| Title | : | The Haunted Season (Max Tudor, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1250021448 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781250021441 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published October 6, 2015 |
Something sinister is stirring at Totleigh Hall, the showcase of the English village of Nether Monkslip. Usually, the Lord and Lady of the manor are absent—high tax rates, it is murmured with more than a trace of envy, force them to live on the continent for most of the year. But Lord and Lady Baaden-Boomethistle have been in residence for some weeks now, and the villagers are hoping for a return to the good old days, when the lord of the manor sprinkled benefits across the village like fairy dust. Father Max Tudor’s invitation to dinner at the Hall comes as a welcome novelty; it will be his first time meeting the famous family that once held sway in the area. But before he has time to starch his clerical collar and organize a babysitter, a sudden and suspicious death intervenes, and the handsome vicar’s talent for sorting through clues to a murder is once again called into play in this charming and clever novel.
The Haunted Season (Max Tudor, #5) Reviews
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I had been fearful that author G.M. Malliet would give up her mystery series featuring the kind and clever Anglican priest Max Tudor; each novel had a season in the name, so I feared there might only be four. But Malliet, whether out of pity for her millions of fans or intent, regales us with the further adventures of Tudor, a former MI-5 agent turned country vicar, in No. 5, The Haunted Season.
When the elusive master of Totleigh Hall, an earl with the double-barreled name of Lord Bayer Baaden-Boomethistle, is murdered, the village of Nether Monkslip buzzes with the news. Who could have wanted the old boy dead: his much younger second wife, awkward son, resentful daughter, a lustful retainer, or someone else?
How wonderful to, once again, catch up with Father Tudor, his wife Awena Owen and their new baby — not to mention the many idiosyncratic denizens of Tudor’s village of Nether Monkslip. Malliet delivers yet another engrossing tale that will keep readers turning pages (or, as in my case, listening) long into the night. Only a ridiculous cloak-and-dagger side plot and a bit too much coincidence meant to imply magical intervention keeps the novel from five-star status. -
I am reluctant to post my review of this book, because I was so disappointed in it: and I started out loving this series with the first book, Wicked Autumn. But this book, the fifth installment in the Maxen Tudor/Nether Monkslip series, was such a mess that I almost gave it one star instead of two.
Everything about this series has always been contrived: Nether Monkslip itself is impossible, a contradiction between the peaceful paradise the author insists that it is and the nonstop succession of murders that keep happening there. [Something Max himself refers to several times in this book as a paradox: can you say "lampshading?"]
But Nether Monkslip is such a lovely and interesting place, à la Three Pines in Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series, that I continued to return to the books. It was just a place I wanted to spend time, however much like a fairy tale it seemed.
This is the last time, however; this book feels forced, rushed, and clumsy. Why, the resolution to the murder simply appears to Max one day for reasons that are not made clear. But instead of staging a confrontation between the police and the suspects to ensnare them in an actual scene of dialogue and action, it all happens off-stage, and instead we have to sit through a couple of chapters of exposition—pure information dumps—where Max and DCI Cotton tell Awena what happened. Boring! I did think it was neat the way the resolution to this murder harked back to a murder that happened in a prior book in the series, giving it a final resolution. That was a nice touch.
In term of characterization, Awena herself is so implausibly perfect that I sometimes wonder if she is a figment of Max's imagination. [Not really, but she does seem more like a wish fulfillment fantasy than an actual woman.] Her relationship with Max is also implausibly peaceful, with no conflict whatsoever. Even their baby Owen never fusses!
And don’t get me started on the head hopping: yikes.
I don’t know what to make of the constant insistence on faith and belief and miracles in this book; it seemed almost deliberately evangelical, as if the author were trying to convert us rather than entertain us. Although I can buy that a former MI5 agent might turn to religion in order to cleanse himself of the guilt and bad memories of his work, that doesn’t necessarily imply that he would also be so willing to believe in miracles, both Christian and neopagan. One can have faith and still be rational, and even skeptical, and that seems more like Max to me than the credulous person he becomes in this book.
