Veronica Stallwood, Death and the Oxford Box, Headline, 1993, 4th printing, Paperback. I came across some signed copies of Smallwood books in a charity shop and started reading Death and the Oxford Box. Stallwood sets her crimes in and around Oxford and her books are in the cosy crime category. The author worked for a while in the Bodleian Library. The Fridesley Ladies Running Group is trying to help weak and feeble Rose get some Oxford mourning trinkets back from Theo, her husband, who has left her to live with another woman. The treasures were intended to be a wedding gift but Granny seems to want them back but Theo resists and Rose is in some kind of financial difficulty. In terms of big dippers the novel is Gullivers World compared with Alton Tower and somewhat lightweight. After about 50 pages, I changed my opinion about Death and the Oxford Box. Gradually the Fridesley runners became realistic both actively involved in helping a minor crime to take place and as a victim or perpetrator of one of their number. Yvonne was the victim. Having worked and lived in Oxford, I recognized the characters and the way they behaved, what they wore and their attitudes. Everyone looked up to Kate Ivory, the ‘sleuth’ and writer who could find no time to write her own book. Middle aged she is crying out for a partner and has two male choices, Andrew who works in the Bodleian is boring and Liam, an academic with its own responsibilities and aloofness. Oxford life, university and landscape ring true but not as well as Barbara Pym. Too busy to write her book Kate devotes her time to identify and find the murderer, while secretly wishing for an exciting lover. She knows that solving crimes will always come first. I may have a go at another Stallwood Oxford slow-paced thriller.

As a lifelong habitue of crime fiction I have generally found myself coming down more frequently on the gritty, ‘noir’ side of the genre rather than the so-called ‘cosy’ aspect. As with any such preference, there are of course many exceptions, and this book is certainly one of them. Kate Ivory, Veronica Stallwood’s charming protagonist, is a delightful character, and I look forward to further encounters as I progress through this series.

Indeed, while the basic scenario against which the crimes are perpetrated was not entirely plausible. I did find Kate herself a very believable character. An Oxford setting always helps, too, and in this case there is a light sprinkling of university life that accorded with my own memories.

The plot is fairly involved, and perhaps not readily susceptible to synopsis, so I won’t venture to say much more about it. The writing style, however, is as engaging as the character of Kate. I am just surprised that these novels are not more widely known. ( )

I love this Kate Ivory series. I wound my way through the books completely out of order until I came to my senses and ordered the ones I didn't have. When I read them in order they were terrific.
This one is a favourite as it sets up the characters and background clearly, leaving the reader with empathy for Kate and her adventures. ( )

I do understand that there is a genre of mysteries in which implausible things happen to ordinary people and crimes get solved without the intercession of professional crime solvers of any sort. I enjoy many of these books. However, this one with its tortuous plot that relies on readers having their own stop watch and keeping track of approximately 372 changes of tracksuit among the cast of characters isn't one those I enjoyed. ( )

This is the series opener featuring novelist Kate Ivory, who writes historical novels. I had been planning to read this for a couple of years now, but it never seemed the right time. So now that I've finished the first, the second one is beckoning...meaning that I will most likely finish the series as well.

This one is not a police procedural, but more like an intelligent cozy, but this one is a bit different. I would recommend it if you like cozies, or British mystery in general.

The plot; no spoilers:
Kate Ivory runs every morning with a small group of friends. As the book opens, as she's running, she overhears one of them, Rose, moaning about the fact that her newly-separated husband has taken half of her enamel box collection, given to her by her grandmother as a wedding gift. He felt that since he got half of everything, well, half of these boxes (quite valuable, as it turns out) should be his too. But Rose needs them back; now that she's single, she needs to be able to support herself, and all she knows how to do is knit. She wants to open a knitting business, and needs to ask her Gran for money to get it started. But if Gran sees that the boxes are gone, well, Rose thinks she'll say no. So Kate comes up with a plan to get the boxes back: the group will steal them from Rose's ex, long enough for them to be at Rose's home until her Grandmother leaves. But the day after the "crime," as the police are knocking on Kate's door, asking her all kinds of questions, she begins to realize that this isn't about any boxes; there's something else more criminal involved. Someone, it turns out, has been killed -- and Kate wants to find out who the murderer was.

This one was fun; I like Kate's character and the mystery was okay. The author left the reader several red herrings and several suspects from which to choose so it wasn't too obvious. Pick it up for a couple of hours' reading time & enjoy. ( )