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John Bude
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Death Makes a Prophet (British Library Crime Classics) Paperback – January 1, 2017

by John Bude (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 274 ratings
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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    British Library Crime Classics
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The British Library Publishing Division
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    7.52 x 0.83 x 5.12 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0712356916
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0712356916
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The British Library Publishing Division (January 1, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0712356916
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0712356916
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.52 x 0.83 x 5.12 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 274 ratings

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John Bude

John Bude

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
274 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patto
5.0 out of 5 stars An outlandish cult breeds crime...
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2017
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John Bude clearly had fun with this book, first published in 1947. The tone is more comic than in his earlier books. His plot centers on a kooky cult called The Children of Osiris. The religion, amusingly named Cooism, encompasses belief in magic numbers, astrology, auras, astral bodies, vegetarianism, meditation and hand-weaven tweeds.

Among the characters, there are perfectly sincere people as well as poseurs, conventional souls as well as lofty souls. While most members of the community are dining on peanut cutlets, walnut steak, and lentil pie, at least one is having astral visions of real steaks and mutton chops.

In this otherworldly community, earthly passions are quietly simmering...

Blackmail is the first crime to make an appearance. Murder doesn't happen until well into the story, but then there are two corpses to make up for the delay. Inspector Meredith, the star investigator, only arrives on the scene in the second half of the book. Meredith is Bude's series detective, but aside from his boyish excitement when he gets a handle on the case, nothing stands out about his personality. His role is just to work his way through clues, witness statements, etc. In other words, after the farcical stage setting comes the police procedural.

Bude is a polished craftsman. He tells an absorbing story in Death Makes a Prophet. There's an unfortunate whiff of anti-Semitism. But it's hard to avoid this taint in vintage crime fiction. Otherwise, the plot is full of charm, humor and clever complications.
12 people found this helpful
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Rob
4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing mystery murder
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2021
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Another absorbing tale featuring the determined Inspector Meredith. All the ingredients for a good murder motive - jealousy, money, fame, greed and infatuation.
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Sally Traver
5.0 out of 5 stars Features Inspector Meredith
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020
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Was slow to start but soon I was hooked. All centers around a type of cult called Children of Osiris. You see the many different members wanting to be the head. Inspector Meredith has his hands full.
Every time he thinks he is getting close, another clue leads him in a different direction. I enjoy Brude’s story telling and the description of the characters.
One person found this helpful
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Pop Bop
4.0 out of 5 stars An Odd, But Engaging, Combination of Satire and Murder
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2018
Published in 1947, this book has aged gracefully and certainly fits well into that "overlooked classic" category dear to the hearts of murder mystery readers searching for a new author. Bude wrote a fair number of highly regarded mysteries, many centering on the skills of Inspector Meredith of the Yard. That said, though, it is fair to remark that this particular book, with its humorous build up, is a little bit of a one-off lark and not necessarily what one would think of as typical Bude, (at least at the outset).

Bude devotes the first half of the book to setting the scene, frame, and characters, before setting the crime and detection into motion. This first half is amusing, but it has an edgy and sometimes brittle bite to it. The setting is a 1940's Garden City populated by progressive and forward thinking Boho sorts. The main characters are all involved, in one way or another, with a ludicrous Osiris cult playing about at being a religion. Bude's first few pages are a rather withering dismissal of such foolishness, and might strike some readers as a bit of arch overkill. Just as I began to think that this might all be a bit too heavy-handed, though, Bude took his foot off the gas and allowed his characters a little more room to breathe and to be silly or foolish without being contemptible. This lighter touch carried me quite nicely to the halfway point and I didn't mind at all that up to that point no one had been murdered.

