Heads You Lose

By Christianna Brand

Book Overview

In the English countryside, one of the well-mannered guests at Pigeonsford Estate may be a murderer in this series debut by an Edgar Award-nominated author.
As war rages in Europe, the citizens of London flee to the country. At Pigeonsford, a group of guests plays cards, drinks tea, and acts polite--but Grace Morland knows the strong emotions that lurk beneath the placid social surface. She's painfully in love with Stephen Pendock, the squire of Pigeonsford, but Pendock's smitten with young beauty Francesca Hart. One afternoon, Fran debuts a new hat, and Grace's jealousy gets the better of her. She exclaims, "I wouldn't be seen dead in a ditch in a thing like that!" She will soon be proven wrong. Grace is found dead with the hat on her head--and her head removed from her neck. To the scene comes the incomparable Inspector Cockrill, who finds that far more than petty jealousy lies beneath this hideous murder.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1504068084
• ISBN13: 9781504068086
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Finally, a chance that the butler may have done it!

We begin in a large house in a small village. We are introduced to the possible executioner of a bizarre dispatch and the possible victims. Each character is well described as the story takes shape. Who did what, and how is it possible? To find the answer, we must call upon Inspector C-o-c-k-r-e-l-l, with his unique perspective on the crime scene. “C-o-c-k-i-e” is a local inspector who is familiar with most of the suspects. As each theory plays out, we also get to go along and make guesses as to whether the theory is correct or not. Even though all the clues are there from the beginning, without some suspect popping out of the closet at the last minute. It is fun to see if you can catch the clues, or if Inspector C-o-c-k-r-e-l-l can catch the clues, or if the clues turn out to be red herrings. This is not the first book by Christina Brand; however, this book introduces Inspector C-o-c-k-r-e-l-l. I came to this book in a roundabout way, as my first introduction was through a movie called “Green for Danger” (1946) starring Alistair Sim as Inspector C-o-c-k-r-e-l-l. What I found fascinating was not the whodunit, which is not really unique, but the actual writing style of Christina Brand. One example is when Lady Heart would go from room to room and wake each person up to tell them the bad news. The first thing they would ask is “Is it an air raid?” So, when Lady Heart went to wake up James, she said: “If you say ‘is it an air raid’ I shall scream.” In any case, I now have a good background, so I can read “Green for Danger” without having to compare it to the movie.

More than a great classic detective novel

This is a very classic (and british) plot : somebody among a group of six persons killed two or maybe three women by severing their heads with different devices. Two lovely girls, an old lady, and older man, the husband of one of the girls and another one in love with the second girl. Who did it? There appears an english policeman who has known all six for long and who tries to find the culprit, with some unorthodox methods. Maybe he would prefer not to discover him, but he's obliged to by the quick events. You can try your little grey cells, like Hercule Poirot, but it wan't work. Just let yourself by taken by the plot,the author and both lovely girls, and enjoy it till the end. A bit bloody ? Well, not too much, as a matter of fact. And buy other books from C. Brand, with the same policeman and some of the characters of this book, "death of a Jezabel", "green for danger", "death in high heels"... It comes from the 50's, but it's very enjoyable.