This week's Amazon TV Deal of the Week is Mannix: The Complete Series.
Mike Connors stars as Joe Mannix, a hard-boiled and gritty Los Angeles private investigator who constantly defies rules and regulations and is able to take a flurry of fist fights, high-speed car chases and bullet wounds in stride. During its first season, Mannix worked for a high-tech firm before opening up his own agency.
This week only, save 68% on this popular television series. Offer ends February 9th, 2014.
Monday, February 03, 2014
This Week's Amazon TV Deal of the Week: Mannix, The Complete Series
A Conversation with Mystery Author Barry S. Brown
with Barry S. Brown
We are delighted to welcome mystery author Barry S. Brown to Omnimystery News today.
Barry is the author of the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street mysteries; the third and most recent book of the series is Mrs. Hudson in the Ring (Sunstone Press; December 2013 trade paperback).
We recently had the chance to talk to the author about his books.
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Omnimystery News: How did you happen to choose Mrs. Hudson as the recurring character for your stories?
Photo provided courtesy of
Barry S. Brown
Barry S. Brown: We all know of Mrs. Hudson, the landlady at 221B Baker Street, acting as a housekeeper to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. And I got to thinking what if she really was acting? What if it was all a pretense made necessary by the Victorian times in which she lived. What if she was the sage of Baker Street and Sherlock Holmes the essential male figurehead for the consulting detective agency she organized. She could then have studied crime and its detection with her constable husband, nightly reviewing the crimes reported in the day's paper to determine what could be teased from the clues provided, what needed to be explored to solve those crimes, and how the investigation might proceed. And she could have honed her skills in observation and analysis from her study of the people she saw at the greengrocers, on the horse-car and along London's streets, while also learning of advances in criminal investigation from books and articles borrowed from the British Museum's Reading Room. Then, when her husband dies unexpectedly, Mrs. Hudson would use the lodgings they had leased to put to work her knowledge and skills, employing Holmes and Watson as apprentices, colleagues, and as the agency's face to the public.
OMN: How much of yourself can be found in your characters?
BSB: The common wisdom is, of course, that you inject yourself into your characters. And I would like to believe that I'm as observant and analytical as Mrs. Hudson, as courageous and self-assured as Holmes, and as loyal and reliable as Dr. Watson. I fear, however, that I may be as frugal as the Mrs. Hudson, as immodest as the Holmes, and as deliberate as the Dr. Watson I have depicted. In truth, parameters have been developed for the personalities of Holmes and Watson and one can extend those limits only so far. Mrs. Hudson, on the other hand, is a nearly blank slate. Watson's only description of his landlady was to speak of "her stately tread." That can be taken to view her as being on the plump side. I have interpreted Watson's comment as his single admission of the respect and authority due the woman.
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
BSB: Probably the best advice was being told "writers write." Which is to say if you're going to be a writer sit down in front of the foolscap/ typewriter/ computer keyboard and do it. I find it necessary to set a schedule and then steel myself from the innumerable diversions that abound — a bookcase whose improperly aligned volumes demand my attention, or the Gunsmoke episode I've only seen four times.
The next best advice I've ever gotten is to write for yourself. This may, in fact, mean a limited audience and extraordinarily modest royalties, but whatever book I am working on will be my companion for a year or more and I can't conceive of remaining that long with someone I can, at best, barely tolerate. Nonetheless, I'm happy to see my latest good friend, Mrs. Hudson in the Ring, establish as many acquaintances as possible and will suffer no pangs of jealousy even if others take Mrs. Hudson to bed with them.
OMN: And how about the worst advice?
