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Wycliffe And The Pea Green Boat

June 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

W.J. Burley

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When Cedric Tremain is charged with murdering his father by booby-trapping his fishing boat, all the locals are agreed that he is an unlikely murderer. But the case against him is strong: he has the motive, the opportunity and the know-how; not to mention the fact that there is some hard circumstantial evidence against him.

So Cedric is arrested.

But Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has a strong sense that something about the case just doesn’t fit. As he quietly continues his investigations a confusing picture emerges.

Twenty years ago Cedric’s cousin was convicted of strangling his girlfriend and served fourteen years of a commuted death sentence.

While the wheels of justice begin to grind Wycliffe searches for a link between past and present

About The Author

W.J Burley (William, John), attended Balliol, Oxford, as a mature student, having previously been an engineer, in his native Cornwall. From his graduation, until his retirement, he was Senior Biology Master, in a Newquay Grammar School, returning once more, to his Cornish roots.

My Review Of Wycliffe And The Pea-Green Boat

Many British mystery/crime/thrillers, seem to be the complete antithesis of their American counterparts and the character of Charles Wycliffe, created by W.J. Burley, is no exception.
Wycliffe is portrayed as a man of few words, who seems rather taciturn and shows little emotion. His actions are slow and deliberate, seldom hasty or over exuberant. Burley is able to pin down an image in just a few words and you can sense the watchfulness and intent listening skills, that Wycliffe applies, when building his case.
The plot in this, and other books in the Wycliffe series, is quite complicated and some of the characters can be dangerous, although they seldom turn out to be professional ‘villains’.
The Wycliffe books are set in Burley’s native Cornwall and Devon and many of the plots are based around tensions and jealousies that are aroused when living in a small community, often with several family members living in close proximity to each other, as is the case with ‘The Pea-Green Boat,’ which is the 6th book, in a series of 22. The jealousy and sometimes barely concealed hatred between family members, is palpable, and leads to a crime being committed, which in many ways is totally out of character, followed by an even more vengeful act of retribution. As with all good mysteries, there is a second, less significant strand of crime, running through the story, which contrives to put you off the scent a little.
This is not a book for those of you who like an action packed, blood soaked thriller, but is one I thoroughly enjoyed, along with the televised series, which starred Jack Shepherd in the title role and did stirling justice to the W.J. Burley books.
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About Yvonne

I can’t remember a time, even as a child, when I haven’t been passionate about books and reading.
I began blogging, when I realised just how many other people out there shared my passion for the written word and I have been continually amazed at the wealth of books that are available and the amount of great new friends I have made, from literally 'The Four Corners Of The World'.

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