Former detective James Pibble now lives at Flycatcher’s a very nice nursing home. He has little to occupy his time and is rather listless. That is until he discovers a body atop the water tower. It was a security guard named George Tosca and he is not alone in having met an untimely death at Flycatcher’s. There was a former military man and a gambler.

Pibble can’t resist and he is on the chase once more. He discovers blackmail and as more violence occurs, things get very dangerous.

This is a very good addition to the James Pibble series. I truly enjoyed it.

Peter Dickinson was a fine writer. Even though these stories were originally written in 1960’s, they seem timeless to me. These books are well written, although the plotting kind of loses track once in a while. Commander James Pibble is a keenly observant witness to human behavior. He picks up on minute clues in body language. I don’t know how I have missed reading him before and will continue to read him.

I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read. Sharneel758

I found the dialogue confusing. Dickinson mixes in real time and past conversations. I didn’t always understand the tie. Inspector Pibble ferrets out the truth and delineates what really happened to Tosca. This was the most satisfying part of the story. Since Pibble was unwell in this story, I wasn’t sure if the fogginess of the narrative was typical of the author or due to Pibble’s state of mind. Lana Kamennof-sine725 26

A dense read. Lots of description setting the scene in a luxury nursing home, main character an ex-Detective Superintendent, Jimmy Pibble, who is resident there post a stroke, the nurses who care for the residents, and the police who arrive after Jimmy discovers a corpse. Pleased to say I suspected the means behind the killing. Carolyn RoseAuthor 40 books201

Not a whole lot happens in this book, and I figured it out early, but I d the characters - it's a good summer read. Bev3,037 314

This is the sixth book in the series featuring Scotland Yard's Jimmy Pibble. The now retired ex-Superintendent is in a fancy nursing home called Flycatchers where he is recovering from a stroke brought on by the death of his wife. He has determined that he doesn't have much left to live for and wants to end it all while he still has all his faculties and having recovered enough to have just enough strength. He waits for a wild and windy night and makes his way out to a tower on the property--with the intention of flinging himself from the top. But his plans are interrupted when he discovers a corpse shot through the back of the head, almost execution-style.

His old instincts kick in and he can't help but be interested, especially when his old friend Chief Superintendent Mike Crewe becomes involved. When he learns that the victim had been acting as added security for the mysterious Mr. X (whom Pibble recognizes as a rather important informer in the underworld), it begins to look someone is making a move on Mr. X to eliminate him before he can provide major information to the police. But the case is complicated by an elderly woman who claims that someone has been killing off wealthy patients--ostensibly so their heirs won't have to wait so long for their inheritance. Crewe tends to trust Pibble's instincts, even if he's not quite up to his previous standard yet, but the local Superintendent is sure that the killer will be found among the victim's discarded conquests on the nursing staff. Could it be that the truth lies somewhere in the middle?

I have had an on-again, off-again relationship with Peter Dickinson's work. My very first taste (back in the 80s and I don't even remember the book) did not go down at all well. For a long time, his name was on my TBF list (To Be Found) with no titles and simply the comment "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" --to keep me from bringing more of them home. But then in 2011 I decided to give him another try when I needed another book with a "Y" as the first letter of a title (not counting "The, A, or An" and brought The Yellow Room Conspiracy home with fear and trepidation. As I note in the review (linked), the book did not wow me as mystery but it did have excellent characters and was a good historical period piece. It gave me hope that I might Dickinson after all.

After reading One Foot in the Grave, I have decided that Dickinson's strength is his characters. It's not his plots or his ability to mystify--the culprit is, quite frankly, glaringly obvious in this one and I don't think that was planned. But it is definitely worth the price of admission to watch Pibble work his way back from a stroke and his interactions with the nurses, previous colleagues on the force, and, most particularly his fellow residents. Lady Treadgold is a hoot--don't get anywhere near her and her walker if you are a nefarious evil-doer, trust me. Two things keep this from being a five- or even a full four-star outing. The first is the aforementioned weakness in the mystery itself. The second is that while the general outline of Pibble's return to strength is good, especially in his interactions with others, the long internal monologues are a bit taxing. The first chapter where he is making his way to the tower is especially so. It is only 32 pages long, but it reads it is much longer. Overall, a strong showing and good reason to try the other Dickinson books sitting on my TBR pile. ??? and a half


First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.british-mystery mount-tbr-2016 mystery ...more Lukasz Pruski921 119

"He slithered his feet over the edge of the bed and pushed himself slowly up till he was sitting.
So far so good, but to stand he would have to make a single effort - there could be no halfway resting stage without her arm round his shoulders to steady him. He took two long breaths, clutched the iron bedhead with both hands and heaved, willing grip and arm muscles to remain taut through the blackness. It came and went with the familiar faint roaring [...]"

