What do you think?
Rate this book
Sergeant Cribb #7
Swing, Swing Together
An elementary school teacher in training takes a midnight swim in the Thames and witnesses a body being dumped. Cribb and Thackerey investigate and uncover strange parallels with the then-popular Jerome K. Jerome mystery Three Men in a Boat.
After Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat became a Victorian bestseller, rowing on the Thames was the great craze of 1889. The novel begins, however, with skinny-dipping (under another name) by some student teachers. By chance one of them finds herself a witness in a case of murder. The suspects? Three men in a boat.
When Cribb and Thackeray take to the river in pursuit, nobody will take them seriously. However, they stick doggedly to the trail, which leads upstream to Oxford.
266 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
29 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lovesey
286books624followersPeter Harmer Lovesey, also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective based in London, and Peter Diamond, a modern-day police detective in Bath. He was also one of the world's leading track and field statisticians.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 15, 2021
Poor Harriet Shaw, 18-year-old student at strict Elfrida teachers' college in 1889, coaxed by her friends into midnight river bathing, then separated from her clothes by three men in a rowboat paddling past, and a near-drowning. Then that cringey moment when a handsome constable has to rescue your nude Victorian self off the riverbank and offer you his tunic. "There was not one inmate of Elfrida who had not pictured herself plucked from the roaring weir by Harriet's policeman, wrapped in his enormous cape, carried to safety and dosed with a strong-tasting restorative from a hip flask."
Now the police need Harriet Shaw's help with the murder of a tramp, suspecting the three men in the rowboat. "Constable Hardy, plainly a practised oarsman, rowed with his eyes fastened on Harriet, obliging her to take an unflagging interest in the scenery along the bank."
Harriet can't seem to keep her clothes fully on around Constable Hardy; later, after punting on the Thames with a lubricious Oxford historian, she attempts to extract a caterpillar from her blouse with the don's help just as Hardy arrives on the scene: "She had started to stand up when she realized that her blouse was open to the waist and her stays jutted horizontally in front of her like a breakfast tray."
There's much discussion of Three Men in a Boat, so I hope my understanding wasn't hampered by not having read it. My enjoyment wasn't - Lovesey's writing is hilarious. After a second drowned man is discovered in the river and resuscitation is attempted, "As people replaced their hats and dispersed in all directions in case someone should ask them to assist with whatever happened next, Harriet was enabled to move to the front." Sergeant Cribb and the man attempting the resuscitation "shook hands across the corpse like football captains before a match."
June 16, 2018
Lots of fun. If you like Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat and mysteries, you should give this a go. There were still some things I felt were a bit . . . problematic, as far as men/women relations of the day as far as a historic fiction mystery goes, but it was fun for a casual read anyway. This book was my introduction to the series.
btw I tried Wobble to Death later from the online library and found the kindle version just about unreadable. Way too many hyphens in wrong places. Might try inter library loaning the print version at some point, though.
If you want something that goes more depth into the society at the time from the view of a time traveler, try "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis. There's plenty of boating in that book also and is a bit of a pastiche/comedy of Three Men in a Boat as well.
btw I tried Wobble to Death later from the online library and found the kindle version just about unreadable. Way too many hyphens in wrong places. Might try inter library loaning the print version at some point, though.
If you want something that goes more depth into the society at the time from the view of a time traveler, try "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis. There's plenty of boating in that book also and is a bit of a pastiche/comedy of Three Men in a Boat as well.
July 26, 2018
Another delightful mystery set in Victorian England
This time the setting is taken from Jerome K Jerome's Three men in a boat published in 1889.
London is gripped with boating fever and groups of men try to recreate the journey down the Thames from the book
When a dead body is pulled from the water, Cribb and co start a race down the Thames to catch the culprit.
Another body is discovered in Oxford which complicates matters
Full of fine detail of the period, great characters again this mystery is a joy to read.
It has humour and danger and a really good twist at the end
4 stars
This time the setting is taken from Jerome K Jerome's Three men in a boat published in 1889.
London is gripped with boating fever and groups of men try to recreate the journey down the Thames from the book
When a dead body is pulled from the water, Cribb and co start a race down the Thames to catch the culprit.
Another body is discovered in Oxford which complicates matters
Full of fine detail of the period, great characters again this mystery is a joy to read.
