The Cruellest Month

Mrs. Malory Mysteries #2

by Hazel Holt

Sheila Malory finds herself once again in idyllic Oxford doing research at the Bodleian Library--and once again thrust into an investigation, when an unfortunate accident kills a particularly loathsome woman who was probably also a blackmailer. "A civilized and tantalizing mystery".--Publishers Weekly. Martin's.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, British Literature, Cozy

220 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Hazel Holt is a British novelist. She studied at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, and then Newnham College, Cambridge. She went on to work at the International African Institute in London, where she became acquainted with the novelist Barbara Pym, whose biography she later wrote. She also finished one of Pym's novels after Pym died.

Holt wrote her first novel in her sixties, and is a leading crime novelist. She is best known for her "Sheila Malory" series. Her son is the novelist Tom Holt.

Reviews

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheila Malory is a fun, nosy, middle-aged "detective" and the setting of this at Oxford's Bodleian Library was so interesting. The path to solve the mystery was a winding one and I enjoyed the trip!

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheila Malory is visiting Oxford to stay with friends, spend some time with her son, Michael and do some research in the Bodleian library. Betty and Robert have a son, Tony who works in the library and was the unfortunate person who found a former member of staff dead under a pile of books and shelving. Tony is still upset about the accident because he believes it was murder in spite of the inquest verdict. Sheila's curiosity is aroused when she starts to hear from everyone she meets that Gwen, the victim, was not the best loved person in Oxford.

The book presents an interesting mystery with links to the victim's own past and to Sheila's student life at Oxford. There are references to Dorothy L Sayers and her book Gaudy Night - one of her most memorable novels. I enjoyed the story and loved the characters: the Bohemian academic Fitz and his sister Elaine; Betty - green activist - and Robert her GP husband, neither of whom ever seem to stop talking. There are various other academics and librarians as well as Gwen's sister, Molly, who provides Sheila with some useful information about the victim.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is considering reading and of this author's crime stories. If you like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Gladys Mitchell you may enjoy this book.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think the titles are terribly effective (I absolutely remember what happened in Christie's A Murder is Announced or Sayers' Murder Must Advertise, say, but I'll never remember which one was Holt's The Cruellest Month), but the books are sucking me in.

Oddly, the first book seemed ahistorical—I couldn't tell if it had been written in the 30s, the 50s, the 70s, etc. This second in the series is much more centered in a particular time and place, with nouvelle cuisine, elderly people who had been young during the war, etc., and I think it's a slightly better read overall.

It's a very pleasant read despite the mystery (the author is fond of Barbara Pym, which immediately earns extra credit), and I wasn't sure whodunnit until very near the end. She does have a tendency to let the villains expound about their plot, whereas in real life I think they'd look offended, tell you "you're wrong," and leave.

But it's all the little details as life goes along that really sparkle, not so much the clues and clever solution. So if you, too, are fond of Pym, this is a series you shouldn't miss, it's much the same mood, only with a dead body around the corner.

(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). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

[Elyse Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful gentle, English mystery set in Oxford. The author Hazel Holt also wrote a biography of Barbara Pym, which makes sense. Not only is it set in Oxford, but the murder takes place in the Bodleian LIBRARY, of course. And the last scene takes place in the Inklings' favorite pub, so how can you go wrong? It is deftly written. I would agree with the flyleaf, which calls it "a charming and evocative portrait of Oxford."

[Gina Schaarschmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yawn.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curses, Hazel Holt! You get me every time! Your mystery novels have thus far suffered from the same difficulties: dreadful dialogue, lousy characters, smug pretensions. But then, Holt, you introduce some interesting and/or unexpected twists to the plot, and I find myself — against my better judgment — adding an extra star to the review and breaking my vow not to read another Mrs. Malory mystery.

The title of Holt’s The Cruellest Month is emblematic of the problem with the entire novel. There’s a reference, of course, to T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, but it doesn’t quite fit. That’s the only reference in the entire book to Eliot or the poem — a promise of a clever connection that never comes to pass. Take that as a metaphor for this novel as whole.

