Read by................. Peter Wickham
Total Runtime........... 8 hours 44 mins

Description: Two men had the job of tracing seventeen-year-old Jenny Hyde's killer. One was Chief Inspector Henry Hall, an elitist cop of the old school, who was driving in one direction only - to the top. It was his job. His territory. The other was Peter Maxwell - "Mad Max" - widower, film buff, golden-hearted cynic, and bow-tied, eccentric teacher under suspension and suspicion. Maxwell didn't have to become involved at all. But he was so involved he didn't know how to get out. Jenny had been one of his students. Peter Maxwell was mad enough and determined to find her killer.



I am totally smitten with Maxwell, the fifty-two year old history teacher who wears pork-pie hat, bowtie and be-whiskered cheeks. The murder is mild, think Midsomer Murders. Ooopins of cultural references to make the reader feel well-read; throw in some staff-room politics, Trow's penmanship and witty turn of phrase, and I have the prospect of a delightful new crime series.

This is the one with maximun moral turpitude.

4* Maxwell's Housea-cut-above cosy first-in-series ...more13 s Sarah850

4.5 stars. A very enjoyable read about a Head of Sixth Form (sorry, Years 12 and 13) History teacher playing at being a sleuth. I adored the humour and old celebrity mimics (sometimes a bit obscure!) and the plot was nicely twisted. Half a mark taken off for a few sexist comments that I found a little suspicious and not funny.

Despite that, Peter Maxwell (nicknamed "Mad Max", widower, film buff, golden-hearted cynic, and bow-tied, eccentric teacher) is a charming character whom I shall follow with pleasure in the next novel. To add to the pleasure, the audiobook has a great narrator, Peter Wickham.

Thoroughly recommended.a crime-mystery-thriller gt5 s Kathryn7

Having read some of the later Maxwell books, I made a determined effort to get to the beginning of how it all began and am glad I did.

'Mad Max' Maxwell history teacher, amateur sleuth, film buff and champion of fair play is a hero for all seasons. His animosity for red tape and jobsworths makes him so able and you feel yourself cheering for every victory he scores.

Also an excellent plot, if you are looking for something different give this ago.1 David Highton3,178 18

Set in 1993, this is the first in a series featuring Peter Maxwell, Head of Sixth Form and History master at a Sussex school where a sixth form girl is found murdered. The Maxwell character is well developed - stubborn, determined and living alone with his cat. The cultural references in the book are largely from the golden age of film and quite entertaining. 1 Susana Sambade8

One of the first Maxwell books ive read. He's a history teacher who ends up being an amateur sleuth. Metrinich his cat is the embodiment of his names sake. He calls his bicycle after a white battle horse. Maxwell books are full of character. 1 Nikki1,974 53

In a minor public school (i.e. private school) in England, schoolteacher Maxwell seeks a student's murderer. Good characterization is a plus in this academic mystery.2007-reads fiction mysteries1 Kelly (smeets_books)135 2

Very easy to read. As a teacher I enjoyed the references to daily teaching life and the politics of the staff room.1 Karalee Coleman276

This is a pretty good cozy mystery, volume 1 of a long series which I shall certainly pursue. The mystery itself was nicely mysterious (I absolutely didn’t predict whodunnit) and the writing was humourous, which in today’s climate is a big plus. And I d the characters – ALL of the characters. The coffee references seem odd for an English book – don’t they usually run on tea? Do they have Maxwell House in Britain? I thought most countries across the pond use Nescafe.

With an ebook reader, I annotate my texts. Some of the snarky bits I’ve highlighted in this one:

“Smith chuckled … ‘why haven’t I been shortlisted for the Booker again this year?’
“‘Because you never write anything, Geoffrey,’ Maxwell told him.
“‘That’s never stopped Salman Rushdie.’”

And:

“After all, he knew his collective nouns; an arsehole of teachers.”