I also don’t know why the author suddenly decided to include references to a slew of other mystery books and movies within this book. It’s like a bizarre mashup of Josephine Tey, Alfred Hitchcock, and Agatha Christie.
As for the ending, I can’t comment on it without giving away a huge spoiler. But although it also linked back to a continuing subplot in the series, it struck me as ridiculous and completely unbelievable. But does it signal the end of the series, or a major shift in the next book? I don’t know. -
When a Lord is killed a vicar (who used to be in MI5) investigates.
The pace for the first 60 pages was very slow, then the book picked up, but the last 80 pages were bizarre with relationships between characters coming out of nowhere plus the last couple of chapters read like a different book (I kept read reading sections to make sure I hadn’t missed something). -
Former MI-5 agent turned vicar Max Tudor is beyond happy with his new-age wife Owena (sp?) and their baby Owen. He's less happy when he discovers the gruesomely murdered body of Lord Baden-Boomthistle (sp?) in the woods, and Detective Cotton once again recruits Max to help solve the murder. All eyes are on the gorgeous, much-younger wife Brie, who unfortunately has an alibi, but there's much more going on in the wealthy family. Then Max also has to deal with his bishop, who is unhappy not only with Max's sleuthing and his non-Christian wife, but with the mysterious "face" that keeps appearing on the wall of Max's church, no matter how often it's painted over. Then there's village matron Eugenia, who has an unreasoning crush on Max. Nothing's ever simple in an English village.
I've loved the rest of this series, which is Agatha Christie on crack with lots of parodying of classic British village cozy mysteries. D+ on effort for this one, though, which really felt phoned in. Most of the major action takes place off-camera, and is later just reported back. Most of the revelations seemed in no way hinted at, and just came out of nowhere. There's nothing essentially wrong with the plot, just the telling-not-showing and the confused structure, as well as trying to blend two unrelated plots (it didn't work).
And I have to take issue with how the author presented the unfortunate Eugenia. Yes, she's slightly insane and unpleasant and I know she's a parody/stereotype, but the message I got from how she was presented at the start is that if you're no longer young and you're not attractive, then: 1. it's laughable of you to think that anyone might ever find you attractive, much less love you, and, 2. if you try to do anything to make yourself look more attractive, that's even more laughable and worthy of scorn. How stupid are you? How dare you aspire to anything more than being ugly and forgotten? Anyway, I found that offensive, obviously. -
I like this series, but felt it took a while to get into this installment. I'm not sure if the multitude of characters required more explanation, but I was not hooked until at least half way through. The ending did leave room for another Max Tudor mystery, which I hope returns to the level of the previous mysteries.
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My Grade = 78% C
I was prepared to give the book 4 stars (85-88%) until the last 10% of the book.
Set up: Max Tudor had been working with the British Intelligence Agency MI-5 until a "Certain Incident" - see later - caused him to become an Anglican Priest.
He has been assigned to the tiny south west hamlet of Nether Monkslip, where he became involved with murders and had been asked by the local constabulancy to aid in their investigations.
This was in the first book - Autumn, followed by Winter, Spring, and Summer. I almost thought that the author ran out of seasons, but recently came across this one at Barnes and Noble.
The story was going along at a good pace until the author went bonkers in the last 10% of the book. Not only did the Protagonist/Priest/Detective Max Tudor solve the case, but also solved the mystery of a 20+ year old kidnapping of a young member of the nobility (stolen in nether Monkslip and transported to Malaga)- all that was the story of the 2nd book in the series. He also found and captured the criminal who had caused him to become a priest. And, finally. the author ends the story with a totally unnecessary tragedy that totally mystified this reader.
I almost think G. M Maillet, the author had 4 Seasons of books in her, but was really pushing it with #5. All she had to do was bring the story to a close, as she had been doing, and not made the unnecessary additions.....