It has humour and danger and a really good twist at the end
4 stars
August 24, 2021
I am a Peter Lovesey fan--or a fan of his Peter Diamond books, at least. This is one of a Victorian Scotland Yard detective series Lovesey did set in England around the time of Jack the Ripper. I have done no research on this series, but there was apparently a BBC TV series based on it. This is not the first in the series, but I found it at a bookstore and thought I would try. I may be way off, but it almost seems as if Lovesey is trying to write in the style of the Golden Age authors in this. While I like many of those titles, and this was amusing in many ways with its turn of phrase, situations, and characters, I am not sure I would seek out others to read. A friend said this was not her favorite, so perhaps it was just the choice of title. There are only 8 in the series, but the Peter Diamond ones are still coming out, so maybe Lovesey just felt he had run his course with Cribb. Hmmmmmm
July 9, 2020
I've read a lot of Peter Lovesey's books and generally think they are fine mysteries. But this one was slow moving to me, and though fairly short could have been even shorter with a good editor. The most enjoyable thing about it was the description of boating in a punt down the Thames. All in all a disappointment.
April 8, 2023
(Hodnocení se týká tří Loveseyových knih.)
Snažím se to střídat a kombinovat novinky se zapomenutými věcmi v knihovně. Někdy je pak vyřadím� někdy se koukám, že ty věci mají pořád něco do sebe.
U Petera Loveseye mě zarazilo hlavně to, že u nás vyšlo pouze Třikrát seržant Cribb, protože tohle mělo všechny předpoklady stát se čtenářským hitem. Je to klasická detektivka staré školy, která sice nepřináší zrovna šokující zvraty (u Detektiva v lamé šortkách jsou třeba jen dva možní pachatelé a jeden z nich to vážně je), ale všechny tři příběhy se nejen dobře čtou a jsou nejen psané s nadhledem a ironií, ale jsou i šikovně zarámované tak, aby měl čtenář pocit tempa (v prvním příběhu tvoří odpočet cesta lodí po Temži, v druhém blížící se boxerský zápas a ve třetím poprava) - plus do toho jsou ještě prvky z policejní praxe, kde stoupá po žebříčku ne ten lepší detektiv, ale ten, kdo umí šéfům líp lézt do zadku.
Co je na tom ale nejzajímavější, je doba, ve které se to odehrává � viktoriánská Anglie. Doba, kdy se už začala rodit naše moderní civilizace, ale ještě se v tom trochu plácala. Každý z příběhů se točí kolem nějakého interesantního tématu.
První, Tři muži ve člunu (o mrtvole nemluvě) (Swing, Swing Together) se odehrává krátce poté, co vyšla legendární kniha Jerome Klapky Jeroma� a jak už to bývá zvykem, veškeré obyvatelstvo Anglie najednou projevilo zájem o cestování na lodích a rozhodlo se vydat po stopách slavné trojice. K velké radosti hostinských a velkému utrpení správců zdymadel. A jasně, dojde i k vraždě. Tenhle díl se nese asi v nejkomediálnějším duchu, dokonce i názvy kapitola evokují legendární knihu.
Detektiv v lamé šortkách (The Detective Wore Silk Drawers) je z doby, kdy byly zakázány pěstní zápasy bez rukavic, což je bráno jako konec boxu. Nikdo nechápe, jak by se někdo mohl chtít dívat, jak do sebe mlátí dva lidi s rukama obalenýma molitanem a nestříká z nich krev � vždyť to nemůže nikoho bavit. Tady Cribb hraje spíš vedlejší roli a větší důraz je na postavu, která je nasazená do nelegálních boxerských zápasů, aby se zjistilo, kdo za tím stojí. Hodně zajímavý nápad, kde je opravdu ta detektivní část trochu stranou.
No a do třetice jsou tu Voskové figuríny (Waxwork), ve které jde o souboj s časem odtikávajícím do popravy. A točí se to kolem fotografování, vězeňství a muzea voskových figur. Celá ta rovina s katem, který si jede do Londýna obhlídnout svou další zakázku� a zkusit se dostat mezi exponáty do muzea, je správně mimochodná.