Unfortunately, the author peppers his narrative with (presumably) real-life people and events which may be well known to readers about the same age as himself and living in England, but which are completely opaque to readers from other generations and/or cultures. This makes a lot of his references to be infuriating wastes of space, and probably means his stories will not endure. Good thing I have wi-fi access to Wikipedia on my Kobo.2021 mysteries Panda573 37

Peter Maxwell or "Mad Max" is a public school history teacher in his 50s. He is a movie buff, a lover of the classics and a bit of an eccentric rebel.

One of his students, a 17 year old Jenny Hyde, is found murdered with signs of sexual assault. Feeling responsible for the kid Mad Max is on the trail... doesn't help his case that he's the number one suspect either!

Published in 1994 this book is a cut above the rest. The mystery is decent and everything is carried out in a logical manner. The writing style is slightly eccentric with an overload of characters but nothing extreme.

Overall a good read and an encouraging start to this series. audiobook pauline ewen90

I really enjoyed this book. It was very clever, because I did not know who was the murderer until the very end, very thrilling. I also found it quite humorous also, perhaps that's just me. I will certainly read the next book in the series. Katy Cameron319 3

When I picked this up I thought it might be a fun trip back to my own school days (as this was published when I was in Year 10) however, it just reminded me of all the things that we used to tolerate 30 years ago that, thankfully, are no longer a thing. I had to DNF about 60 pages in.britain couldn-t-finish cozy-mysteries ...more Kim Campbell713 4

Odd, distinctly odd.

I simply cannot make my mind up about this book. The way it reads is odd and I probably should read another to try and see if it reads any better. The problem is, I'm not sure I even want to. Oh well I'll leave it a few days then I'll see. Windy906 34

School teacher turns amateur sleuth in this entertaining crime story. Humour and intrigue cleverly mixed. Lisa Friel300 1 follower

Gentle wry humour, some laugh out loud one liners and a murder mystery, what’s not to ? Mr.Michael J Griffiths9 Read

An Underrated Series

I have read the several ot the Mad Max series and have enjoyed them all, good stories sprinkled with clever little jokes, should be better known. Ruth Morales73 Read

Unusual read

You would have to manage England's cryptic verse for this one. I managed t h e first two chapters, and gave up for the l last. Sharon101 Shelved as 'dnf'

DNF Karin Tillotson1,163 5

Who killed Jennifer Hyde and why??? She saw him kill her??? Who could she trust??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book. Ellen Lycan1 review

Good English mystery

This was a good read. Good murder mystery without the gore. Kept my attention but not too deep. Well rounded characters.
Jackie Davis9

Highly enjoyable

Whilst the book is about a murder investigation, and so serious fodder, I found myself laughing at every page. The main character is incredibly humorous and is well-written. Richard Farley84 7

If Inspector Frost was a teacher

I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next. A quirky and fun mystery. Maxwell is a great character very much inspector Frost. Recommend read. Lexie ConynghamAuthor 42 books112

A knowing, brisk beginning with a dead girl in a murky, deserted house. The descriptions of schools and their management are amusing, but bitter, and the constant mimicry of actors and comedians is a little overdone. I preferred his Kit Marlowe series. But this has its interest, too, and when the teacher who is trying to take responsibility and find out more about the murders of his pupils is at risk of arrest for those murders, the plot becomes more sinister. Can the police, with their curiously dull senior officer, actually be trusted? Can the teacher? Or is that senior officer sharper than he seems? Bryngel1,087 5

I really enjoyed reading this book and get acquainted with Mad Max! He is a wonderful character, and I am so glad that I have another book in the series to read. He is so well eh, described?
(Sorry, I'm Swedish and it's sometimes very hard to get the sentences right.) He came alive while I read, and I really enjoyed getting to know him. As I'm a big film fan myself, I very much enjoyed the film references!

This was a lovely read and I will recommend it to everyone that s a well written story with lots of humor! Ann1,107 18

Maxwell was a teacher at a high school where he helped students with what they wanted to do in their lives job wise and such. A young girl is found murder. She happened to be one of his students. He was determined to find out who did it and why. At one point of the investigation they even speculated that maybe he had done it. He found a diary that the girl had written and he searched in for clues of in what direction he needed to look into to find our more and track down the murder. Tria646 79

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