A disappointment. I had high hopes for Peter Dickinson's One Foot in the Grave (1979) because almost 40 years ago I read his outstanding A Pride of Heroes (U.S. title: The Old English Peep-Show), which I would rate with at least four stars. Alas, this book is not even close to that level: it fails as a mystery/crime novel, and the writing - although accomplished - is not as superbly memorable as in the other novel.

Retired Detective Superintendent James Pibble (a recurring character in several crime novels by Mr. Dickinson's) is convalescing in a luxury nursing home, after suffering a major stroke. Not only is he physically frail but also his mental functions are impaired: he suffers blackouts and periods of diminished consciousness. We meet him when he performs a valiant effort to get up from his bed - see the epigraph - then he manages to dress, leaves his room, and proceeds with utmost difficulty to a water tower that belongs to the nursing home complex. In the tower - after crawling up the stairs - he finds a dead body. This is not the only death in the novel, and Mr. Pibble, blessed with improving lucidity, will be helping the police in their investigations.

While the book does not deliver as a crime drama, it is somewhat redeemed by sharp psychological observations of Mr. Pibble's mental frailty - the blackouts and periods of marginal consciousness are portrayed with great insight as are all the "paraphernalia of sickness and the obscenities of age." I also the romantic thread: yes, the 64-year old Pibble, physically and mentally infirm, and a female nurse in her late twenties each other a lot, and there is even some talk about marriage. One should also note the author's cleverness in not divulging the purpose of Mr. Pibble's escapade to the water tower, which to me would be the only interesting mystery in the novel; unfortunately, a reviewer spoils it on the back cover of my edition. What I do not , with quite some vehemence, is the thread about settling the old scores between the villains whom Pibble dealt with in the past, the bent police inspectors, and criminals who have since acquired a status of legitimate citizens.

Finally, Mr. Pibble, I am 64, so allow me a personal comment: it is quite sobering to realize that one is just a CVA away from a vegetative and minimally conscious state.

Two and a half stars.
^907 58

I was intrigued by the publisher’s synopsis of this book. On the first attempt to read, my attention wandered off before I reached the end of the first chapter. An intriguing chapter, as seen from the eyes and mind of Jimmy Pibble. However, I had failed miserably to get myself into his mind. So I started again. This time, fully engaged, I sailed to the end of the first chapter, through the second and into the third. However, on halting to recall the plot so far, I realised that though my eyes had been accurately following the text, too much of my brain had been partying elsewhere. Hopeless! I attempted to retrieve some dignity by reminding myself that in real life senility can (sadly) set in at any age. Yet I had usefully gained some understanding of the physical limitations of older age, and the accompanying frustrations felt by the mentally active older Pibble, dogged as he is by problems of blood pressure. That’s recommendation enough for parents to read and discuss the first chapter of this book with their teenagers.

But was the narrative developing into a good crime story? As if sitting and reading on a sandcastle I had perfidiously thought ‘yes’. Yet for me the tide then swept in and the whole waterlogged architecture collapsed. So I can’t say whether or not the plot of this book is compelling and well-constructed. Potential readers should look to a balance of other reviewers for that. All I can deduce is that I personally wasn’t drawn into Dickenson’s web, precipitating my tripping out of the book; and bruising my ego in the fall.

The saddest consequence is that because I own so very many books as yet unread it’s less than ly that I’ll revisit “One Foot In The Grave” before space forces me to re-home it. That makes me feel slightly guilty; because I still sense that Peter Dickenson has written a good book here. Confused? Me too!
author-male book-set-free books-with-11-to-100-ratings ...more Tim PostonAuthor 8 books65

I picked this up for a casual reading break -- and found myself doing nothing else until I finished it. Quite compelling.

Now I want to read everything Dickinson wrote. Jorn Barger562 4

Autor del comentario:
=================================