But then the book gets down to be a finely plotted mystery. It's not so much a whodunit as a howdunit, and it is in the tracking down and piecing together of all sorts of clues and possibilities that Inspector Meredith shines. Meredith doesn't really have a gimmick or a hook; he's just a competent and observant and clever pro who buckles down and sorts things out. That's a fine way to run an investigation and a fine way to write a good mystery. This was a happy and entertaining find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
3 people found this helpful
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Audrey L. Stahl
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018
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I like John Bude a lot
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Top reviews from other countries

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sigrunT
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein sehr witziges Buch von Bude.
Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2021
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Ich habe schon eine ganze Reihe von Büchern von Bude gelesen, darunter auch einige sehr trockene, aber alle fand ich sehr gut oder zumindestens gut. Aber ich hatte auch schon Bücher mit Witz von ihm gelesen und war daher sehr gespannt, was hier auf mich zukommen würde.
Dies Buch hat mir große Freude gemacht und mich gut unterhalten. Es ist ein sehr guter Krimi. Es spielt darüber hinaus in einem sehr seltsamen Milieu, nämlich einer neuen Kirche, die mit herkömmlichen Kirchen inhaltlich nichts gemeinsam hat, aber durchaus über eine verfasste Struktur verfügt.
Der oberste Priester dieser Coo genannten Kirche ist gleichzeitig ihr Schöpfer und sicher ein "komischer Heiliger", aber ein guter, wenn auch schwächlicher Mensch. Sein Stellvertreter verfügt über Charme und ein gewisses Charisma, ist aber leider auch ein Opportunist.
Wir lernen zunächst die verschiedenen Gemeindemitglieder und ihre Eigenheiten kennen, die liebevoll und kritisch und mit viel Witz geschildert werden. Wir erfahren von Spannungen und Problemen innerhalb der Kirche, aber auch neben ihr. Schließlich kommt es, wie es in einem Krimi kommen muss und Inspektor Meredith tritt auf den Plan und durchschaut schließlich, was wirklich war, obwohl der Anschein doch ganz anders gewesen ist.
Insgesamt ein sehr lesenswertes Buch, das zu Recht in die wunderbare Reihe "British Library Crime Classics" aufgenommen worden ist.
Das Buch ist übrigens 1945 erschienen, zeigt aber keine Auswirkungen des 2. Weltkrieges auf die Menschen auf und ist daher in gewisser Weise zeitlos. Die geschilderte neue Kirche kommt einem dabei allerdings vor, wie eine Satire auf die "New Age" Bewegungen dess späten 20. Jahrhunderts und gibt das Gefühl, dass das Buch deutlich jünger ist.
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Sol
4.0 out of 5 stars No solo fe
Reviewed in Spain on September 3, 2018
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Aunque la fe es lo que mueve a algunos de los protagonistas de la historia, otros van arrastrados por ambiciones mucho menos espirituales que hacen todo lo posible por ocultar. El fin justifica los medios, aunque sea con chantaje y asesinato. La policía no va a tenerlo fácil para llegar el fondo del asunto. Una novela muy entretenida.
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JOHN
5.0 out of 5 stars Having enjoyed the previous five reissued novels of John Bude
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2017
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Having enjoyed the previous five reissued novels of John Bude. I started this book with great expectation.

At first I was quite put off by what I read. He seemed to be laying on the humour rather heavily and producing a caste of over the top characters who seemed quite grotesque. However, as I persevered I was drawn into the almost soap opera world of this rather silly religious cult and the petty jealousies and politics of its members.

The plot develops at a leisurely pace. It's only half way through the novel that the genuinely perplexing murder and arrival of Inspector Meredith take place at which point the story becomes a more straightforward murder mystery.

Meredith as ever is a rather two dimensional character but I think that's what I like about him. He doesn't have any hang ups or dark past, he just cheerfully gets on with the job and solves the mystery.

A good read. I believe there are plenty more of Bude's books to be issued and I look forward to the next one.
7 people found this helpful
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Jane 1923
4.0 out of 5 stars Enormous fun
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2019
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I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this book which sets the scene with the "cult" and its followers. The characters are wonderfully drawn. The actual resolution of the crime was not quite so good - hence the 4 stars - but still well worth a read. Will be seeking out all of his books now - have read about 3 so far.
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Waldorf
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2024
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In this latest case for William Meredith, the author gives us a quite hilarious introduction to a religious sect in order to set the scene for the crime to follow. We learn of the murder at the same time as the Inspector, so we follow the solving of this intricate mystery entirely from his point of view.
A classic from the Golden Age with the author on top form, another thoroughly good read.
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