I když je tohle asi nejúspěšnější Loveseyova řada (aspoň soudím podle toho, že vznikl i televizní seriál, tak se autor později přesunul do současnosti. Asi už se mu nechtělo dohledávat všechny ty historické detaily, což je škoda. Příjemně odsýpající detektivky v kombinaci se zajímavou dobou jsou vážně perfektní kombo.
Snažím se to střídat a kombinovat novinky se zapomenutými věcmi v knihovně. Někdy je pak vyřadím� někdy se koukám, že ty věci mají pořád něco do sebe.
U Petera Loveseye mě zarazilo hlavně to, že u nás vyšlo pouze Třikrát seržant Cribb, protože tohle mělo všechny předpoklady stát se čtenářským hitem. Je to klasická detektivka staré školy, která sice nepřináší zrovna šokující zvraty (u Detektiva v lamé šortkách jsou třeba jen dva možní pachatelé a jeden z nich to vážně je), ale všechny tři příběhy se nejen dobře čtou a jsou nejen psané s nadhledem a ironií, ale jsou i šikovně zarámované tak, aby měl čtenář pocit tempa (v prvním příběhu tvoří odpočet cesta lodí po Temži, v druhém blížící se boxerský zápas a ve třetím poprava) - plus do toho jsou ještě prvky z policejní praxe, kde stoupá po žebříčku ne ten lepší detektiv, ale ten, kdo umí šéfům líp lézt do zadku.
Co je na tom ale nejzajímavější, je doba, ve které se to odehrává � viktoriánská Anglie. Doba, kdy se už začala rodit naše moderní civilizace, ale ještě se v tom trochu plácala. Každý z příběhů se točí kolem nějakého interesantního tématu.
První, Tři muži ve člunu (o mrtvole nemluvě) (Swing, Swing Together) se odehrává krátce poté, co vyšla legendární kniha Jerome Klapky Jeroma� a jak už to bývá zvykem, veškeré obyvatelstvo Anglie najednou projevilo zájem o cestování na lodích a rozhodlo se vydat po stopách slavné trojice. K velké radosti hostinských a velkému utrpení správců zdymadel. A jasně, dojde i k vraždě. Tenhle díl se nese asi v nejkomediálnějším duchu, dokonce i názvy kapitola evokují legendární knihu.
Detektiv v lamé šortkách (The Detective Wore Silk Drawers) je z doby, kdy byly zakázány pěstní zápasy bez rukavic, což je bráno jako konec boxu. Nikdo nechápe, jak by se někdo mohl chtít dívat, jak do sebe mlátí dva lidi s rukama obalenýma molitanem a nestříká z nich krev � vždyť to nemůže nikoho bavit. Tady Cribb hraje spíš vedlejší roli a větší důraz je na postavu, která je nasazená do nelegálních boxerských zápasů, aby se zjistilo, kdo za tím stojí. Hodně zajímavý nápad, kde je opravdu ta detektivní část trochu stranou.
No a do třetice jsou tu Voskové figuríny (Waxwork), ve které jde o souboj s časem odtikávajícím do popravy. A točí se to kolem fotografování, vězeňství a muzea voskových figur. Celá ta rovina s katem, který si jede do Londýna obhlídnout svou další zakázku� a zkusit se dostat mezi exponáty do muzea, je správně mimochodná.
I když je tohle asi nejúspěšnější Loveseyova řada (aspoň soudím podle toho, že vznikl i televizní seriál, tak se autor později přesunul do současnosti. Asi už se mu nechtělo dohledávat všechny ty historické detaily, což je škoda. Příjemně odsýpající detektivky v kombinaci se zajímavou dobou jsou vážně perfektní kombo.
October 25, 2024
4.5 stars. This is my favorite of the Sergeant Cribb series. (So far, I’ve read Wobble, Silk Drawers, and the bomb one.) Each has an interesting, quirky bit of historical detail which makes them fun to read. The hook here centers on Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat (Not to Mention the Dog), which I read several years ago and enjoyed very much. Like its inspiration, this predominantly takes places on/along the river, and Lovesey takes full and humorous advantage of the popularity of Jerome’s book and the effect it has on enthusiasts. I get the impression that Lovesey had a lot of fun with the series.
