Maxwell's Revenge

By: M. J. Trow

Narrated by: Peter Wickham

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

The position of Assistant Headteacher has become available at Leighford High, but Peter "Mad Max" Maxwell won't be applying. He has his hands full juggling his beloved Sixth Form, fatherhood and impending marriage. When a member of staff dies after a special lunch for the prospective Assistant Headteachers, Maxwell's hopes for a quiet term, followed by a quiet wedding, are swiftly shattered, as he finds himself embroiled in yet another sinister murder case.

DCI Henry Hall, begrudgingly, has to admit that Maxwell's suspicions of poison may well be correct. The question is, who would want to poison the teachers at Leighford High - and why? Is there an enemy in the ranks? Only Mad Max knows the answer...

©2009 M. J. Trow (P)2009 Soundings

true to form Maxwell

I love this series. it's cosy crime and everyday people. the school staff characters are so believable. same in every UK high school.

obvious who committed the crime or is it?

What made the experience of listening to Maxwell's Revenge the most enjoyable?

peter wickham performing it. a good balance between funny and serious.

Any additional comments?

another good story from m j trow with more of henry hall than in previous books.

Funny and thoughtful

MJ Trow has written a story with a crime that we all will have heard of at some stage, and it could just as easily be in our community. It was brilliantly read by Peter Wickham. Before the crime can get to gruesome, the humour in the book surfaces and you find yourself smiling if not laughing out loud right in the midst of murder. Great book

I really enjoy the works of MJ Trow

As someone who has worked in schools a lot I find the humor in the Maxwell books to be real 'laugh out loud', They are well narrated with excellent plot development and you never guess the way the plot developing or who dunnit!

Trow never fails to make you laugh out loud.

Trow's characters come alive, he will have you chuckling over the tragic and humorous by turns. The Mad Max novels keep you guessing to the last page with his skill at spinning mysteries a twist further than expected.

Is Peter Maxwell past it?

A disappointing addition to Mr Trow's Maxwell series. If you are a fan of Peter Maxwell you will find only the occasional flash of his usual wit and investigative brilliance ? and I wish there more had been made of his, albeit temporary, headship of Leaford High. Otherwise there was more of the curmudgeon, plodding his way slowly to a solution. And 'slowly' is the operative word. The average listener/reader will get there after only a few chapters and, if like me, will spend the rest of the book in impatient frustration at Max's, and the police's, inability to see the, "bleedin' obvious", as Angus, the friendly SOCO might have put it.

It was, however, nice to have a bit more of Henry Hall and a broadening of his character (does he still lead a dance band in his spare time?), and Max's relationship with his Mother-in-Law to be holds the promise of some future fun. His partner, now ? as of the final chapter ? his wife, D. S. Jackie Carpenter, was uncharacteristicaly wimpish in this story and their son, still so young, comes across as little horror, so twee as to induce some of the same symptoms as affected most of the poisoning victims.

Max is at his best in the school setting, betraying Mr. Trow's real day job. I hope the next plot will get back to the school and Peter Maxwell's delightful antics as the charismatic head of 6th Form and thorn in the side of management. There are more and more idiocies in school management every year and Max has perfected the art of bursting their bubbles. More! More I cry.

I remain a Peter Maxwell fan and look forward to a return to form in the next book. This one, sadly, is for confirmed fans only.