{"id":423,"date":"2012-05-15T15:16:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T19:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/?p=423"},"modified":"2012-05-15T15:16:30","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T19:16:30","slug":"the-felse-family-mystery-series-by-ellis-peters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/the-felse-family-mystery-series-by-ellis-peters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Felse Family Mystery Series by Ellis Peters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Book<\/a><\/p>\n

And supposing there\u2019s nothing whatever official or approved about this murder?\u2019 demanded Dominic. \u201cSupposing it\u2019s a completely private act, and the police are just as interested in catching the criminal as you are. You think it\u2019ll make no difference to their chances, our keeping back nine-tenths of the facts?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This statement is made by Dominic Felse part way through The Piper on the Mountain, my favourite Ellis Peters story. Dominic is the youngest character created by Ellis Peters, the woman behind the famous Brother Cadfael series.<\/p>\n

Ellis Peters was actually one of several pen names used by British author Edith Mary Pargeter (September 28, 1913-October 14, 1995). Pargeter wrote non-fiction and published her first crime novel, Murder in the Dispensary, in 1938 under the name Jolyon Carr. The author lived in Shrewsbury, and one of the nicest memorials to her work is a stained glass window in the Abbey there. There\u2019s also a webpage devoted to her life, which can be found at http:\/\/www.shrewsburyabbey.com\/Ellis%20Peters.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Piper on the Mountain focuses on a road trip through Central Europe by four students, Dominic, his buddy Toddy and two girls, Christine and Tossa. The story begins with the death of Tossa\u2019s father in Czechloslovakia, and the group ends up trying to figure out why he died. Most of the action includes Tossa and a detective policeman\u2019s son who frequently solves puzzles.<\/p>\n

It reads very much like another favourite Peters\u2019 story, Holiday with Violence, which Pargeter wrote in 1952. That story also features four young people travelling through Europe, although the death takes place on a train and the action occurs in Venice.<\/p>\n

There are also several stories in which Dominic\u2019s father George is the main protagonist and one in which his mother, a woman with the unlikely name of Bunty, solves the mystery.<\/p>\n

All the Felse family stories are great fun to read, primarily because they include so many details about family life. The stories featuring the son, Dominic Felse appeal to me best because they take place during short trips through exotic locales. It\u2019s fun to combine travel writing with mysteries that get solved. Few stories in life can be readily explained and tidied up within a few hundred pages.<\/p>\n

The Felse Family series includes:<\/p>\n