister but a gentleman who seems to find himself in the midst of a mystery, joins the staff at Bureau of Pin Control during World War II as the agency's legal representative.
  
  Pettigrew meets with several fellow staffers as they all are staying at the same place, including Honoria Danville, a clerk in licensing that is in charge of making tea for the office; Miss Clark, the office manager; Edelman, the sole staffer in research; and Wood, the writer Amyas Leigh, who works in enforcement. One evening, after Pettigrew discovers Wood's sideline, the others decide that they are going to "help" the writer plan his next mystery by using the Bureau as the site of the murder and the staffers as suspects.
  
  Pettigrew thinks its just an idle activity for an evening but the others don't and they go from picking a murderer and victim to planning and practicing the murder.
  
  But things take a turn when the group's supposed murderer turns up dead.
  
  This is fun, interesting reading even though there is a bit of technicality involved. I have never heard of the Bureau of Pin Control — quite likely because it's a bit of whimsy — and Pettigrew is involved in reviewing proposed actions against manufacturers who may be working a black market — I think. He also gets involved in working with Scotland Yard on not only the black market angle but the murder.
  The main character in this book is after all, a barrister.
  
  Pettigrew is a fun character. Older, I'm assuming, a bit blustery and fusty, but a fun character never-the-less with a good head on his shoulders. While I'm not sure that the other characters are all that realistic, the story hangs together and it makes for dare I say it? exciting reading.
  
• 
  Sam Reaves

  Cyril Hare was the pen name of an English judge who moonlighted writing clever, literate mysteries, most with a legal angle. He wrote from the thirties through the fifties, placing him in the Golden Age tradition. They are short on cinematic action but long on wit and observation of character and culture.
  This one has a wartime setting; Francis Pettigrew, the solicitor who is featured in a number of the novels, has left a bombed-out London and is making his contribution to the war effort by serving as legal advisor to a government bureau relocated to a requisitioned mansion in a coastal town. Its mission is to regulate the manufacture and sale of "pins" (that's all we're given, leaving us to wonder what kind of pins we're talking about and what's so important about them in the wartime economy).
  It's an insular community, the perfect setting for a whodunnit, with a variety of personalities thrown together in the office and the nearby boarding house, breeding resentments, jealousies and petty intrigues. One of Pettigrew's colleagues is a well-known mystery writer (Hare making gentle fun of himself); on a lark he and a few office mates start plotting a mystery set in their workplace. Of course, a real murder soon occurs, casting the gag in a sinister light. Pettigrew and the visiting Scotland Yard inspector will investigate.
  It's a pleasant read, for Golden Age fans who like their mysteries cerebral and not too violent.
• 
  Pamela

  Barrister Francis Pettigrew has been seconded to work for a Government department dealing with Pin Control during WWII. Being away from London in the sleepy town of Marsett Bay, the ministers and secretaries begin to plan a theoretical murder, while a romance begins to develop between Pettigrew’s secretary and an elderly solicitor’s clerk. Then a murder takes place that mirrors The Plot, and Pettigrew finds himself helping Inspector Mallett in his investigation.
  
  This was a funny and quite charming mystery. The depiction of the Pin Control ministry sheds an amusing light on the concerns and bureaucracy of WWII, while the mystery contains the quirky legal and administrative details that Hare loved to add to his stories. Pettigrew’s own sentimental feelings, previously hidden under crusty professionalism, also add an appealing aspect to the narrative.
  
  This series of Golden Age mysteries is delightful and entertaining, with interesting characters and a good sense of time and place, and I really enjoyed this one.
• 
  Nora

  I read this series all out of order, and wish now there were more, since for me this is the last book. (I skipped this book previously because my father wrote "dismal" on the flyleaf, but I don't agree with his assessment at all.) The mystery itself was not my favorite of the Pettigrew series, but I loved the romance between Pettigrew and Eleanor. It was sort of a reverse Jane Eyre story ("Do you think that because I am poor, plain, obscure and little I am soulless and heartless?") I also loved the setting of the Pin Control bureau and the funny descriptions of the pointless busywork that sprang up in wartime Britain.
  Warning: contains the n-word. Could be edited out so easily if reprinted.
• 
  Eric

  Thoroughly enjoyable mystery with an interesting depiction of the bureaucracy which helped to win WW2 on the Home Front!
  
  Although the murder takes some time in coming and the murderer is not difficult to spot, and the motive, while discernible in part, turns on a knowledge of the probate process in English Law, this was good reading. It was amusing and insightful about the nature of human relationships.
  
  Mallet and Pettigrew both appear, the former initially looking into some business skulduggery connected with the Pin Control to which the latter has been assigned as legal advisor.
  
  3.5 stars
• 
  Rosemary

  Francis Pettigrew is a lawyer who has been temporarily drafted into the civil service during the Second World War to work in something called the office of Pin Control. What that was wasn't really explained - just ridiculous bureaucracy, I think. Everyone is on last-name terms and the dialogue can be rather stilted. Then Miss Danville, the victim of various practical jokes, is murdered while making tea, and Pettigrew helps Inspector Mallett solve the case.
  
  I found this enjoyable if sometimes a bit plodding. It gets an extra star for the hilarious office procedures and routines.