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Elizabeth Lemarchand
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Death of an Old Girl (Pollard & Toye Investigations Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Lemarchand (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 851 ratings
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A classic cosy mystery from a master of the genre! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, M C Beaton, Sophie Hannah and Faith Martin.

How do you solve a village murder when everyone is under suspicion…?


1966, Rural England



Shockwaves are sent through the sleepy village of Trill when a woman’s body is discovered in a local school.

Beatrice Baynes – interfering, overbearing and spiteful – was not well liked. But no one expects a body to be found on their doorstep… And how did the annual festival at Meldon School turn from a light-hearted celebration to a gruesome crime scene?

With the local constabulary completely stumped, Scotland Yard’s Chief Detective Inspector Pollard and Detective Sergeant Toye are called in to investigate.

But the further Pollard & Toye delve into their inquiries, the more complicated the case becomes…

Death of an Old Girl is the first cosy village mystery in the Pollard & Toye crime series: an intriguing police procedural set in rural England.

'This is a real genuine police-detective story, and a first-class one at that … altogether I would call this a hundred-per-cent winner' - Guardian

'In the best Agatha Christie tradition' – Argosy

‘The characters ... are expertly developed. Lemarchand builds her tale to a satisfying conclusion’ – ALA Booklist

‘An engrossing British murder mystery’ – Drood Review

‘an entertaining nod to the Golden Age’ – In Reference To Murder Blog

'An excellent example of the classic British mystery' – Romantic Times

‘a charming little book’ – Noah’s Archives Blog

‘an excellent mystery’ – My Reader’s Block Blog

‘a nice comfy, intellectual mystery’ – AQ’s Reviews

THE POLLARD & TOYE INVESTIGATIONS SERIES
Book One: Death of an Old Girl
Book Two: The Affacombe Affair
Book Three: Alibi for a Corpse
Book Four: Death on Doomsday
Book Five: Cyanide With Compliments
Book Six: No Vacation From Murder
Book Seven: Buried in the Past
Book Eight: Step in the Dark
Book Nine: Unhappy Returns
Book Ten: Suddenly While Gardening
Book Eleven: Change for the Worse
Book Twelve: Nothing to Do with the Case
Book Thirteen: Troubled Waters
Book Fourteen: The Wheel Turns
Book Fifteen: Light Through Glass
Book Sixteen: Who Goes Home?
Book Seventeen: The Glade Manor Murder
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  1. Book 1 of 17
    Pollard & Toye Investigations
  2. Print length
    283 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    September 20, 2018
  5. File size
    2.9 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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There are 17 books in this series.
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Pollard & Toye Investigations Book 1 - Book 10
Pollard & Toye Investigations Book 1 - Book 17
Bundle price: Kindle price
$6.97
Bundle price: Kindle price
$12.95
Bundle price: Kindle price
$27.90
Bundle price: Kindle price
$49.83
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07FHK31X8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (September 20, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 20, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 851 ratings

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Elizabeth Lemarchand

Elizabeth Lemarchand

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
851 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the mystery content enjoyable and well-written. They describe the characters as interesting and well-described. The book is described as a straightforward read that provides an entertaining whodunit for a slow day. However, some readers feel the pacing is too slow and the timeline has too much redundancy.

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Mystery contentReadabilityCharacter developmentEase of useEnjoymentPace
14 customers mention "Mystery content"11 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery content. They find the characters interesting and the plot clever. The book has a classic mystery feel with a little surprise at the end. Readers appreciate the focus on opportunity and thorough investigation.

"...The mystery is a good one, and the solution turns out to be straightforward. Realism is what characterizes everything about this crime novel...." Read more

"A very well-written book, with a "classic mystery" feel to it...." Read more

"...The little surprise at the end was enjoyable. It is old, so they may be out of circulation." Read more

"...Painstaking and thorough investigation oh so slowly chips away the impossible and the improbable...." Read more

9 customers mention "Readability"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it well-written with a classic mystery feel and good characterizations.

"A very well-written book, with a "classic mystery" feel to it...." Read more

"...It's generally well written, and the plot is clever...." Read more

"...Published in 1967, “Death of an Old Girl” is a well-written tale of everyone can be guilty and no one can be guilty – until some intensive police..." Read more

"This is a good read, for the first book in a series. Hopefully the series stays as true as this first book" Read more

6 customers mention "Character development"6 positive0 negative

Customers like the character development. They say the characters are well-described and delineated.

"...The cast of characters includes all sorts of personalities, realistically portrayed...." Read more

"...The characters are all well-described and delineated, but a couple of the clues seemed a bit obvious to me...." Read more

"Step by step procedural with interesting characters. The little surprise at the end was enjoyable. It is old, so they may be out of circulation." Read more

"...that starts off a bit slowly, as there are a good many characters to be introduced...." Read more

4 customers mention "Ease of use"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to use, but it's not straightforward at first.

