Twice in a Blue Moon (1993) by Patricia Moyes

In a pleasing bit of symmetry, I am reviewing Moyes’ final Inspector Henry Tibbett mystery today, having last read one of her books back in January. In putting this post together, I decided to look up how many books I have read by this author, and I was surprised to discover that, including today’s read, I had read 7 out of her 19 Tibbett tales. It was more than I was expecting. To date these are the other ones I have read:

• Dead Men Don’t Ski (1959)
• The Sunken Sailor (1961)
• Johnny Underground (1965)
• Murder Fantastical (1967) (The Manciple family who feature heavily in this book also appear in Twice in a Blue Moon. They provide some moments of comedy and also some background information to the case.)
• Who Saw Her Die? (1970)
• Black Widower (1975)

Synopsis

‘When Susan Gardiner unexpectedly inherits an old country inn not far from London, she also inherits a long-lost distant cousin. A few years her senior and infinitely attractive, Cousin James is also very attentive. It isn’t long before romance blooms. Youth and beauty, romance and country inns: a frothy mix if ever there was one – but of course, this is Patricia Moyes and very soon, murder enters the picture. When Susan, who is a skilled restaurateur, reopens the inn as a posh gourmet eatery and, against all odds (and the dire predictions of the locals), makes a go of it, customers flock. Things are looking decidedly upbeat until one of the guests, on sampling the chef’s plat du jour, suddenly keels over, the victim of mushroom poisoning. Enter Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett. And once again we are off on another wonderful – and in this case, wonderfully delicious – Moyes mystery.’

Overall Thoughts

The Tibbett series ran from 1959 to 1993 and when a series covers such a long period of time, it is interesting to see whether an author updates their mysteries to reflect societal changes and if so, how well they do this. In the case of this book, one aspect which I felt showed Moyes was trying to update her series, culturally, was that she was much more upfront about the female medical issues of her protagonist, Susan Gardiner. Furthermore, the way Susan is introduced to us also contains a hint of the female singleness that the later Bridget Jones series (which started out in a newspaper column in 1995) contains. Both these ideas make an appearance in the following passage:

‘[…] at the time when these events took place I was twenty-seven years old, unmarried, orphan and recently discharged from hospital after undergoing a hysterectomy. I was, for the moment, unattached romantically. I had been living for nearly two years with a boyfriend called Paul, who really doesn’t come into this story at all – because for some reason my hysterectomy seemed to revolt him out of any sexual desire, and I came home from the hospital to find a note pinned to the proverbial pincushion informing me that  he had move out and home to live with a blonde called Betty.’

I think there is something very 1990s about the frankness of this setup. I don’t think having a young female lead who has recently had a hysterectomy was something you regularly saw in crime fiction. Furthermore, I liked how Susan’s hysterectomy is described, as it is mentioned in a natural and non-judgemental manner and Susan herself is not shown in a critical light, unlike her ex-boyfriend. His response arguably exemplifies the negative reactions women can receive when they have needed to have this operation. Like Bridget Jones, Susan’s employment and love life are core components of this story and the friction caused by trying to balance the two also comes up.

When I think of mysteries featuring young women who are orphans, my mind quickly jumps to the work of Anthony Gilbert, who included this type of character on more than one occasion. Due to their jobless state and lack of finances these women tend to end up in rather dangerous situations, which Arthur Crook invariably has to rescue them from. Moyes’ Susan Gardiner contrasts with this, as she is actually financially quite secure, despite her lack of job. This is due to the insurance payout and the sale of her parents’ house after they both died in a plane crash. Nevertheless, her current circumstances do still make Susan a prime candidate for being at the centre of some dramatic happenings.

In the opening chapters of the novel, I think Moyes sets up several plot possibilities and sources of danger for Susan. There is her cousin, James Gardiner, who she never met until the reading of her great-uncle’s will. How much can she trust him? Meanwhile, there is a rival hotel whose owner is unhappy that Susan will be renovating the Blue Moon inn. What lengths would such a rival go to, to remove any business competition? In addition, there is the chance that skeletons may come out of the closet relating to past crimes which went unpunished.

One effect of this story being told in the first person from Susan’s perspective is that we are not overly privy to what the police are thinking. Consequently, more akin to real life, we instead just see the actions the police take, at times in quite an abrupt fashion and without much in the way of explanation. Tibbett does keep his cards close to his chest on occasion. However, this is not a problem in this story as the culprit is very obvious and the motive is easily picked up over time. This is a rather simple mystery, but compared to some authors’ final mysteries this one was pleasant, coherent, and competently written.

In terms of future Moyes reads I have Murder a la Mode (1963), Falling Star (1964) and Who is Simon Warwick? (1978) waiting on my TBR pile (well bookcase really).

Rating: 3.75/5