March 8, 2023
A rather dated 1976 Sgt Cribb investigation, set in 1889 along the Thames in a homage to Three Men in a Boat. A young female trainee teacher has a midnight skinny-dip in the Thames and finds a body when 3 men and a dog in a boat disturb her and her friends.
Cribb and his off-sider, Thackerey, plus a local bobby protecting Harriet Shaw, the skinny-dipper (who provides the vital clue) wander down the Thames as red herrings abound and another victim, an Oxford lecturer, is murdered.
Light but it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Cribb and his off-sider, Thackerey, plus a local bobby protecting Harriet Shaw, the skinny-dipper (who provides the vital clue) wander down the Thames as red herrings abound and another victim, an Oxford lecturer, is murdered.
Light but it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
September 13, 2021
A very slow start, especially if unfamiliar with 'Three Men in a Boat'. Cribb and Thackeray are on the trail of the killer of a tramp and an Oxford don which only finally bursts into life after the second murder. The customary humour and historical detail once again make this an enjoyable encounter with the Victorian detective.
September 29, 2022
Peter Lovesey has a great deal of fun playing with Jerome K. Jerome and Jack the Ripper. A mystery book that gets as far as possible from grimy London as possible and truly delivers some wholesome Victorian female students who discover a dead body. Good stuff possibly my favourite episode of the television series.
January 30, 2020
Entertaining adventure for Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray with a sparky female heroine and references to Three Men in a Boat and Jack the Ripper. The actual mystery is not the best and I found the motives for murder unconvincing but it is a lot of fun.
September 28, 2021
The book starts off quite slow so it took me a while to get into it and by the time I did it was over. The last few chapters make everything go extremely quickly and I wish it took a little longer to end.
Another thing that bothered me is that the chapters are like two or three pages each.
Another thing that bothered me is that the chapters are like two or three pages each.
February 21, 2017
My favorite Sergeant Cribb mystery especially as it follows another favorite book, Three Men in a Boat
July 14, 2018
Enjoyable, but not nearly as good as the other Sgt Cribb mysteries. Dragged a bit too long with Cribb and Thackery chasing the wrong guys.
November 27, 2019
This book was so much fun to read.
September 23, 2022
If farces can have murders in them, then this is a farce satirizing the Victorian cult of respectability. Well plotted and as always well written.
November 2, 2022
A delightfully fun book with many quirky moments-nude bathing, dog bites, men in women's clothing. There is even a blossoming romance between a bright and adventurous young lady and a policemen.
July 3, 2023
Old fashion yet very amusing
June 8, 2022
Have enjoyed reading these books and I'm now looking for more, this one wasn't as interesting as Waxwork, that I read previously but it did hold my interest!
June 25, 2013
The title is taken from an old Eton Boating Song and relates to the setting of the Thames. This Victorian story involves the London Sergeant Cribbs and his partner Thackeray and the case of double drowning in the Thames. Jerome K. Jerome had just published his novel Three Men in a Boat and Lovesey cleverly correlates the action in the novel with the present plot.
Harriet Shaw daringly strips off and takes a midnight plunge with two of her girlfriends from Elfrida College for the Training of Female Elementary Teachers. While in the water, a boat passes by with three men and a dog. Harriet floats downstream and loses contact with the other girls and finds herself marooned on a small island where she is rescued by a policeman who offers her his tunic. Later, a crime is committed by three men in a boat and Harriet is taken into custody so she can identify the men she saw. Sergeant Cribb and Thackeray assume responsibility for Harriet and begin a river trip to Oxford with Hardy and Cribb doing the rowing. They meet several people rowing the same course as the men in the novel and staying at the same locations. When another body is found floating in the Thames, Harriet meets the wife of the deceased man and they become friends. Lovesey manages to include Jack the Ripper who was murdering women during this same period and brings all the separate conflicts together with a trilling conclusion.
Harriet Shaw daringly strips off and takes a midnight plunge with two of her girlfriends from Elfrida College for the Training of Female Elementary Teachers. While in the water, a boat passes by with three men and a dog. Harriet floats downstream and loses contact with the other girls and finds herself marooned on a small island where she is rescued by a policeman who offers her his tunic. Later, a crime is committed by three men in a boat and Harriet is taken into custody so she can identify the men she saw. Sergeant Cribb and Thackeray assume responsibility for Harriet and begin a river trip to Oxford with Hardy and Cribb doing the rowing. They meet several people rowing the same course as the men in the novel and staying at the same locations. When another body is found floating in the Thames, Harriet meets the wife of the deceased man and they become friends. Lovesey manages to include Jack the Ripper who was murdering women during this same period and brings all the separate conflicts together with a trilling conclusion.
