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Elizabeth Lemarchand
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Unhappy Returns (Pollard & Toye Investigations Book 9) Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Lemarchand (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 282 ratings
Once more the unbeatable brains of Pollard & Toye are called in to investigate! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, M C Beaton, Sophie Hannah and Faith Martin.

All that glitters is not gold…

The sleepy English village of Ambercombe is scandalised when an eccentric housekeeper accuses the locals of theft.

Ethel Ridd, housekeeper to the recently deceased vicar of Ambercombe, claims a priceless medieval chalice has gone missing from the church plate.

But before investigations can be carried out, Ethel is found murdered in the vicarage…

There seems to be no record of the chalice, but what other motivation could there be for the murder?

With the local constabulary at a dead end, Scotland Yard’s Detective Superintendent Pollard and Detective Sergeant Toye are called upon to investigate.

Does the Medieval chalice exist? Can Pollard & Toye find it?

Or was there another reason for the murder in the vicarage…?

Unhappy Returns is the ninth cosy village mystery in the Pollard & Toye crime series: an intriguing police procedural set in rural England.

‘Lemarchand brings a rare sense of country life and settings to her masterful crime novel’ – ALA Booklist

'In the best Agatha Christie tradition' – Argosy

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 9 of 17
    Pollard & Toye Investigations
  2. Print length
    208 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    February 18, 2019
  6. File size
    1.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 17 books in this series.

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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07NXC9MMW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 18, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912786985
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 9 of 17 ‏ : ‎ Pollard & Toye Investigations
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 282 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Lemarchand

Elizabeth Lemarchand

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
282 global ratings

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Customers enjoy this English country village murder mystery. They find the book to be a great read.

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Mystery contentReadability
3 customers mention "Mystery content"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery content of the book, describing it as a well-crafted English country village murder mystery.

"A pleasant old fashioned English country village murder mystery with two affable intelligent policemen...." Read more

"This is a great mystery, plus it is clean in its story which is hard to find anymore. Inspector Pollard is well done." Read more

"Great British mystery..." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a great read.

"Worth reading, with a great ending. This is another wonderful book in this series. Reading these books in fun and worth reading." Read more

"Great traditional British whodunnit, always entertaining and riveting" Read more

"...I really enjoyed most of the story, but found the ending very abrupt and not particularly satisfying." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great ending, and great read.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Worth reading, with a great ending.
    This is another wonderful book in this series.
    Reading these books in fun and worth reading.
    Helpful
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  • Joy P.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great British mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Great traditional British whodunnit, always entertaining and riveting
    Helpful
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  • Carrie Louise Hames
    4.0 out of 5 stars ... fashioned English country village murder mystery with two affable intelligent policemen. Concise crafting
    Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A pleasant old fashioned English country village murder mystery with two affable intelligent policemen. Concise crafting, elegant writing that is an easy quick read. I read the entire series when they first were published and enjoyed them. Then I read for a entertainment plus needed something I could finish easily on a weekend. I recalled the author as someone I eagerly read and again tried this book and it didn't disappoint.
    Helpful
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  • Sissy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great English Mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a great mystery, plus it is clean in its story which is hard to find anymore. Inspector Pollard is well done.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not the best in the series
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I was really glad to see the Pollard & Toye series released for Kindle. I read them when they were first published and enjoyed them enough that I still remember them 40+ years later. These are what I would call "cozy" police procedural, mostly set in the English countryside - think Midsomer Murders. They can be read in any order, but I wouldn't recommend starting with this one. I really enjoyed most of the story, but found the ending very abrupt and not particularly satisfying.
    Helpful
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  • D. M. Smith
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2019
    Format: Kindle
    Great cozy mystery. Like the characters & the lack of "head office" interference as they go through their cases. This was a really good one that continued to build with lots of off shoots & distractions. Most satisfying right up to the end.
    The end is why I gave 4 stars not 5. It just sort of cuts off without full closure, I dislike that. Most of the series is excellent & has a full ending, so this was a surprise. I recommend the series.
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  • "gilspat"
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good old fashioned mystery.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2002
    Format: Audio, Cassette
    Pollard and Toye are back in harness. This is a good old fashioned British, small village mystery. The characters are well drawn, and even though it is obvious very soon who the "villans" are, how and why they are villans comes as a complete suprise. I did not get the conection until it was spelled out for me in the last chapter. The ending, I will not reveal here how it comes about, is a writers gem. A really good escapist, intelligent mystery.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • retired reader
    2.0 out of 5 stars terrible ending
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
    Format: Kindle
    After happily reading all the previous Insp. Pollard books..I was unhappy with this one. Very much emphasis was placed on the "time" it took for several characters to travel about. The ending was astoundingly poor. I may not read another Lemarchand novel.....
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Another compelling episode in the delightful Pollard and Toye series of murder mysteries, set in the glorious West Country. Cold blooded murder and the discovery of a priceless artefact lead our detectives a merry chase. Hugely entertaining.
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  • Mr. A.J. PENDLEBURY
    4.0 out of 5 stars Shame an editor didn't sort out the last few pages.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Maybe 3.75 stars,but it is a big improvement on the previous rather limp effort . I give most of the higher score for the well portrayed religious skullduggery ...most convincing. In addition the various village characters do have a certain something about them .

    The partnership between Pollard and Toye is ok ..a bit anodyne but not incompetent . For me it lacks the warmth of say Littlejohn and Cromwell ( Bellairs ) . After a really good build up and some very good red herrings ,the last 3 pages go by at such a pace that repeated readings have still left me in the dark as to exactly what happens..who is dead..who escaped and why ...where was the editor. A shame really as much of the book was rather enjoyable.
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  • Mrs Irene Timothy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I am enjoying this series of books and find the main characters very likable. I can usually work out who dunnit before the end but still like them.
    Report

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