"...The mystery is a good one, and the solution turns out to be straightforward. Realism is what characterizes everything about this crime novel...." Read more

"Step by step procedural with interesting characters. The little surprise at the end was enjoyable. It is old, so they may be out of circulation." Read more

"...Lots of moving parts, plenty of suspects, not lots of motive. Painstaking and thorough investigation oh so slowly chips away the impossible and the..." Read more

"Seems straight forward at first, but it's anything but that. I almost felt like I needed a score card to keep up with all the players!" Read more

4 customers mention "Enjoyment"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it absorbing and entertaining, with great mystery elements. The book is described as a good read for a slow day.

"...It is absorbing and entertaining and feels as if it could all have happened. At the same time, it has the charm of Golden Age crime novels...." Read more

"...Nevertheless, I found it to be an enjoyable book." Read more

"...The book is still rather good for its day and is chock full of mystery mechanisms. A good read for a slow day." Read more

"Great whodunit and why. Pollack and Toye are a good team. Can't wait to read the next in the series." Read more

6 customers mention "Pace"0 positive6 negative

Customers find the book's pacing slow and the case against the murderer takes too long. They also mention that the timeline has too much redundancy.

"...Although the pace was definitely very slow (and the book was quite long), I did enjoy witnessing the actual work of detection without mounds of..." Read more

"...Here it is the time line that gets rather too much redundancy. Sometimes it's as though the authors are getting paid by the word count." Read more

"...It is a wonderful police procedural that starts off a bit slowly, as there are a good many characters to be introduced...." Read more

"...because, in my opinion, the wrap up of the case against the murderer took too long...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Patto
    5.0 out of 5 stars The school’s worst critic is murdered
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Beatrice Baynes went to Meldon school at the turn of the century and had kept a baleful eye on it ever since. She lived across the road from the school, snooped around the grounds, spied on students and staff, and vociferously criticized every change from the good old days. Truth be told, the school desperately needed updating, and the progressive new president saved it from fatal decay.

    Nuisance though Beatrice might be, her murder upsets everyone and brings in Scotland Yard. Chief Detective Inspector Pollard looks into every possibility, from the traditional inheritance motive to the chance that the old girl unearthed a dangerous secret.

    He spins endless theories to his admiring sidekick Sargent Toye and his very cool wife Jane. The cast of characters includes all sorts of personalities, realistically portrayed.

    The mystery is a good one, and the solution turns out to be straightforward. Realism is what characterizes everything about this crime novel. It is absorbing and entertaining and feels as if it could all have happened. At the same time, it has the charm of Golden Age crime novels. I will move forward with this series, for sure.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Beckett Shiona
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, but slow
    Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A very well-written book, with a "classic mystery" feel to it. Although the pace was definitely very slow (and the book was quite long), I did enjoy witnessing the actual work of detection without mounds of forensic evidence to move the sleuthing along; fingerprints seemed to be about the only evidence. At first I found myself a bit confused as to the era the book was set in; it took me a bit of quick math from characters birthdates to determine the mid-1960s. The characters are all well-described and delineated, but a couple of the clues seemed a bit obvious to me. Nevertheless, I found it to be an enjoyable book.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars A well written mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I have been sampling the free mysteries on Amazon : some are pretty good and this series is an example. It's generally well written, and the plot is clever. My only complaint is that there is here--as in far too many mysteries -- much belaboring of the plot. Here it is the time line that gets rather too much redundancy. Sometimes it's as though the authors are getting paid by the word count.
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  • Glynn Young
    5.0 out of 5 stars A more cerebral Agatha Christie
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Elizabeth Lemarchand (1906-2000) was an educator at several schools in England and Wales who, after retirement, turned her hand to writing mystery novels. Between 1967 and 1988, she wrote 17 novels featuring Detective Chief Inspector Pollard and his able assistant Sergeant Toye of Scotland Yard. She was often compared to Agatha Christie, but after reading the first in the series, “Death of an Old Girl,” I would say she’s a more cerebral Agatha Christie.

    Meldon School for Girls, founded in the 1880s, is having its annual homecoming and meeting of the Old Meldonian Society. One old girl (alumnus) is Beatrice Bayne’s, who actually lives in a cottage on the school property. She doesn’t like the changes happening at the school, and in between making derogatory comments about the grounds crew and generally throwing her weight around, she’s been looking for an opportunity to get rid of the new art teacher.