Sheila Malory, a widow who dabbles in literary criticism, fell a bit short of the mark in Gone Away, the first in this mystery series. In that novel, Mrs. Malory was a bit too earnest, the dialogue a bit wooden, and the secondary characters a bit flat, but some clever plotting and Mrs. Malory’s utter likeableness proved enough to overcome the failings of Mrs. Malory Investigates (also sold as Gone Away).

In The Cruellest Month, all of the problems of the first novel intensify: Mrs. Malory comes off as smug and judgmental rather than simply earnest, the other characters morph into caricatures, and the dialogue — particularly that coming from Sheila’s son Michael and the Bodleian librarian Tony Stirling — simply comes off as unbelievable. The pair of them sound more like taciturn old men bemoaning the disrespect and fecklessness of these young whippersnappers than as realistic twenty-somethings. Holt simply doesn’t have any ear at all for how young people think or speak.

Holt’s premise — an elderly librarian’s death at Oxford’s New Bodleian Library turns out not to be accidental after all — promises an intriguing mystery, just as the title promised some clever literary connections; here, though, Holt actually follows through. As much as I hated myself for it, whereas I had loathed the first half of The Cruellest Month, I found myself glued to the slim volume for the last half of the book, particularly when Holt begins to poke around into the victim’s World War II experiences.

It’s too bad. I really wanted to call it quits after The Cruelest Month, but I fear I’ll eventually succumb and read the next novel in the series, Mrs. Malory's Shortest Journey — particularly if it turns out to be a cheap read in the Kindle format. O, Ivonne, be strong, be strong and resist!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, everyone has a secret or two, so discovers Sheila Malory while she is at the Bodleian researching data for her upcoming article on little know Victorian authors; and meeting up with old friends.

The rather unpleasant Gwen Richmond was discovered crushed under an avalanche of old books. How could that have happened on its own, things like that don't just happen. But then again, Gwen was a blackmailer, so I guess something's are possible. Delving into Gwen's past, Sheila uncovers quite a few irregularities and with the help of an old journal, the truth soon comes to light.

Unfortunately, not all of the truths that Sheila finds on this trip bring her the peace of mind that she was searching for. Sometimes it's best to keep our past the past and hopefully, the future won't be tarnished with the unscrupulous deeds of others.

I enjoy these older cozy mysteries; they aren't clog up with over the top stupidity that seems to be prevalent in the genre day. Sometimes the writer will wander off the course a bit, but that's OK because there aren't pets with above human intelligence or a man rushing in to save the day. The stories stay true to what a good old-fashioned mystery used to be.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheila Malory is at Oxford, the Bodleian in particular, to do some research, when she discovers her godson, a librarian there, has had a small murder on his hands. She can't help but investigate. She has a host of suspects. The victim, an old woman, was not well liked. Hated would not be too strong a word. But though many people have motive, not many people have the stomach for it. Mrs. Malory finds out some hard truths about her own past that leave her hurting but it doesn't stop her from getting to the bottom of an evil deed. It's a very literary story and it takes a while for the mystery portion to start moving, but once it does, Mrs. Malory proves very adept at getting to the bottom of things.

[Laila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable light British mystery, although the Oxford literary chit chat was a bit insufferable for my taste, or maybe I'm just a relative dullard about these things. When the old pals from college days got together to reminisce it was like the Yale Life and Death Brigade dudes from "Gilmore Girls," only with less alcohol and more banter about E.F. Benson. The murder was of the "awful, hateful person whom no one will miss now that she's dead" variety, which almost makes it a shame that someone has to be arrested for the deed. I didn't know who was the killer until the moment Sheila Malory discovered their identity. Malory is a very pleasant, very smart amateur detective. I liked it enough to continue with the series.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheila Mallory travels to Oxford to visit with friends, check in on her son and do some research at the Bodleian Library but then she learns of a murder. She sets to work to solve it. An elderly librarian has been crushed to death beneath shelves of books. Since she was never much liked, there are several suspects to investigate. I loved the Oxford setting, the cast of characters and the charming, cozy nature of this mystery.

[Dawn Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Anglophile, lover of light academia and golden age mysteries, this book checked all the boxes for me. Set in post war Oxford with references to Dorothy Sayers this little puzzle was a delight to read. In the style of golden age cozies Holt offers interesting characters and plenty of atmosphere.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed. I figured out who did it but didn't even come close to piecing it all together.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"THE CASE OF THE WICKED LIBRARIAN
"The death of spinster Gwen Richmond seemed excessively nasty even fro a most unlikable, snoopy woman. Her fatal burial under a collapsed shelf of rare books had forced the Bodleian Library to close and cast a pall over the university's sweet April days. Still, Mrs. Malory was shocked that so many people were openly glad the librarian was dead. Widow Sheila Malory had come up to Oxford for a little scholarly research and a lot of happy reminiscing about her college years. Instead, her natural affinity for uncovering things suspicious and sinister soon cast a dark shadow over her own rosy colored memories ... and chilled her to the bone when she discovered that Gwen Richmond had not died by happenstance but because someone had a desperate motive to kill ..."
~~back cover

If you can't have an English cozy in a small English village, then setting it in Oxford will do nicely. The university ambience casts a comfortable and comforting glow over the town and the people in it. Well, perhaps not over Gwen Richmond, who was a thoroughly nasty individual. Sheila wouldn't have gotten entangled in solving her murder except her beloved godson Tony was responsible for the section Gwen died in.

As usual, a whole host of suspicious suspects abound, along with a cast of unsuspicious folks. Sheila slowly eliminates the suspicious characters, one by one, leaving her with no one to suspect. Until a long ago photograph falls into her hands ...

Beautiful descriptions of the Library, the university, the town and the characters. Clever plotting. Ordinary April days of tremendous downpours, sweet spring days, academic dinner parties, and a charming love affair. There's absolutely nothing not to like!

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Hazel Holt novel I’ve read and I hope it won’t be the last. I just love the whole zeitgeist of her books. In this one, it’s the city and university of Oxford where Sheila Mallory finds herself doing research for an upcoming novel. She learns from her godson, Tony, that an old ex-Bodleian librarian was killed by a falling bookcase and he’d been the one to find her. I was sucked right in by this book partly by the plot but also partly by the fact that Sheila is a huge Dorothy L. Sayers nerd and especially loves “Gaudy Night”, which of course is set in Oxford, and is also my second favourite Sayers novel for exactly the reasons Sheila describes. So through the book, you get that feeling of Oxford not as a bustling modern city (except for mentions of the awful rush-hour traffic) but as a centre of knowledge and learning. Sheiks talks about her early life as a student at Oxford, how she fell for a young man who looked just like Lord Peter Wimsey, and how through him, she met a very caustic but scholarly man Arthur Fitzgerald, called “Fitz” by his circle of admiring students. She also meets an American scholar, Chester “Bill” Howard, whom she soon works out is probably gay and probably Fitz’s lover. Anyway, all this time, she becomes obsessed with the death of Gwen Robinson in the Bodleian library. Tony is convinced she was murdered so Sheila sets out to figure it out. But Oxford soon morphs from the sunlit scholars’ haven into a much darker, grimmer place.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Hazel Holt writes. I love all the literary nods and have decided that I need to read some of the books she's mentioned--often titles that I have thought vaguely, I should really read that, but never have. . I have read all the Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey series and this one is partially a love letter to Gaudy Night. The plot was well done as were the characters; it's not as tightly constructed as some of her later ones, but still head and shoulders above many of the modern cozy mysteries (my preference is for classic mystery but nowadays cozies are as close as they come-- and a lot of them aren't very close). In this one, Sheila has gone back to Oxford to do some research, visiting old friends, and checking in on her son Michael, who is a student. There was a little bit of an info dump at the end but fairly mild as these things go, and some groundwork had been laid. One thing I like about these is the more realistic characters and consequences. The latter in particular seems all but absent is some modern cozies, where "sleuths" accuse people willy-nilly, are intrusive, and even downright rude, but at the end of the book, all is forgiven. All is not forgiven in this book.

[Sathya Sekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good example of a cosy read. There is a sense of time slowing down as you read the book. This is definitely a murder mystery of the Dorothy Sayers kind than Agatha Christie. There is so much more to the Oxford world we live through in the book than just the murder investigation. The book has various references to Miss Sayers but the Miss Holt's biggest homage to Sayers is the book itself. It's a rich character driven book that feels very idyllic and yet, an underlying sense of tension runs throughout. Very well balanced.