I was very disappointed. -
This is just awful. I read the first four Max Tudor books and enjoyed them--this one doesn't come anywhere near the standard of the others. The marriage and baby seem to have tied the author in knots. Max is positively sappy about both--to the point of being truly tiresome. In scene after scene he babbles on about his baby to everyone who will listen. Hard to believe any more that he was ever MI5. Malliet does not play fair with the mystery--it all hinges on things the reader could not possibly know until the problem had been "solved," and we never actually see the resolution. Max has a great idea and a secret plan, and we hear about it after the whole thing is over. Terrible strategy for a mystery writer to take. There are numerous other problems. To name two: at least three times in the novel Max is having one of his famous "tip of the tongue" moments where he's about to figure something out, and we never find out what those were about. Malliet tries to set up a threat from a local widow who has a pash for Max, and she (Malliet) can't make up her mind about whether Max understands that the woman has a crush on him or not. First he has no idea, then he knows, then he has no idea, then he knows. Idiotic. The last two lines are supposed to be some kind of cliff hanger for the next book, but they are too obscure for me. This book has put me right off any desire to read any more of Malliet's work.
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The local lord of the manor - Totleigh Hall - generally spends most of his time out of the country but he and his wife and grown up children and his mother are all currently in residence. Max Tudor is about to meet them but before he can do so a murder is committed. Naturally Max becomes involved in the investigation.
In addition to the investigation he has the strange face which keeps appearing on one wall of the church however much it is painted over and plastered over. This is starting to attract rather too much attention from several quarters and it looks as though St Edwold's could become a focus for pilgrims.
These and other parish matters are all taking up Max's time and taking him away from his wife Awena and their small son Owen. This is dark and well written mystery with a totally frightening ending which had me reading faster and faster as I got to the last few pages. I do like Max as a character - he is far more than your average amateur detective beloved of crime writers.
The village life of Nether Monkslip in this series is almost a character in its own right and as I have been reading the series I've started to see the village's residents almost as friends whenever they appear. Some of the books may seem a little slow to start with but they are all well worth reading with interesting plots, plenty of humour and some marvellous characters. -
A Max Tudor mystery by an Agatha Award-winning author enticed me and found favour initially in the cozy village of Nether Monkslip. Max is a former spy turned cleric and is basking with his healer wife Awena in the glow of their young son. Then the Lord of the manor is found beheaded and Max springs into action to help the local constable investigate the murder.
Looking for light-hearted entertainment, I was enjoying the story until the final scenes. The beauty of mysteries is that everything is explained at the end. I like a twist in the tale, but the final scenes turned into a labyrinth that left me reeling and no longer caring whodunit. It was like every possible permutation was brought into play, rather than a well thought-out solution. -
I am totally guilty in saying I judged this book by its cover, which looks like it should be a Burton film starring Johnny Depp as Max Tudor.
I more often than not jump into series at a midway point, because my library seldom has them all. This cover grabbed my attention and so did the blurb. When it came to reading the book, I have to say that this is one of those series, you probably should start at the beginning, because I found myself feeling clueless at times.
The story was very slowly paced. The murder didn't take place until you were a third of the way into the book. It gave you enough time to get to know the key players, but it also seemed like things were taking too long, much like the solving of crime.
Max is a former MI 5 agent who is now a vicar. That alone drew me to the story, because it just didn't seem a likely scenario.
We meet the residents of Totleigh Hall, none of which were really likable, so when Lord Baaden-Boomethistle ends up murdered in a most gruesome manner, its easy to find places to point fingers. Both of his children, Peregrine and Rosamund have cause to dislike him and so does his 2nd wife Bree. (And seriously, where did these names come from?)
Max finds the body and DCI Cotton enlists him to help talk to possible suspects. A lot is uncovered in his interviews, giving the reader plenty of people that could have done it.
Then there are the day to day activities of his parish and many of the parishioners have their eye on the vicar, even though he is married with a young child.
The ending seemed hurried and the way other things were brought into play left me rather confused.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. -
Well, in my estimation, this book garners an easy ten stars! I was interested in the plot from page one and the last five chapters had me gasping aloud. The clever author tied books number four with this novel and we get answers to situations. Brilliant technique. A reader's delight.
