The Methods of Sergeant Cluff

By Gil North and Martin Edwards

It is a wet and windy night in the town of Gunnarshaw, on the edge of the Yorkshire moors. The body of young Jane Trundle, assistant in the chemist's shop, is discovered lying face down on the cobblestones.

Sergeant Caleb Cluff is not a man of many words, and neither does he play by the rules. He may exasperate his superiors, but he has the loyal support of his constable and he is the only CID man in the division. The case is his.

Life in Gunnarshaw is tough, with its people caught up in a rigid network of social conventions. But as Cluff's investigation deepens, Gunnarshaw's veneer of hard-working respectability starts to crumble. Sparse, tense, and moodily evoking the unforgiving landscape, this classic crime novel keeps the reader guessing to the end.

Originally published in 1961, this is the second in the series of Sergeant Cluff detective stories. Televised in the 1960s, they have since been neglected. This new edition is published in the centenary year of the author's birth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: Sep 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781464206689

Gil North

GIL NORTH was the pseudonym of Geoffrey Horne (1916-1988), a writer from Skipton who worked as a civil servant in colonial Africa for many years, before returning to his native Yorkshire. The best-known of his novels are the eleven detective stories featuring Sergeant Cluff.

Reviews for The Methods of Sergeant Cluff

[liz1564 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of the novel from Poisoned Pen Press via Net Gallery. Thank you. The Methods of Sergeant Cluff is republished as part of the British Library Crime Classics. In the introduction to the novel, Martin Edward describes Cluff as a maverick, a loner, “scornful of detectives who rely solely on supposed facts.” And this is the reason why I really could not appreciate the book. Cluff hovers like some angel of justice around the town of Gunnarshaw in Yorkshire. When a young woman is murdered Cluff immediately rejects the obvious suspect for no other reason than he knew the lad would not have done it. He concentrates on another suspect because he instinctively knew that person was involved. And in the end, he allows a second murder to occur because he knew that a conviction for the girl’s murder might not be secured in the courts. He does not bother with warrants, answers questions with questions (irritating after a while), follows his own brand of justice because he “knows” how the folks in his town think and act. Why is this man still on the police force? What town would really accept this type of rogue policeman? He gets results, but at what cost to the law? I found the novel unnecessarily depressing. Yes, the landscape is dour and the economy depressing. All this sets the mood. But was it necessary to mention that the victim’s father had smelly socks? And “greasy” is used to describe complexions, river banks, streets, windows etc. I really did have to force myself to finish this short novel.