Lessons for Idle Tongues

Lessons for Idle Tongues (2015) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows)

Set in England in 1910.

Jonty and Orlando are given another case to solve when Adriene’s cousin asks them to look into a matter for a friend. An unexpected and possibly suspicious death.

When they go to investigate they find a lord shut away from society, and seemingly guarded by his staff.

“Lord Toothill isn’t at all like they say, but he suffers terribly from his nerves. He served in the war against the Boers and he’s never been the same since.” The gamekeeper had turned ashen-faced, just two spots of red standing out on his cheeks.

“Did you serve with him?” Orlando was genuinely touched by the loyalty and depth of well-hidden feeling in the man’s voice. It could have been him talking about things Jonty had endured. Unless the gamekeeper was a brilliant actor, he was speaking the truth. Heartfelt truth, at that.

“I did. And we saw some things I’ll never forget. Terrible things. Terrible suffering. Can anyone grudge his lordship wanting to shut himself off from the world?”

Some foreshadowing there of what Jonty & Orlando (and there rest of the world) will see in the coming years, as well as how what we today call PTSD was viewed.

There is also a character who seems to suffer from what was likely epilepsy, and he too is viewed with suspicion.

This was one of the weakest mysteries in the series so far. I’d guessed what was going on, but the why didn’t make a lot of sense. Yes, they explained it, but… it was very unsatisfying all around.

There were also some passages that seemed confusing, and I wasn’t sure if it was poor editing or confusing British-isms.

The only positive was I do like spending time with Jonty and Orlando, but I would have preferred to do so in a stronger story.

Publisher: Lume Books

Rating: 5.5/10

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