Death of an Old Girl

This is a very good old-style mystery.
It was like travelling back in time and reading a pleasant and gentle mystery.
I'm not a fan of action packed thriller and I can say this book was right for me.
The style of writing is a bit old fashioned but pleasant.
The cast of characters is likeable and sometimes funny.
The plot was entertaining and engaging, full of red herrings. It kept me guessing till the end.
I'm happy I discovered this author and look forward to reading further instalments in this series.
Highly recommended to classic and cozy mystery lovers.
Many thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Excellent book with a great storyline.  Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

A slow start, but well worth the perseverance! An old time mystery set in Upshire and investigated by Scotland Yard.. With a twist at the end! A different way of life shown excellently. A good read.

There are 17 books in the Pollard & Toye Investigations Series, and this is book 1. The series is being re-released and I'm glad it is, as I'll be reading them all! This is an excellent bridge series from Agatha's classic styled mysteries to the modern British procedurals we all know and love. Pollard & Toye are making use of the beginning of police forensics to help solve crimes, and in this nod to Agatha closed room mystery, those forensics end up being very important to solving the crime, and ruling out suspects! It's an interesting look back at policing, and a satisfying mystery, that will keep you reading long into the night!

Elizabeth Lemarchand is a new author to me, and I am glad I “discovered” her.  This novel, first published in 1967, is a police procedural/ traditional style British mystery.  It is well written, and the novel is a quick, easy read. 

I thought this novel started a bit slowly, but the slow start did serve to clearly delineate both characters and setting.  The crime is a murder in a girls boarding school.  Lemarchand describes the setting and her characters quite well.  Pollard and Toye, the Scotland Yard detectives who handle the case, complement each other, and a lot of the novel focuses on their actions and musings.  Pollard’s character is revealed to some extent, but Toye remains somewhat nebulous.  

 The ending was a surprise to me, although it was plausible.  

This is really very unlike most mysteries being written today.  It is a gentle novel, without overt violence, or objectionable language. This may not appeal to a reader who is looking for lots of page turning action, but it really appealed to me.

First written and published in the 60’s, This is the first in the Pollard and Toye series. 

The rather unpopular Beatrice Baynes is missing but no one is too worried until her body is discovered in a classroom at the nearby private school.

Inspector Pollard and Seargeant Toye are sent to Upshire from Scotland Yard to investigate.

Death of an Old Girl is a classic police procedural with several suspects with seemingly no motive. There is some great writing in the vein of classic authors like Josephine Tey and George Bellairs, with great characters and intriguing mysteries.

thanks to the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Murder mystery in the traditional mold. Credible characterisation with a steady and intriguing plot. An excellent read and never as predictable as you may, at first, expect. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a cleverly and well written mystery.

The first in the series featuring Chief Detective Inspector Pollard and Detective Sergeant Toye from Scotland Yard. Set in 1966 in a rural part of England the body of a murdered woman is discovered at Meldon School. The school has just been holding its annual Festival where old girls congregate to reunite with former friends and celebrate the school's achievements. The victim Beatrice Baynes was one such old girl, an interfering and spiteful elderly lady who clung to the old styles of teaching and vehemently opposed any modern changes at the school. But were her rather poisonous ways enough to warrant her murder? Local police are struggling so help is requested from Scotland Yard but even Pollard is stumped as to a decent motive and even more so a window of opportunity for the murder. This is a well written nice gentle murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. It has well rounded characters and a good plot which was fairly easy to work out  but still nice to be proved right! It took most of the book to feel like I knew much about the two lead detectives and I hope that is something that will be expanded upon in future stories which I look forward to.

This is a book that's been re-issued and it is a gentle, cosy mystery with no overtly gory details.

There's a good plot, plenty of suspects and red herrings. The characterisation can be a bit dated but overall a good read.