Death of Jezebel (Inspector Cockrill #4) in Reading the Detectives

From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death of Jezebel (Inspector Cockrill #4)

Christianna Brand

Start date: May 15, 2025

Finish date: June 7, 2025

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: For all our Christianna Brand fans.
[close] For all our Christianna Brand fans.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 440 topics — 8,681 comments total

Buddy reads

* Starting/joining in with buddy reads
By Judy · 1303 posts · 368 views

last updated May 01, 2025 11:48AM

* Harm鈥檚 Way (Sloan and Crosby #11) by Catherine Aird (April/May 25)
By Susan · 17 posts · 9 views

last updated Apr 20, 2025 01:03AM

showing 5 of 5 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 31, 2020 Susan in NC rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Mostly entertaining, but not a favorite author- this is her second book I鈥檝e read, and it had the same problems (for me) as the other book, also read with the Reading the Detectives group.

Pros - like the other Inspector Cockrill book I read (The Crooked Wreath), Brand presents a knotty puzzle, concerning the murder of a nasty, self-centered woman, the Jezebel of the title, in front of an audience.

- lots of snarky humor, delivered by an intriguing, but generally brittle, unlikable cast of charact Mostly entertaining, but not a favorite author- this is her second book I鈥檝e read, and it had the same problems (for me) as the other book, also read with the Reading the Detectives group.

Pros - like the other Inspector Cockrill book I read (The Crooked Wreath), Brand presents a knotty puzzle, concerning the murder of a nasty, self-centered woman, the Jezebel of the title, in front of an audience.

- lots of snarky humor, delivered by an intriguing, but generally brittle, unlikable cast of characters (which counts as a con for me, makes it hard to care).

Cons - again, Cockrill seems to enjoy an odd sort of celebrity, as in the other book, being addressed as 鈥淐ockie鈥� like a favorite uncle or something; it gave me the oddest, distracted feeling of walking into a movie in the middle, as if I missed the explanation for this celebrity, and it鈥檚 never explained.

- Brand makes the murder method too involved, rehashing it endlessly, and I couldn鈥檛 help thinking it would be better shown, not told 鈥� in other words, perhaps shown in a movie or on stage.

- As in the other Cockrill mystery I read, she spent an inordinate amount of time having the unlikable suspects argue with each other in front of the detectives over who is guilty and who isn鈥檛 - almost as if she didn鈥檛 quite know what to do with them, and figured she鈥檇 let them fight it out amongst themselves. I found this overly melodramatic and annoying.

- Also, this is just a personal pet peeve, but Cockrill constantly smokes, or is rolling cigarettes for himself - got to be a real distraction.

- Because of all these 鈥渃ons鈥�, I got bored, decided I believed I knew who had done the murders, although I wasn鈥檛 sure how. I jumped ahead to the end and it turns out I was right!

This led to another pet peeve of mine; as with the previous novel, the ending was melodramatic and rather ridiculous. I don鈥檛 think this author really works for me, I would not read any more of her books. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2021 Lady Wesley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened, mystery-golden-age-or-similar

This book is very difficult for me to rate. On one hand, it is a cracking-good puzzle, but on the other hand, the mostly unlikeable characters and the several false confessions left me a bit bored. And confused. Even now, I am still not sure who was really who.

I suspect that this is a book better read than listened to, although the narration by Derek Perkins was excellent. I wish now that I had highlights to go back and look at. I still don鈥檛 know how Inspector Cockerill figured it all out. Per ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It is a shame this book is so hard to find, as, if you enjoy Christianna Brand's crime novels this has a lot to offer. It is the fourth in the Inspector Cockrill mysteries ( following, 鈥淗eads You Lose鈥� , 鈥淕reen for Danger 鈥� and 鈥淭he Crooked Wreath鈥� and also features Inspector Charlesworth (who first features in 鈥淒eath in High Heels鈥�) as well as other characters from previous novels.

The book centres around a pageant, during which revenge is taken for an earlier death. The young Johnny Wise, who w ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2025 Layton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a truly exceptional impossible crime novel, in that the perpetrator is rather uninteresting but the way they commit the crime left my jaw on the floor. Absolutely flabbergasted, a work of crime-writing genius.

Just like Green for Danger, I found myself enjoying Brand鈥檚 voice throughout this, feeling like I was chatting with a gossipy granny with a dark sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye.

An easy 5 stars.

2 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2011 Abbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, vintage, myst-fems-project, myst-set-andor-auth-uk

A not-so-virtuous maiden gets herself killed in front of hundreds of spectators during a medieval play, and there鈥檚 no way it could have been done. Inspector Cockrill saw the death happen, and even he has his doubts. Nicely sparring tale of conflicting styles of policemen, showcasing Cockrill but also featuring Brand鈥檚 other Inspector, Charlesworth, who has more than met his match in Cockrill and comes off second best here.

Extremely intricate timetable plotting mixed with a very strong revenge t ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2023 Jenn Estepp rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindling, sleuths-and-gumshoes, better-together

Let鈥檚 say 3 1/2. It鈥檚 well-constructed and smart, and I like the Inspector. It鈥檚 just also essentially a locked room mystery, featuring numerous reconstructions and 鈥渉ow it could have happened鈥� - neither of which is really my thing.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2023 Laura Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, british-isles

I enjoyed the 鈥渓ocked room鈥� puzzle, the rivalry between two detectives, and Brand鈥檚 style & humor. Critique: unbelievable coincidence results in eyewitness clue & tediously going over the crime scene repeatedly, yet not providing clear floorplan.

Like · see review