The Crooked Wreath

An Inspector Cockrill Mystery, Book 3

By: Christianna Brand

Narrated by: David Thorn

From the Golden Age author of Green for Danger. "You have to reach for the greatest of Great Names to find Brand's rivals in the subtleties of the trade" (The New York Times).

Sir Richard's family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply refuses to cooperate. In the meantime, he makes their lives miserable by changing his will every few months, depending on which of his strange brood he favors that moment. Now he calls them together to announce his most diabolical revision yet: complete disinheritance of all the wastrels who bear his name. But he never gets a chance to sign the papers—by morning, he's dead.

Scotland Yard sends Inspector Cockrill, the only detective clever enough to unravel the family's tangle of jealousy and deceit. Each member had reason to kill Sir Richard, but which one plunged the syringe of poison into his heart? With a family this mad, nothing is as complicated as the truth.

©1946 Christianna Brand. (P)2012 HighBridge Company.

Why isn’t Christianna Brand a household name?

Ok, so she didn’t write upwards of 100 novels and short story collections like Christie. Nor did she create (so far as I can see) memorable sleuths like Conan Doyle, Christie, Sayers, Allingham and Marsh. Bereft of witty banter or endearing quirks, Inspector Cockrill is, if anything, far less interesting than the suspects he investigates.

Yet, while admitting all that (as well as the fact that this is only the second Brand mystery I’ve heard) I find her characters and situations engaging, her plots intriguing, her sense of suspense unnerving, and her humor—that most important component of a Golden Age mystery—razor sharp. True, for the most part it all comes from Brand the narrator, not the banter of detectives or the wryness of suspects. And, even more true, there is far too much dialogue, far too little action for modern tastes. But I’ve seldom shared modern tastes; Brand delivers what I want out of a mystery: ingenious deductions and a towering “Ah-ha!” at the end.

David Thorpe also delivers here, though his voices do tend to get mixed from time to time.

Sit and Listen!

I liked it! I reviewed it! See it anywhere?.. I can't find. Where do reviews go?? Why is it having me do it again¿?????

I love you Christianna Brand. And Edward.

A most delightful book, and a perfect example of how audiobooks can make a written book soar to heights of wonderful delights which reading on your own, inside you as it were, never can be experienced. WONDERFUL COCKYPET, THE TERROR OF KENT, STRIKES AGAIN. And the wonderful Edward is such a darling boy with his fuges and fantasies, "forever carting high-explosives out of burning buildings". PERFECT READING BY DAVID THORN.

Bitter and exasperatingly full of red herrings

This is a typical Brand mystery novel in that it is full of upper class characters who are incredibly nasty and yet are supposed to be charming, and there are a couple of ugly and unpleasant lower class people who aren't respectful enough of their betters. And that's it.
When someone is accused of the murder (and they all are, repeatedly), you can tell if they are really the one by checking to see how many pages are left. When the true murderer is finally revealed, there's absolutely no dramatic punch left, and there is no better reason for the murderer to have been the murderer than anyone else. There's no "aha" moment where everything makes sense.
I'm okay with reading subpar mystery plots if the characters are interesting, but that didn't happen here either. Everyone and everything feels half baked and incomplete.