The Family Tomb (Gilbert novel)

The Family Tomb is a 1969 suspense novel by the British mystery and thriller writer Michael Gilbert published by xxx in the United States and by yyyy in England as The Etruscan Net. It was Gilbert's 14th novel....

Reception and/or Appraisal

The New York Times and Kirkus Reviews had very different appraisals of it:

The New York Times: Michael Gilbert's THE BODY OF A GIRL (Harper & Row, $5.95)... is a purely local affair. The action takes place in a small town near London, where the skeleton of a girl has been found. A new chief inspector, who is perhaps not all that he seems to be, takes charge of the case. Gilbert is a smooth performer. His style is logical and flowing and full of deft touches. “The Body of a Girl” does what a good mystery should do: open up into all kinds of ramifications, with untold menace behind the action. At the end, there is a bang‐up climax, and it is a pleasure to see how skillfully Gilbert wraps everything up.

Kirkus Reviews: THE BODY OF A GIRL BY MICHAEL GILBERT: In the once quiet town of Stoneferry on Thames, newly appointed Chief Inspector William Mercer officiates over the recently discovered skeleton of a girl, relates it wrongly to one Sweetie Sowthistle who had disappeared two years ago, and then to another young woman who had worked for the local solicitor. But then there are the Crows, a criminal organization, and a hot car racket, and a literally one but strong armed bandit called John Bull, and all of this is solidly forcefed in an energetic combination of the traditional and the procedural. Mr. Gilbert is at his professional best.