A Lord of the manor gets murdered. Very creatively. Who has done this evil deed and why? Motives are a huge part of this novel. Fr. Max Tudor's past comes to haunt him and thus the well-titled novel I just finished ties in.
Pasts haunt this tale of intrigue, human motives, and simple village life. I am being so careful with my words as this book deserves a full concentration of a reader's focus with no hints to spoil the effects of the powerful writing.
There is a large amount of descriptive details. Every word ties in with another although you might not realize it at first. This was a masterly plotted murder mystery. The sub-plots were also given incredible attention by the author.
This book makes me want to stop and begin the next volume in the series immediately. Won't you join me? -
The Haunted Season is a good addition to the series featuring Max Tudor a MI5 turned priest. The Lord at Totleigh Hall is killed in a freak accident but the authorities soon realize that he was murdered and Max joins them in solving the mystery.
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I was pretty disappointed with book in the Max Tudor series. Too much going on and I thought it was just a big mashup, trying to tie all the loose ends of the 4 previous books together. Didn't work for me.
Chirp audio recording. -
Malliet delivers just what readers need in order to get ready for Halloween in the fifth book in this series: murder, mystery, intrigue, and some truly enticing characters and picturesque detail. I do not want to give too much away regarding the murder mystery, but I will say that it was one of the most memorable that I have read this year. Pay close attention as you read; Malliet will give away hints, clues, and foreshadows what is to come in her writing. Max Tudor, our main character, has returned, of course, and thrown in the mix are his new family dynamics: his wife, Awena, and their new baby, Owen. I love following a series like this and watching their lives change book after book. I believe that none of the books will ever touch the first in the series, but this one comes in a close second.
Malliet’s writing style is very eloquent and sense of characterization is astounding. She can flesh out a character like no other. Max Tudor gets better and better with each book, I believe. I feel as if I learn more about him the more situations I see that Malliet puts him in. I always feel that some things just ended up being too coincidental, thus why the book only received a four cupcake rating, but this is the feeling that I am left with after reading many cozy mystery novels. Some things are just predictable and you can guess what will happen, but it does not take away the joy of getting all nestled down in a blanket and losing yourself in the story. The ending of this book left me hungry for the next; I hope I do not have to wait a whole year to read it!
***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Minotaur Books in exchange for my honest review*** -
I was so happy when I found a fifth Father Max book. Was convinced it would be ended after the fourth and final season.
The story involved a ghastly death at Totleigh Hall, an estate near the dear village of Nether Monkslip. Father Max is called in to help again. All the old characters are there but not as much detail about them as in previous Max Tudor mysteries. The investigation pulls you in but....wait....did I skip a chapter (or two). Here I near the end of the book and I no longer share the solution to the crime. I felt like I had to sit down and have Max and his policeman chum, Cotter, explain to us what happened--are we not even to hear from the guilty parties?? I felt like G.M. was told that she only had one day to make the publication date so cut it short please!
Not only was I disappointed in that (apparent ending) but a second ending was thrown in for some reason---to be explained in a future book? I truly didn't comprehend the strong final twists! -
It is so great to have Max Tudor back again. I thoroughly enjoyed The Haunted Season. The way the author brought the feeling of the season (Halloween) into the story was very clever.(No hints given, sorry!) I missed the village, the villagers, and all their gossip. Some things never change. The new characters and their setting of Totleigh Hall and its surrounding land add to atmosphere of this time of year. The author did a dynamite ob of weaving this atmosphere throughout the story. As I continue to think about The Haunted Season, I identify even more places, activities, and actions of certain characters with the night of October 31st. Very entertaining, a bit ghoulish, and even fun. The very last two sentences do make one wonder!!
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Love, love, love G.M. Malliet's writing and I was so excited to get an ARC of her latest. Thank you, Netgalley!
Father Max is back, now very happily married, sharing his wife Awena's cottage with their infant son Owen. A very disgusting murder is committed, and as he investigates the crime with DCI Cotton, Max continues to have hazy memories about the death of his MI5 partner, Paul. Add to this mix unknown whispers in the spa, a mysterious face that keeps appearing on the wall of the chapel, and an animal training clicker device, and you have a mystery that Malliet's fans have been waiting for. This novel met my expectations, and already I'm so excited for the next book!! -
Um...what? It kind of felt like the entire middle of the book was missing. Interesting ending though, one which I hope means a bit of a change of direction for Max and not, as I fear, a spinoff series for the dull new character, Destiny.
