Gently with the Innocents

 Gently with the Innocents (1970) by Alan Hunter

Adrian Peachment implores Inspector Gently to investigate the death of his uncle James Peachment. The elderly man's bruised and broken body was found  at the foot of the stairs of his 16th-century mansion. Lying beside him was a priceless gold coin. There had long been rumors that somewhere in the twisting passages and hidden rooms was a great treasure. There have also been rumors that the house is haunted. Now it looks like at least part of the rumors may have been true. The coroner brought in an open verdict--the death may well have been an accident. But Adrian is sure the local police suspect him and he can't blame them. After all, he is his uncle's sole heir. And--he's certain his uncle was murdered and he doesn't want to hang for a murder he didn't do.

Gently begins the investigation a bit reluctantly, but the more he questions Bressingham, a local antique dealer; Colkett,the grumpy owner of the warehouse next door' and the group of boys who liked to spy on "Peachy" and Colkett, the more he believes someone is guilty of cold-blooded murder. He's fairly certain the nephew really is innocent (though he's keeping an open mind) and Colkett becomes the chief suspect when Gently and the local constable realize he had a bird's eye view of Peachment's secret room. And when Colkett disappears, leaving a trail that leads to the pawning of another priceless coin, it looks very like they'll have their man once he's found.

But...then Colkett is found dead in same place and manner as Peachment. And Gently has to reorganize his theory....leading him to an unusually cruel and unexpected solution.*

Long ago and far away, I read two Inspector Gently books (Death on the Heath and Landed Gently) from our local library and immediately put him down on the TBF (To Be Found) list. Since then, I've picked up all sorts of titles (including those two--which if I ever get a moment I plan to revisit) and been fairly disappointed with those I've read. I kept wondering why I thought I needed more of Gently. Here is the answer. Here we have Gently detecting as I thought he ought to. The book has it all: a death with no motive (initially), hidden treasure, rumors of ghosts, historical context, several suspects (from the nephew to the antique dealer to the grumpy warehouse owner to others who suspected the man had gold), good atmosphere, and a chilling wrap-up. Definitely more in line with my previous impression of Hunter's detective novels. ★★★★

*Spoiler (use ROT13 to decode): Fb--juvyr vg vf puvyyvat gb guvax gung gur tebhc bs oblf pbhaq or fb pehry naq hasrryvat, V pbhyqa'g uryc ohg guvax bs gur Fgne Gerx Rcvfbqr "Zvev." Gurer gur tebhc bs Bayvrf nggnpx Xvex naq ner ernql gb xvyy uvz ol ornguvat uvz gb qrngu. Gur fprarf ner irel fvzvyne...gubhtu Xvex fheivirf naq Crnpuzrag naq Pbyxrgg qba'g.

First line: The telephone rang out in the hall and Gently looked up frowning.

Last line: Gently, who found them, received nothing, neither did Bressingham, who'd pointed the way, but the latter, in a moment of rashness, bought the Edward IV angel under the hammer.
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Deaths = two beaten & fell from height