August 3, 2020
This is my first Peter Lovesey - which makes this, which is technically Sergeant Cribb #7, of eight total, probably a rather back-ended introduction.
We meet Victorian Era Police Sergeant Cribb via young teaching student Harriet Shaw, who, during an indiscreet river bath in the buff, may have witnessed the perpetrators of a murder escaping the scene. As she may be able to identify the boating murderers, Harriet must now travel the waterways of England with Sergeant Cribb and colleagues. Like many others on the river, it appears the suspects are duplicating the adventures of Jerome K. Jerome's famous "Three Men In A Boat (to say nothing of the dog)" and so must their pursuers.
Speaking as a devotee of Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ellery Queen and the like, I found the book to move at a leisurely pace, like the river itself. I had half the murder solved before the middle of the book, which I must admit made the remainder of the book a bit of a slog... although there was an unexpected twist related to motive. Lovesey certainly doesn't take the subject too seriously, which is a relief, so it's an enjoyable read - just a wee bit slower than I'd prefer. My hardcover edition was 186 pages.
We meet Victorian Era Police Sergeant Cribb via young teaching student Harriet Shaw, who, during an indiscreet river bath in the buff, may have witnessed the perpetrators of a murder escaping the scene. As she may be able to identify the boating murderers, Harriet must now travel the waterways of England with Sergeant Cribb and colleagues. Like many others on the river, it appears the suspects are duplicating the adventures of Jerome K. Jerome's famous "Three Men In A Boat (to say nothing of the dog)" and so must their pursuers.
Speaking as a devotee of Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ellery Queen and the like, I found the book to move at a leisurely pace, like the river itself. I had half the murder solved before the middle of the book, which I must admit made the remainder of the book a bit of a slog... although there was an unexpected twist related to motive. Lovesey certainly doesn't take the subject too seriously, which is a relief, so it's an enjoyable read - just a wee bit slower than I'd prefer. My hardcover edition was 186 pages.
August 17, 2010
A young teacher-in-training and fan of Geography out taking a forbidden midnight swim and unexpectedly becomes a witness to a crime. The story wends along the backwaters and main channels of the Thames, with Sgt. Cribb, the stalwart Constable Thackery, and Miss Harriet Shaw boating in search of the murderers of a tramp. The story, happily, takes some unexpected turns, and nothing is quite as it seems it should be. The Sergeant Cribb mysteries are some of my favoriates, and I have been overjoyed at SoHo's reprintings!
May 5, 2014
A boat of men mimicking Jerome K. Jerome's trip in Three Men In a Boat are on a murdering spree. A young woman from a teaching college breaks a rule just once, going skinny-dipping with two other students more used to naughtiness, and becomes a witness. Sgt. Cribb and constables Hardy and Thackery don flannel bags and paddle down the river in hot pursuit.
This was also a memorable tv show. Just the right mix of humor, titillation, and suspense!
This was also a memorable tv show. Just the right mix of humor, titillation, and suspense!
June 27, 2015
Liked it better after I'd read more of a) Lovesey's work and b) more mysteries from that era c) to say nothing of Jerome K. Jerome's book.
A far cry from the Inspector Diamond series, or the Bertie quartet, but enjoyable.
A far cry from the Inspector Diamond series, or the Bertie quartet, but enjoyable.
October 11, 2007
just a perfect little mystery set in victorian england's countryside, my introduction to the Cribb mysteries, so much fun i had to give it 5 stars!
October 11, 2007
all of the Sgt. Cribb novels are fun, but this one is my favorite. I love the sense of humor.
October 20, 2007
Jaimie and David introduced me to Peter Lovesey. Thanks, guys!
June 2, 2008
The connection to Three Men in a Boat was a fun twist.
March 31, 2011
3 men in a boat, to say nothing of Sgt Cribb!
August 20, 2012
Loved this with the tie-in to Three Men in a Boat. Great fun and well written as are all his books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.