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Great addition to the series. Truly surprising ending. It will be hard to wait for the next installment.
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I skipped #4 in the Max Tudor series, mostly because Father Max was getting married and having a baby and I just didn't want to read about the new family, but I just couldn't pass up the cover for The Haunted Season. Apparently I didn't need to worry about the baby. He is so well-behaved and calm and peaceful that he barely causes a ripple in Max's life. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised, his mother after all is nearly perfect and a healer to boot. Hmm, that sounded meaner than I meant it to. I don't dislike Awena, and in all honestly she's not in much of this book.
Lord Baaden-Boomethistle is our deceased, decapitated by a wire strung between two trees while he was out riding his horse. We've got several suspects, mostly members of his family. There are a couple clues, a few secrets, and of course Max manages to put it all together, with some help from DCI Cotton, the recurring cop character.
If that was it, adding in the villagers and church members, and bit more of his new curate, Destiny, I would have enjoyed it more. There were a couple things that made me lower it a star or two. First, the miracle of the face on the wall. Not a big fan of miracles in otherwise straight forward (non-paranormal) mysteries. At the same time, Awena, Max's wife, is actually a healer, like her touch, in addition to herbs and what-not, can physically heal people, so maybe it is partly paranormal, but overall it's not, so those touches just don't flow with the rest.
And the end was just no well done. To be honest, I don't know why it was added on. There's a big scene involving a character who is part of a theme in the series, but comes out of nowhere in this book. Instead of actually seeing the action, we end up getting an info dump where Max and DCI Cotton tell an associate what happened. It was clumsy. I think I might be done with the series. -
It’s clear the author has a superb way with words, but the two-dimensional characterisation (does Awena have any faults?); the M15 agent-turned-padre premise that was intriguing at first but soon became a bit too absurd; ill-proportioned descriptive tracts that had me thinking “get on with it!”; and shortage of actual Investigative work into the murder gave me cause to give up on this book. Oh, and that bit about the South African nanny was cringeworthy. Very few Afrikaners have such a slim grasp of English that they need to learn it in England, and the throwaway statement about people leaving Africa (somehow South Africa was conflated with an entire continent) in the 90s because of the rising crime rate was particularly lacking in nuance of the situation in SA post-1994. The author could have done her research or, better yet, steered clear of making insubstantial claims, in what, bizarrely, can only have been an attempt to make a minor character seem more interesting.
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When I randomly found this book in the library, it reminded me of a Louise Penney mystery as far as setting and characters. A headless horseman, a good looking rather feisty clergyman/ex FBi type, a quaint old fashioned town...how could it go wrong? Unfortunately, this book is the 5th in the series and I realized I was missing good backstory by the vague references to the prior mysteries. This may be why the book felt rather dull and overly descriptive in the beginning. Just as I was preparing myself to be horribly disappointed, the pace picked up with the mystery taking unusual turns and the characters (finally) transforming into three dimensional beings. By the end, my general disappointment evaporated and I am now a fan, eager to read from book 1. (Short version: Hang in there, it's worth the ride.)
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I'll be honest, I have not read any of the other Max Tudor books, and I think that helped this book a lot. If I was a devotee of this series, I would have been miserable throughout the beginning of the book. It took forever for the actual crime to take place, I believe because the author wanted to establish the dynamics and characters (something that probably could have been pulled off throughout the book). Once the actual crime is committed, the story takes off, and I didn't see the ending coming (always nice in a mystery). I think what saved this book for me was the fact that I listened to the audio book, and I didn't read the hard copy. I wouldn't have finished it otherwise- but for a morning commute in your car, it's a quaint book for Halloween. It felt like a modern version of Father Brown. All in all, grab it off the audio shelf, not the book shelf.