    Another teacher, who happens to be Baines’ godchild, returns from her mother’s funeral with fire in her eye. She’s desperate to find her godmother. The art teacher isn’t happy with the meddling old girl. Neither is the head of school who’s making so many changes. Baynes seems to have managed to offend just about everyone at the school. And then her body is found stuffed into a puppet theater – the art classroom.

    When DCI Pollard and Sergeant Toye show up, they find a multitude of suspects with a number of petty motives – but enough to kill the elderly woman? Pollard and Toye are very different personalities that combine to form a well-balanced team. They painstakingly develop and keep revising a timetable of events, including where and when everyone can be accounted for. After several intense days of investigation, they discover that none of the suspects could really have killed the woman. They know she was killed in the art classroom, and they know the weapon was likely a stone paperweight, now missing. But everyone’s time can be accounted for.

    It’s not until Pollard decides to crawl inside the mind of the victim and ask the question, what what she really doing in the art classroom, that light begins to break in the case.

    Published in 1967, “Death of an Old Girl” is a well-written tale of everyone can be guilty and no one can be guilty – until some intensive police works identifies the villain.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Marijala
    4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Old Fashioned Cozy
    Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Step by step procedural with interesting characters. The little surprise at the end was enjoyable. It is old, so they may be out of circulation.
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  • Linda
    5.0 out of 5 stars DEATH OF AN OLD GIRL, Elizabeth Lemarchand, 1967
    Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The murder takes place during the annual festival at Meldon School, celebrating the end of term with a reunion of the "old girls," former students, most of them actually elderly. It is the first of the Pollard & Toye series, taking place in 1966, and now reissued. It is a wonderful police procedural that starts off a bit slowly, as there are a good many characters to be introduced. The woman who is murdered is not a popular figure, as she is overbearing, outspoken, nosey, and opinionated. But could anyone dislike her enough to kill her? Our detectives certainly have their work cut out for them, with an overabundance of suspects and a timeline showing an extremely small window of opportunity for the murder to take place. A highlight of the story was the relationship between Pollard and his wife Jane, who provides a bit of help in solving the mystery.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • J. A. Mine
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read with good characterizations.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This reader deducted one star because, in my opinion, the wrap up of the case against the murderer took too long. D. I. Pollard is a likeable detective character, but he has a tendency towards too much (overwritten) introspection. This was especially distracting as this reader was waiting for the villain to be caught and his/her naive but innocent cohort learn the truth. I've read this author years ago and liked her style and characterizations. I am pleased her novels are being re-released in Kindle editions.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Andrew
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this book in one afternoon.
    Reviewed in Canada on April 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book in one Sunday afternoon read!
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  • Kilbaddy
    4.0 out of 5 stars well crafted 1960s investigation
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Death of an Old Girl - a clever triple meaning embedded in the title - merits its comparison with an Agatha Christie who-done-it, but the characters of the potential perpetrators and witnesses are more fully drawn, allowing modern readers more psychological access to the workings of their minds. The detectives are more standardised, recognisable from traditional detection fiction and drama, and pleasantly free from the serious character defects and vicious rivalries which seem necessary in modern detective fiction. This may date the material, but the use of contemporary post war language and background is a fascination for both readers and writers, and the investigation is very well handled, with the team at first exonerating all their potential criminals more than once and having to go back to the beginning to look again. The role of coincidence is thoughtfully handled and at the end the reader is left feeling satisfied with the result, and empathising with several of the characters facing future problems or resolutions.
    As this is the first in a long series there is ample opportunity for the central police characters to be developed. If this was envisaged when the writer began, it might make sense not to draw them to fully here, but instead to show them as 'new' people in the lives of those involved in the case as they would have seen them. There is just enough of Pollard's home life given to spark further interest for future books.
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in Australia on November 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Well written showing all the work in an investigation. The ending was a bit of a luckyway to finish. Yes.
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  • Mr. A.J. PENDLEBURY
    4.0 out of 5 stars This school has hidden dangers...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I was strongly put off trying this book by the dreaded words " cozy village mystery " ...ugh !. However I have found that these words were not used when the book was first published . I found it to be a well constructed and well written crime book from the early 1960's . The atmosphere of a privileged and somewhat exclusive girls boarding school was well displayed . Even better was the strained atmosphere between the old guard and the much needed new ideas.

    The police investigation was thorough and logical . The ending went way beyond the anticipated outcome and at no stage was there anything cozy or even much village like about the book . In some ways it reminded me of Val Mcdermids first crime novel ( that too set in a girls school ) . Whilst not on that level ,it was still a good read at a very fair price and I look forward to trying more in the hope that they maintain the standard and don't ever veer to the cozy word !
    One person found this helpful
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  • Chris Rowe
    1.0 out of 5 stars Not very good
    Reviewed in Australia on May 21, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Poor as a police procedural
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