Life is but a Peppermint Cream
Review of the Constable Kindle eBook edition (2010) of the Rinehart and Company hardcover original (1957).

Gently had tapped a source of peppermint creams in Wrackstead and he produced his bag now and offered it to Hansom. Hansom took one suspiciously to sample.
‘I never could see what was so damned special about these things!’
Gently tossed one to Dutt and another to the short-hand Constable.
‘They soothe the nerves, you know, and keep the brain clear.’
‘There must be something in it – you seem to get results on them!’

After this last of the first 3 books of the George Gently series, the Chief Inspector's obsession with peppermint creams begins to fade. In the 4th book they are hardly mentioned. In the 5th not at all. It is perhaps for the best, as with Bruno, Chief of Police's croissants and Armand Gamache's pain au chocolat, I was beginning to worry that constant reading would provoke a constant craving.

Gently Down the Stream has our man from Central Office (apparently an old term for Scotland Yard's CID) called in on yet another baffling case out in the countryside. A burned out body had been found in a burned out boat and a businessman, his chauffeur and his secretary have all gone missing. Did the servants murder their employer and are now on the run? The locals have their own quick solution to the case, but, as usual, Gently has an entirely different idea.

I found this to be quite enjoyable and guessed the solution quite early, which helped in following the clues as Gently discovered them. I always say that a little flattery of the reader by the author never hurts 😊.

See cover image at https://img.fantasticfiction.com/images/n14/n70855.jpg
An early dustcover of 'Gently Down the Stream', although I don't know if it is the original Rinehart & Company edition. Image sourced from Fantastic Fiction.

Trivia and Link
An article about the George Gently novels' progression with the Peppermint Creams is available at Mud Skipper Press.

Jamie Oliver's recipe for Peppermint Creams is available here.

The George Gently books were adapted as a TV series Inspector George Gently (2008-2017) with actor Martin Shaw in the title role. Very few of the TV episodes are based on the original books though and the characters are quite different. The timeline for the TV series takes place in the 1960s only. A trailer for the first episode can be seen here. ( )

GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM by Alan Hunter.
This title is the 2nd in Alan Hunter’s George Gently series. It is another interesting police procedural/detective story featuring Chief Inspector George Gently.
George Gently is a very methodical, measured, contemplative detective and we get a close-up glimpse of his detecting skills.
This series by the late Alan Hunter and the British tv production of the same name are both excellent with intricate plots and very complex, interesting characters. The time period and more out-of-the-way locations are also interesting.
We spend a lot of time on or near the water in this title. Stoley’s Boatyard reports one of its ‘hired’ yachts burned with the charred remains of the Boatyard’s client still aboard.
The descriptions of the waterways, rivers, inlets, bays and channels are all very well-done and I felt very comfortable in this area.
Another good title in the George Gently series. ( )

Make me want to suck on a peppermint cream! Good story! This is a very different Detective Gently than portrayed on the TV series. A good surprising, but inevitable ending as all good mysteries should have. ( )

read this in chicago. really enjoy the tv show which is quite different from the books. ( )

Chief Inspector George Gently is sent to investigate the burned-out yacht and incenerated body of wealthy businessman John Lammas along the rivebank somewhere in Northern England. As evidence suggests that he had his hot young secretary on board along with thousands of pounds in cash, and now the money, the girl, and the chauffeur who hated his boss are all missing, Gently has a good lead. But just the slightest digging uncovers Lammas' wife and son, who also hated him, and that Lammas had been quietly liquidating the business to his benefit.

This is the third in the Gently series but the first that I've read. I'd never heard of them before getting hooked on the British tv series, and I believe these books went out of print for many years before being revived by the popularity of the show. I would say that the characters in the book, and even the plot, have little resemblence to the t.v. versions. This book was written in 1957 and stands up as well as any from that period. There are red herrings and a dysfunctional family (including the requisite 'Belligerent But Frightened Young Female' who bounds her way into nearly every British mystery from the 20's through the 60's) and a good plot twist at the end. ( )