The mystery itself I felt, wasn't as neatly tied up as the characters and relationships themselves. The finale seemed to out of the blue, almost too convenient. While I was intrigued by the mystery, I can't say I was very invested in it. There was very little of the sinister which is so needed for a murder mystery. The most sinister person was in fact, the victim herself.

But I wasn't VERY bothered about it. For, the book is really much more about Oxford of the 1960s. You experience the place, soak in it, enjoy the vibes and the characters who you run into during your time there. An idyllic reading experience.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cozy mystery set in Oxford, UK. Middle-aged lady resolves crime by nosing around, chatting with suspects, going out to lunch, dinner, tea and drinks with a variety of locals. People bending over backward to provide useful information, an extensive network of friends and connections who are all remarkably helpful.. that type of thing. In this particular book, Sheila Mallory has returned to Oxford to do some research in the Bodleian library. What was supposed to be a combination of nostalgia (memories of her student days) and mother-hen preoccupations (her son is now studying at Oxford), turns into a series of discussions about the death-by-bookcase of a particularly unpleasant old lady. Clues fall providentially into our heroine's hands, and a confession is easily extracted.

There's nothing wrong with this type of story, and I did enjoy the atmosphere of Oxford and the literary references. But overall this book was too bland for me.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Malory returns to her alma mater to visit a friend and to conduct research, but while there she finds out about the death of much disliked elderly librarian. And when questions arise about her death, Sheila Malory decides it's time to do some sleuthing.

Counted among victims of Gwen Richmond is Mrs. Malory's godson's girlfriend and a friend from her college days. It becomes a much more painful investigation than she expected and exposes truths she didn't suspect or want to know.

Another sweet, charming mystery following Mrs. Malory as she gently pays her visits and asks her questions until she uncovers the vital clue to the mystery.

[Katharina Boser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery and continued story of this oxford buff and tales of the surrounding area. Knowing Oscar Wilde drank and the eagle and child calling it bird and baby was fun tidbit. Slow moving but interesting whodunnit with colorful details on all the characters. She is depicted as a reluctant detective but being such a keen observer of people makes it impossible for her to do otherwise but continue to research who might be the killer ..

[Sharon R A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this 2nd book in the series. The characters were fleshed out and the setting was delightful.

However the ending seemed too neatly revealed to Mrs. Malory. I was disappointed that the murderer confessed calmly in detail to Mrs. Malory. I found that convenient and unbelievable.

Overall, it’s a cozy mystery set in Oxford and well written.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Mrs. Malory books, this one was only so-so for me. Maybe that is because the setting is at Oxford instead of the village of Traviscombe. I have read many of the later books in the series and keep coming back more for the village life and the characters than the mystery. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I read it before I fell in love with Mrs. Malory's village.

[Vickie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe a 1.5 but not enough to push to a 2. Felt like the author had a bunch of random characters and storylines that she thought she might be able to use someday - and decided to dump them all here. None of the charm of the first in the series. Not much enjoyable here at all.

[sandy edmondson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful as always!

Sheila Mallory always works out the answer to the murder while remaining a perfect lady. She's kind of like a cross between Jessica Fletcher, Emily Polifax, & Miss Marple. I absolutely love this series of books!

[Faith Flaherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in Hazel Holt's mysteries with sleuth Shiela Mallory. The setting is Oxford, England around the turn of the twentieth century. A lady is killed by a large book case falling and crushing her. Mallory's sleuthing involves research in the lady's past.

[Ellen Dark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book quickly read. A piece of fluff set in Oxford. Sheila Malory is not Morse, but she does figure out who killed the not so dearly departed librarian who died when a bookcase fell on her.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy Hazel Holt's books and I think this is my favourite so far. Being set in Oxford and the Bodleian is a big plus and I found the reflections and revelations of past lives very moving.

[Laura]

I absolutely hated this book. It was a real struggle to finish.

[Tracyfromthemermaidcove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always feel like she is missing a last chapter!

[Jane Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give this two and a half stars. It's a little old fashioned but well written and an enjoyable read.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable . A real sense of place (Oxford) an engaging protagonist and a good puzzle told well and with wit