Dublin-born British author Patricia Moyes had an interesting and varied life—translator, screenwriter, assistant editor of UK Vogue, and personal assistant to actor Peter Ustinov.
She is best remembered for a series of charming and timeless Golden Age-style mysteries written between 1959 and 1993, all of which feature the shrewd but lovably ordinary Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Henry Tibbett, and his beloved wife, Emmy.
Dead Men Don't Ski
In this opener, Tibbett and the curvaceous and sharply intelligent, Emmy find their longed-for winter break in the Italian Alps disrupted when they come across a murder and uncover an international smuggling ring.
Neatly plotted and crisply observed, with the central characters’ fond and believable relationship at its center, it’s a fun opening to the series.
The Sunken Sailor
It’s fair to say that vacations rarely go as planned for Tibbett and Emmy. Lounging on a borrowed yacht as you sail around England’s south coast is supposed to be relaxing.
It is, until the dogged copper starts to wonder about the death of a local sailor and whether it might be connected to the robbery of a nearby manor house.
“Can’t we have a single holiday in peace?” The longsuffering Emmy asks at one point.
The short answer is, “No”.
Death on the Agenda
Inspector Tibbett is once again away from his desk. This time he’s on police business, attending an international crime conference in Geneva.
Wife Emmy has come along for the champagne and chocolates and to meet up with some of the characters from Dead Men Don’t Ski.
Everything is going swimmingly until one of the partying detectives turns up dead and the finger of suspicion points straight at Tibbett.
Murder A La Mode
A killing at London’s swishy, bitchy fashion magazine Style in the frenzied lead-up to Paris fashion week, allows Moyes to draw on her experiences working for Vogue.
The result is waspishly funny. The doughty Tibbett is a fish out of water amongst the flamboyant fashionistas, but, as ever, his instincts pay off.
Falling Star
Moyes worked as a technical assistant and writer on the hit British movie, School for Scoundrels.
She puts her insider knowledge of the London film industry to good use in a mystery in which Inspector Tibbett finds himself on set after the unexplained death of a big-name actor.
Johnny Under Ground
Another mystery that sees Moyes drawing on personal experience, in this case her service in the Women’s Royal Air Force during World War Two.
Emmy Tibbett reluctantly attends the twentieth reunion of her unit, only to find her return to Dymfield Air Base stirring up painful memories of a doomed wartime love affair with a heroic Spitfire pilot who died in mysterious circumstances.
Her husband, naturally, begins to question the other guests about the death. Soon he’s unravelling a rat’s-nest of secrets and lies.
Murder Fantastical
Moyes’ delightful 1967 mystery features to classic Golden Age setting of a country house in a picturesque English village populated by well-off middle-class folk with little to do and much to hide.
Amongst the teas and tennis parties, a man is murdered. Inspector Tibbett is sent to investigate a family who are as charming as they are deadly.
Death and the Dutch Uncle
A small-time gambler is brutally killed in a rundown English pub.
Most police officers would not link his death with the murder of a Dutch diplomat in a London hotel, or to high-level diplomatic discussions about African border disputes.
But then most police officers don’t have Inspector Tibbett’s “nose” for crime.
Who Saw Her Die?
Inspector Tibbett is back in familiar British detective territory in his next outing. When the aristocratic Lady Cynthia Balaclava dies of a heart attack shortly after opening her birthday presents.
Was there something amongst the gifts that gave her the fatal shock, and, if so, what was it?
Originally published in the U.S. as Many Deadly Returns.
Season of Snows and Sins
The Tibbetts are off on another jaunt to the Alps, this time to the glitzy Swiss village of Montarraz (a thinly disguised St Moritz).
Sadly there’s little time for Tibbett and Emmy to enjoy the mulled wine, fondue, and jet-set living.
Soon after they arrive a ski-instructor is murdered. His young wife is the chief suspect, but our implacable sleuth can’t help wondering about the part a beautiful French film star has played in the affair.
The Curious Affair of the Third Dog
Once again Tibbett and poor Emmy find a holiday interrupted. This time the Inspector is called back from his break by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
They want him to look into the case of a missing dog. It seems like a minor crime, but Tibbett soon uncovers something far bigger and much more sinister.
Black Widower
The success of her writing allowed Moyes to buy a holiday home in the British Virgin Islands. The Caribbean soon became a favorite setting for the Inspector Tibbett mysteries, commencing with this one.
The gallivanting wife of a Caribbean diplomat has turned up dead in the Tampican Embassy in Washington DC.
It looks like a simple case of suicide, but the local authorities back on the (fictional) island of Tampica are not so sure and call in Scotland Yard for help. Inspector Tibbett is assigned the case.
The Coconut Killings
A fatal machete attack on a U.S. diplomat on an exclusive golf course in the British Seaward islands sees an amiable local bar tender arrested for the crime.
His employers are convinced he didn’t do it. Luckily they have some friends in England who can help prove his innocence.
And so the Tibbetts find themselves on another a sun, sand, and sleuthing holiday.
Who Is Simon Warwick?
A lively and intriguing mystery that calls to mind the true crime case of the Titchborne Claimant.
When Lord Charlton dies he leaves his entire estate to a nephew, Simon Warwick. Simple enough, except that two men turn up claiming to be the heir.
When one of them winds up dead, Tibbett is on the case.
Angel Death
Our wandering Inspector again pops up in the Caribbean accompanied by the cheery and intelligent Emmy.
He’s there to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy old lady. Soon the detective himself has gone missing and it’s left to his wife to find out where he has gone and who took him.
Luckily she’s more than equal to the task.
A Six Letter Word for Death
After all his jet-setting around the globe, this time Tibbett finds himself in the more prosaic setting of the Isle of Wight, a genteel island off the south coast of England.
A crossword puzzle clue set by a group of crime writers as a witty little joke opens the doors to murder and a long-concealed secret.
Night Ferry to Death
Any holiday for Tibbett and Emmy seems destined to involve murder. This time at least they are on their way home from a trip to Holland when crime intervenes.
The happy couple are traveling back to England on the overnight boat from Amsterdam when a death opens up a hidden world of clandestine relationships.
Black Girl, White Girl
A trip to the Caribbean island of Tampica is supposed to give Tibbett and Emmy a chance to drink rum cocktails and recline on sun-loungers.
There’s little opportunity for them to become bored and lazy, however. Shortly after their arrival a friend asks for their help in dealing with a drug trafficking ring and corrupt local politicians.
Naturally, it’s a request they can’t refuse.
Twice in a Blue Moon
The Tibbetts pop into a cozy-looking pub for lunch and get a side order of murder with their sandwiches.
The Blue Moon has recently become the property of a young woman who inherited it from her uncle. She’s new to the catering business, but surely that doesn’t explain why she’s served an awkward customer some poisonous mushrooms?
A fine, fun, and tightly plotted finale to a marvelous series.
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