THE PEW GROUP

by Anthony Oliver ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 1981

Naughty, comical, slightly arch doings in an English village--with a heroine who gets away with murder (on page one), a cozy old meddling dear of a sleuth, lots of lust, and much to-do over a priceless piece of Staffordshire pottery. The blithe murderess is Doreen Corder, who trips her antique-shop-owner husband and calmly watches him tumble down the stairs. The sleuth is Doreen's tough old mum, Mrs. Thomas from Cardiff, who investigates not murder (Doreen's crime remains perfect and unpunished) but the disappearance--during the wake--of the ""Pew Group a pottery piece which Doreen has just bought from a sexy tinker. . . who himself picked it up at the local charity bazaar. Among the suspects (all of whom come down with diarrhea, thanks to Mrs. Thomas' baked ham): the vicar, who carries on a running dialogue with God; a sex-starved spinster; homosexual partners in a rival antique shop; an American millionaire who's hot for Staffordshire. And before the movements of the Pew Group are sorted out, there'll be unlikely pairings--the tinker with a grande dame, the spinster (a blackmail expert) with a reluctant, handsome young curate, Doreen with antique-r ""Betsey"" Trottwood--and a fair measure of over-complicated foolishness. Little mystery value, but considerable stylish fun--with more than a few moments of truly inspired, deadpan hilarity.

Pub Date: March 6, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION