The Body in the Bell Tower

[AuntShecky]

When I first started reading this, it reminded me of a Father Brown mystery, that is if G.K. Chesterton had taken a couple o' tokes of something a little stronger than his near-namesake brand of smokes(Chesterfields.) But now that I've read all the installments, I think it's a parody of The Nine Tailors. "Lord Peter Flimsy," indeed.

Quick question-- how did the late "Sinjum" spell his name?

Some of your expressions are right on target: "overdose of shot-gun pellets,""built like a Bulgarian shot-putter," and in the scene with the Canon "pull up a pew." The phrases spoofing overblown, purple prose ("pendulumic oscillation")are Perelmanesque.

It's "just deserts" (not "desserts" even when the character in question is eating humble pie.) It's a cliché, anyway. So is "salt of the earth." The joke attached to that overquoted Biblical expression was pretty good, but it might have been dragged out too long.


"Paprazzi" is plural; you want the singular one.

Providing expository material within dialogue shows prudence, since the alternative would have been 'telling," rather than "showing." It's a difficult manuever, I know; however, some of the q-and-a scenes do go on a bit too long.

“Ooops,” I said with a grin.

“Ooops?”

“Yes, ooops,” I repeated and showed him the pictures on my phone.

There are a couple of other examples.You would know, much better than I, where and how to cut.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read. As you may know, yours fooly is not a big mystery fan, though I admire Miss Christie's Miss Marple and your model, Miss Dorothy L. Sayers.

On the other hand, there's nothing I'd rather read than a rollicking piece of humor. Like to watch it, too, such as this video strangely connected with your story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfuTTd09vo

[Hawkman]

Hi Auntie, and thanks for reading. Yes, I always enjoyed Wimsey as portrayed by the late Ian Carmichael. Glad you can tolerate Christie and Sayers, but you might want to give Edmund Crispin a try. He's hilarious. I'm fairly certain he wrote one with a murder in a cathedral too, but I can't remember exactly - the relevant volume is languishing at the bottom of a box at the mo.

'Fraid I don't get your comment about how Sinjun spells his name. I've read through the whole thing and can find no variation in spelling, so if there is a typo would you be so good as to tell me where it is? Sinjun is certainly correct.

Mea culpa with paparazzo though, and I've tweaked it, although the plural seems to be used in both singular and plural reference most of the time. Still, one shouldn't pander to ignorance. As for the deserts, now that is annoying. I spelled it correctly originally but didn't stand up for myself (or bother to check) when hill suggested I'd got it wrong. Just goes to show I shouldn't listen to him - LOL. Anyway, I've changed it back.

Oh and I had to call my narrator Flimsy - just in case someone accused the character of being paper thin

There are a few misplaced commas in the piece but it's such an effort to correct things on line that I'll probably leave them for now. As for the rest, I'm pretty happy with it.

Thanks again for reading and commenting.

Live and be well - H

[AuntShecky]

The reason I brought up "Sinjun" is that we Yanks (the general term, not the irritating baseball team) often mispronounce British proper names. From decades of watching Masterpiece Theatre I somehow picked up the notion that a character's Christian name spelled "Saint John" would be pronounced "Sintgin."

I hasten to clarify that even though I saw Ian Carmichael portray Lord Peter Wimsey, I actually did read the book. (I couldn't tell you, however, which version I experienced first.)

Were you able to click on the YouTube video about the Great Copper Clapper Caper?

[cafolini]

So Auntie, how would you play ORB? First and Show?

[Hawkman]

Hi Auntie. Well I suppose the pronunciation would be influenced by accent, but although there appears to be a vowel shift in progress, even on this side of the Atlantic, it doesn't seem to be consistent. The shortening of the o in continue to 'cintinue' is detectable to a sharp ear, even when a BBC newsreader says it - but then the Beeb isn't what it was. As for Sinjun, it's usually written formally as, 'St. John.' Wimsey, of course, had Death (pronounced Déath) as a middle name. I'm fairly certain I read the Sayers novels after I'd seen the BBC adaptations. I'd only have been about 12 when they were first aired.

Yes, I did follow your link and I did enjoy the playful alliteration of the exchange. Sorry, I forgot to mention it.

Live and be well - H

[Steven Hunley]

This was so enjoyable on so many levels. It's a comedic mystery with serious overtones. The humor was sharp and witty. Thanks for the read, Hawk, this one was right on the money.

[Hawkman]

Serious overtones? I must've missed those Thanks for reading Steven; glad you enjoyed it

Live and be well - H