Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

'Henry Tibbett was not a man who looked like a great detective. In fact, as he would be the first to point out, he was not a great detective, but a conscientious and observant policeman, with an occasional flair for intuitive detection which he called "my nose".'

Originally published in 1959, this is a welcome re-issue of the first Inspector Tibbett mystery by Patricia Moyes. Accompanied by his wife Emmy and a motley group of fellow travellers, Tibbett finds himself in the isolated ski resort of Santa Chiara. He is not there by accident, as he is mixing business with pleasure, having been asked to sniff out a possible smuggling ring. When a dead body turns up, things take on a more serious urgency - and, as Tibbett tries to find the killer, things get even more tricky when a second body turns up...

This is a fun, breezy kind of murder mystery. The list of suspects is small, helped by the isolation of the hotel; the local police inspector is, of course, clearly on the wrong track; and everyone, as it turns out, has a shady past and a motive for killing - this is classic whodunnit territory.

What lifts this to the realm of really wonderful is Patricia Moyes' writing, which is full of such enthusiasm that this truly is a page-turner. Her character observations are spot on, often funny, and she has an eye for description that is at once precise whilst being loaded with glee. As Henry and Emmy arrive at Victoria Station to start their journey they observe the other travellers setting out to various winter destinations:

'They were not all young, Henry noted with relief, though the average age was certainly under thirty: but young or middle-aged, male or female, all were unanimous in their defiant sartorial abandon - the tightest trousers, the gaudiest sweaters, the heaviest boots, the silliest knitted hats that ever burst from the over-charged imagination of a Winter Sports Department.... The whole dingy place had the air of a monstrous end-of-term party.'

To my shame I had never read any of Moyes previously. It appears there are 19 books in the series, so now some serious catch-up to be done. perfect for fans of Golden Age crime writing, these deserve to be re-discovered. Absolutely cracking stuff. ( )

"Whodunit?" From the moment Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy boarded the train for their skiing vacation at Bella Vista in Santa Chiara, Italy, I was already trying to pay attention to the intricacies of the characters as one could feel there was to be an upcoming murder to solve. I must confess that I have pictured Henry as a British version of Peter Falk from Columbo days with some of his questioning techniques. Whatever your delight with this genre, I highly recommend adding this series to your wish list. I've added it to my own.

After reading this novel, I noticed a little box promo on the back cover entitled, "Who's Likely to Like This?" The answer reads, "Fans of Caroline Graham and Susannah Stacey." That made me smile as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel by Patricia Moyes. I am a fan of "Midsomer Murders," based on the crime-novel series by author Caroline Graham. Now I'd like to read more Inspector Henry Tibbett Mysteries and add Susannah Stacey's* name to my book wish list for my reading investigations.

*Susannah Stacey is a pseudonym used by writers Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. Under this name, the team has produced a mystery novel series featuring widowed British police Superintendent Bone. They also write a series of mysteries set during the Italian Renaissance under the name of Elizabeth Eyre."

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Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy are looking forward to a relaxing ski holiday in the Alpine town of Santa Chiara, Italy. However, Henry has also been asked to keep his eyes peeled for information relating to an international smuggling ring that might be headquartered in the area. Though reluctant to spoil his holiday with work, Henry can’t help but notice that several of his fellow vacationers have secrets to hide. Then one of the other guests at his hotel, Fritz Hauser, is found murdered on the ski lift. As Henry helps the local police to investigate, he soon learns that Hauser was involved in the smuggling ring — and that several of the hotel guests had good reasons for wanting him dead.

I think this book could best be described as a “traveling” English country house mystery. All the key elements are there — unlikable murder victim, plenty of suspects, an unusual crime scene which demands very precise alibis from everyone — but it happens to take place in a ski villa rather than an English country house. Since I love the genre, I found a lot to enjoy in this book. I especially enjoyed the subtle deviations from the standard mystery formula: for example, two of the characters are a hearty English colonel and his domineering wife, yet there’s more to both of them that meets the eye. Also, the “foreigners” in classic mystery novels always seem to be there as mere background, but here they were truly fleshed-out characters with actual relevance to the plot. I believe this is the first book in a series featuring Tibbett, and I’d gladly read more. Definitely recommended for classic mystery fans!

Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett is taking a little ski trip to Italy with his wife. His superiors think this is an excellent change to look into the increase in drug smuggling that seems to be connected with the little Italian town. Henry hardly gets a chance to hit the slopes before one of their fellow guests is murdered. Great for fans of English police mysteries with an exciting climax. ( )