Book Review: Singing the Sadness

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Singing the Sadness     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Reginald Hill
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Private Investigator
Series: Joe Sixsmith # 4
St. Martin’s Minotaur, Sep 1999, $23.95, 251 pp.

Private Investigator Joe Sixsmith looks forward to singing along with his fellow church choir members at a Welsh festival. On the way to Llanffugiol, Joe and his bus mates see a burning summer cottage. Joe rushes inside to save a trapped person. Joe is slightly hurt from his daring do and will miss the competition. However, the individual he rescued suffers much greater injuries. No one local or form the bus knows who she is or why she was in Copa Cottage.

The cottage owners, Fran and Franny Haggard arrive from Islington, denying they know the victim. Fran hires Joe to learn the identity of the injured party. Franny also employs Joe to learn if the victim was her spouse’s mistress. As Joe begins his inquiries, he quickly realizes that several other people have vested interests in his investigation way beyond just a natural curiosity. As he digs deeper, he begins to uncover crimes from years ago that someone wants to remain secret, even at the cost of Joe’s life.

A PLACE OF SAFETY, the fourth Sixsmith who-done-it, is an entertaining mystery that centers on several eccentric characters and the Welsh countryside. The investigation is entertaining and Joe and his cohorts retain the freshness that made the previous tales charming. However, this time around, Reginald Hill shows his talent to scribe an enjoyable mystery that his myriad of fans will gain much pleasure from it. However, it still lacks the bite of the other Sixsmith novels.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner