Review: Lessons in Chasing the Wild Goose by Charlie Cochrane

Title: Lessons in Chasing the Wild Goose

Series: The Cambridge Fellows Mysteries

Author: Charlie Cochrane

Length: 104 Pages

Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense

At a Glance: This is a brilliant series and I highly recommend it. Whenever Cochrane comes out with a new one, it’s an auto-buy for me and is better than Christmas.

Reviewed By: Carrie

Blurb: Jonty Stewart and Orlando Coppersmith like nothing more than being handed a mystery to solve. But why would anybody murder a man with no enemies? And was it murder in the first place?

Review: Ah, this is a most melancholy mystery. It’s a few weeks before the dunderheads descend, and Orlando is feeling almost wistful. The beauty of an English countryside in the fall is only outmatched by his wish for another mystery. Orlando and Jonty are not as young and spry as they once were. They have been together sixteen years now, but the romantic undertones in this story let us know that their relationship is as solid as ever. This is a long series; there are sixteen books contained in the Cambridge Fellows series, and they can all be read as standalones—for the mystery aspects of the stories—but if you want a sweeping love story which has survived and flourished, then you can read this series from the beginning. Be aware, these are not love stories, they are mysteries, but Jonty and Orlando’s relationship is the underpinning thread which makes them sing. Cochrane writes complex, intuitive mysteries. They are quintessentially English and period appropriate down to the last detail.

The mystery in this installment revolves around the death of a man run over by a car on a deserted, flat stretch of road. The motor car is still somewhat new at this time in history, so using it as a murder weapon has Jonty practically salivating to find out why since he loves the things so much. But is it murder? This case turns up more questions than answers, and it requires some leaps of fate. The amateur detectives from St. Brides have to overcome jealousy, discrimination and memories that are still fresh, of a war that gave all of them scars, to figure out the clues on how this particular man died and just who is at fault. It’s a story of war and of scars that are left on a soul that go beyond the physical.

Once again we have a colorful, sound cast of secondary characters. Lavinia shines, as well as her husband Ralph (Jonty’s sister and brother in law). Always willing to join in on the sleuthing, they and the long-term employees at the college provide help, interesting side tales, and work as extra hands for Jonty and Orlando, often taking over tasks the gentleman cannot do themselves.

There are multiple mysteries afoot in this story. Nothing is as it seems, and the more people Jonty and Orlando meet who have any connection to the corpse, the more people they truly dislike. As I said before, this mystery has an overarching melancholy to it. It all seems so senseless, and sometimes the solution to a puzzle is not what we think or even want it to be. Never judge a book by its cover. Never assume. Never label or pigeon hole people based on assumptions. And never ever believe that words cannot wound as assuredly as bullets.

‘Don’t. Among her many qualities, my mother was a pragmatic woman. She’d have said that this world is less than perfect and that sometimes you simply have to make the best of a bad deal. To you, specifically, she’d have remarked that life can’t always be stamped QED on the bottom. There are messes and muddles and mysteries that defy solution. Or which are solved and never proven.’ ~ Jonty to Orlando

This is a brilliant series and I highly recommend it. Whenever Cochrane comes out with a new one, it’s an auto-buy for me and is better than Christmas. I cannot imagine an end to the Cambridge Fellows and I don’t want to. It satisfies on so many levels and genres—mystery, suspense, romance, and historical. It has it all. I want to mention that Alex Beecroft has done the covers for this novella and the one before it, Lessons in Loving thy Murderous Neighbour, and they are perfect, reflecting the general feel for the novels and working well with the rest of the series. Highly recommend.

You can buy Lessons in Chasing the Wild Goose here:
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