BSB: I'd have to say the worst advice was to write about the things you know. I know it is the standard line fed to all writers. And I suppose it works well if one has been raised by gypsies, or spent one's formative years as a Caribbean pirate, but if there's anything to Thoreau's line about most of us living lives of quiet desperation, it simply won't wash. I, myself, have worked in prisons, mental hospitals and drug treatment programs and those venues would seem to provide grist enough for anyone's mill, but I hold to a different view. We read to get outside ourselves, to explore new worlds and have new experiences. Why shouldn't the writer have the same privilege? Those things that make up or have made up my life may appear interesting to some, but I want to explore new worlds, and I have chosen the new (to me) old world of Victorian England.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
BSB: I am usually up at about 6:30AM and after reading the newspaper, failing at the sudoku and crossword, checking my e-mail, deleting three-quarters of what appears in my inbox, going for a run, checking the mail at the post office, and exchanging pleasantries with my wife, I am ready for lunch. This is where discipline belatedly kicks in — most of the time. I am now ready to hammer away at the keyboard for several hours after lunch and a couple of hours in the late evening.
For each book I will develop brief bios and back stories for the major characters other than the continuing trio of Mrs. Hudson, Holmes and Watson (although a back story was created for Mrs. Hudson prior to the first book in the series). Most importantly, I will have developed a detailed outline of the events of the story chapter by chapter. Except for the story's beginning and ending I will deviate often and dramatically from the outline, but it is a security blanket that provides me the illusion that I know the route to get home even as unforeseen side roads prove far more appealing than the highways I have carefully mapped out.
Writing is, as someone has said, rewriting. And if no one has said it, someone should have. I will write a section, be astounded by its quality as I am writing; then read it and be appalled by its lack thereof. Before proceeding to the next section I will revise, reread and revise, typically three or four times until it seems tolerable and then move on to the next section where I will repeat the process. When the manuscript is complete, I will reread and revise it anywhere from ten to fifteen times, give it to a few readers I can trust to use faint praise if they find need to damn me, and then revise further — or not — in association with their critique. I should note that my poor wife, reading the manuscript's several rewrites, can recite it nearly verbatim at the end of this process. It is finally ready to send to my publisher, Sunstone Press, for their tender ministrations. Typically, however, I find they haven't mastered the faint praise portion of the review process.
OMN: How do you go about researching your stories?
BSB: Research is a big deal for me. On the one hand, I find it great fun. On the other, I really want to get right the critical elements of the history of the period, and of crime investigations as they would have been conducted in the 1890s. I try to build each story around a real piece of history, typically one that is exotic, but little known. In my first story, The Unpleasantness at Parkerton Manor, I incorporated the so-called White Rajahs of Sarawak, a renegade English family that acquired significant territory in what is now Malaysia and ruled a land of headhunters and pirates through three generations. In the second, Mrs. Hudson and the Irish Invincibles, I incorporated the fight for Home Rule for Ireland and, more particularly, the role played by an extreme revolutionary group as well as the more restrained advocacy of Charles Parnell. Finally, in Mrs. Hudson in the Ring, I incorporate the transition from bare-knuckle fighting to Marquis of Queensberry Rules as well as the trials and tribulations of Lillie Langtry after she had ceased being a favorite of the Prince of Wales.
In the latter book I also consulted with an extraordinarily able forensic chemist (and mystery reader) at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington with regard to the analysis of liquids for the presence of Adenia digitata, an exotic South African poison.
Of course the characters and the times are set within a tale of mystery, and history is fitted to story-telling — I hope without compromising either. A problem often encountered is that history rivals or surpasses fiction for improbability. Indeed, I found it useful to include an Epilogue in Mrs. Hudson in the Ring both to allow the reader to learn what ultimately happened to the story's major actors, and to assure the reader that what they are reading involves the unusual, but not the impossible.
OMN: Suppose this series were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the key roles?
BSB: First, of course, I would need several days for celebration and recovery should such an event transpire. When that was complete, the choice for Mrs. Hudson could be simply made. I would be willing to engage Dame Judi Dench even without a screen test. To play Dr. Watson I would be delighted to hire Dustin Hoffman if he would consent to growing a small moustache. Finally, I would consider Hugh Laurie for Holmes, thereby allowing him to regain the accent he abandoned for House. I would also demand a cameo role for myself as a prominent extra in order to impress my children and grandchildren, assuming there is anything I can do that will impress my children and grandchildren.
OMN: What's next for you?
BSB: After the film's completion and I have attended the last of the multiple awards ceremonies that follow its release, I plan to complete work on my next story in the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street series. In that tale Mrs. Hudson travels to New York to be the family's representative at the wedding of her cousin's daughter only to learn the bridegroom is accused of attempting to assassinate J. P. Morgan, and once again the game will be afoot for the Baker Street trio.
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Barry S. Brown spent his professional life conducting research examining treatment issues and strategies in mental health, criminal justice programming and drug abuse. Over the course of his career he published over 100 papers and chapters as well as editing two books of non-fiction. He has also published a half dozen short stories and some poetry in addition to the three books in the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street series.
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Mrs. Hudson in the Ring
Barry S. Brown
A Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street Mystery
When Sherlock Holmes is goaded into a boxing match, his opponent, Sailor Mackenzie, loses both the bout and his life. All are convinced Mackenzie's death was a ring accident. All, that is, except the residents of 221B Baker Street, and Inspector Lestrade who defies his Scotland Yard colleagues to aid in a murder investigation.
In this, the third in the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street series, Mrs. Hudson, the unheralded director of the consulting detective agency, leads her colleagues from London to McLellan Manor in Yorkshire as they sort through the numerous people who have reason to celebrate Mackenzie's death. Complicating their investigation, Holmes and Watson are asked to become Lillie Langtry's protectors, and Mrs. Hudson her lady's maid, when the famous beauty is threatened by her latest admirer, the volatile George Baird.
All will become clear, but not before Holmes and Watson call on a ghost to solve a 35-year old murder, and Mrs. Hudson discovers she has more in common with Lillie Langtry than she ever expected.
Jackpot by Susan Fleet is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Jackpot by Susan Fleet as today's second free mystery ebook (A Frank Renzi Mystery; Kindle format only).
This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, February 03, 2014 at 6:45 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.
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Jackpot
Susan Fleet
A Frank Renzi Mystery
Publisher: Music & Mayhem Press
Nigel Heath wants to be the next Boston Pops conductor. A compulsive gambler, he's deeply in debt. He's also deeply in love with Vicky, a Pops clarinetist. He wins the lottery and thinks his problems are over, but they're just beginning.
Homicide Detective Frank Renzi is hunting a serial killer who targets lottery winners. Don't miss the exciting showdown between Frank Renzi and the killer.
A prequel to the first three books in the Frank Renzi series, Jackpot takes place in Boston in 2000, before Renzi moved to New Orleans.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The House of the Wicked by D. M. Mitchell is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The House of the Wicked by D. M. Mitchell as today's free mystery ebook (A Psychological Thriller; Kindle format only).
This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, February 03, 2014 at 6:30 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.
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The House of the Wicked
D. M. Mitchell
A Psychological Thriller
Publisher: D. M. Mitchell
Some secrets will not stay buried …
1880: Stephen Denning is an artist arriving in Porthgarrow. It is an isolated Cornish fishing community, largely untouched by the modern, developing Victorian world, hanging onto its old traditions, superstitions and beliefs — a community that lives with a disturbing secret. So too does Denning.
He is a reluctant visitor, and though he is supposedly joining his one-time artist friend Terrance Wilkinson to form an artists' colony it is circumstances that force him there. Denning is still haunted by the brutal death of a young woman in Brittany, and shouldering guilt for the fact that he covered up for Wilkinson when he suspects the man of having been been involved with the murder.
But Porthgarrow is haunted by its own demons and secrets. He learns about the savage murder of a woman by her husband Jowan Connoch thirteen years previously, and of Jowan's son who has returned to Porthgarrow to uncover the truth and to clear his father's name.
Yet it is far from over. Before long three more people are destined to die in Porthgarrow before the village gives up its sinister secrets, and Stephen Denning will learn of his own family's mysterious involvement.
The house of the Wicked is peopled with larger than life characters — the powerful businessman Gerran Hendra and his beautiful daughter Jenna; the Reverend Biddle who collects photographs of the dead; Benjamin Croker, the journalist; and Tunny, the village wise man and healer.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Mystery Godoku Puzzle for February 03, 2014
A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.
Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).
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This week's letters and mystery clue:
A E I K L N R S Y
Aaron Stander is the author of a mystery series featuring this Michigan sheriff (9 letters).
We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.
Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.
Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!
Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140203)
Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …
• The New Release is Mythic Wonders: The Philosopher's Stone.
• The current Catch of the Week is Whispered Secrets: The Story of Tideville, just $2.99 through Sunday, February 09, 2014 only.
Visit the Omnimystery Entertainment Network for more games of mystery and suspense!
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The New Release today is Mythic Wonders: The Philosopher's Stone
You are awakened by a strange premonition concerning your uncle. Your intuition tells you something is wrong, and the project you were collaborating on may have put his life in danger. You will use the portal you built together to enter a new and mythical world, and along the way, you'll discover the secrets and powers of the Philosopher's Stone! Explore magical realms on your journey to save him. Overcome obstacles created at every turn by a strange and magical creature. Who is he? What is his agenda? Perhaps not everything is as it seems.
A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour.
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The current Catch of the Week is Whispered Secrets: The Story of Tideville
You and your son, Tim, recently moved to the small town of Tideville to make a fresh start. One peaceful autumn evening, you arrive home just in time to see Tim vanish into thin air! Armed with only your wits and a cryptic clue about a scientist, you set out to find your son. But you soon learn that Tim was not the first resident of Tideville to disappear … In fact, people have been going missing for years. But who is behind it all? And what do they want? Explore the mysterious past of a sleepy seaside village and unravel the town's dark secret in this stunning Hidden Object game!
A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, February 09, 2014.
Sunday, February 02, 2014
A New MystereBook: Suspicious by Sara Rosett
Here is a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during January 2014 priced $4.99 or less …
Suspicious by Sara Rosett is the fourth mystery in this series featuring Zoe Hunter, who has built a life stringing together various freelance gigs that keep her bank account barely in the black.
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Suspicious by Sara Rosett
An On the Run Mystery
Publisher: Sara Rosett
Publication Date: January 31, 2014
Price: $3.99 (as of 02/02/14 04:30 PM ET)
Zoe and Jack's trip to Rome was supposed to be a romantic one-year anniversary celebration with a little business on the side. Jack's fledgling security company has landed the plum assignment of providing additional security for the opening night gala of a museum exhibit featuring priceless gems.
However, the easy job turns complicated when they discover the exhibit is the next target of a cat burglar who has struck several times in recent months, snatching up a hoard of sparkling jewels. Opening night goes off without a hitch, but then the police accuse them of switching the real gems for fakes.
With the exhibit's organizer missing and planted diamonds showing up in their belongings, Zoe and Jack are forced to delve into the shady side of the diamond trade in a search for the culprit, a journey that takes them from the fountains and piazzas of the Eternal City to the snow-capped Alps.
Important Note: This book was listed for the price indicated on the date and time as shown. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Ashes and Bones, An Emma Fielding Mystery by Dana Cameron, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Ashes and Bones by Dana Cameron, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $3.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (02/02/2014 at 4:00 PM ET). Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Ashes and Bones by Dana Cameron
An Emma Fielding Mystery (6th in series)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Just when everything is going beautifully for archaeologist Emma Fielding — a position at a respected university, a beautiful home in New England, and the warm love of a devoted husband — her world starts to crumble. What begins as a series of seemingly innocent gestures — the anonymous delivery of gifts and flowers to Emma's family and friends — soon progresses to secret, sadistic acts designed to destroy her reputation, her character, and her career.
Someone has instituted a brilliantly insidious campaign of personal terror against Emma Fielding, and she is certain she knows who it is: a cunning and dangerous enemy whom everyone but she believes is dead. But with no proof, no clues, and no allies, Emma will have to fight alone in the dark to rescue a life being rapidly reduced to ashes … if she can survive long enough to do so.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Glass Houses by Terri Nolan, a New Paperback Original in Bookstores in February 2014
Today's featured paperback original mystery title, scheduled to be published during February 2014 by Midnight Ink, is Glass Houses by Terri Nolan.
For a list of more new paperback mysteries, thrillers, and novels of suspense published this month, visit our Mystery Bookshelf page for February 2014. For hardcover titles, visit New Mysteries for a selection of books published during February 2014.
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Glass Houses
Terri Nolan
Series: A Birdie Keane Thriller
When investigative journalist Birdie Keane's latest story reveals the shocking truth about a famous cold case, she teams up with her cousin, homicide detective Thom Keane, to deal with the aftermath.
But Thom may be in more trouble than Birdie. Assigned to a high-profile murder he should have nothing to do with, Thom suspects he's being set up by the top brass. Still fighting the fallout from their family's past misdeeds, the Keane cousins have a lot to lose … including their lives.
No Lesser Plea, A Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi Mystery by Robert K. Tanenbaum, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature No Lesser Plea by Robert K. Tanenbaum, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Open Road.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $1.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (02/02/2014 at 3:00 PM ET). Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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No Lesser Plea by Robert K. Tanenbaum
A Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Open Road
Butch Karp must stop a murderer who is manipulating the law to escape punishment …
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp has been around New York long enough to realize that the judicial system can be dirty and cynical. But he still believes in justice.
So when a vicious sociopath tries to dodge a brutal murder charge by convincing the court he is incompetent to stand trial, Karp teams up with firecracker Assistant DA Marlene Ciampi to unleash the full force of their relentless energy, hardboiled wit, and passion for the truth to put the killer away for good. They will accept no lesser plea.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Lion Plays Rough by Lachlan Smith, New in Bookstores in February 2014
Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published during February 2014 by Mysterious Press, is Lion Plays Rough by Lachlan Smith.
For a list of more new hardcover mysteries published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for February 2014. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of February 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.
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Lion Plays Rough
Lachlan Smith
Series: Leo Maxwell (2nd)
Leo Maxwell always lived in the shadow of his older brother Teddy, one of San Francisco's most ruthless and effective criminal defense lawyers. Then a gunman shot Teddy in the head. Although Teddy survived the shooting, he has been left disabled and dependent on Leo, now a criminal defense attorney practicing in Oakland. The Maxwell brothers are living together in Oakland while Leo, chafing in his role as junior attorney in his former sister-in-law's small criminal defense firm, is on the lookout for the big case that will make his reputation. He thinks he's found that when a mysterious woman nearly runs him down, then appears at his office to hire him to defend her brother on a murder charge. One problem: Leo hasn't actually met the client when he sets out to investigate what seems like a hot tip on a burgeoning scandal in the Oakland Police Department. Leo takes a series of photographs that seem to blow the lid on deep-set corruption in the Department. However, when he brings these pictures to the attention of the District Attorney's office, he quickly learns that all is not as it seems, beginning with Leo's client and the alluring woman who hired him. Leo's "client" is actually represented by Nikki Matson, one of Oakland's most notorious gangland lawyers. What's more, the client doesn't know anything about Leo being hired to defend him, and claims not even to have a sister.
Between Nikki's star client, who happens to be one of Oakland's most feared gang leaders, and certain elements within the Oakland police, Leo realizes that he has unwittingly made himself enemy number one within the criminal community as well as the police department. Both sides want him silenced before he uncovers the full extent of a scandal that is poised to engulf the city and ignite a firestorm of repercussions. Hounded by threats from all sides, Leo soon finds himself framed for murder and sent to jail with a price on his head.
Even if Leo can survive, he's a marked man unless he can bring those responsible for the murders to justice. Bodies pile up as Leo closes in on his pursuers while at the same time, his pursuers close on him. Yet the truth is far more sinister, as Leo must confront the one person he never would have suspected …
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, A Canon Sidney Chambers, Grantchester Mystery by James Runcie, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Bloomsbury.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $1.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (02/02/2014 at 2:00 PM ET). Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie
A Canon Sidney Chambers, Grantchester Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Sidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester and Honorary Canon of Ely Cathedral, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Tall, with dark brown hair, eyes the colour of hazelnuts and a reassuringly gentle manner, Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot.
Sidney, together with his roguish friend Inspector Horatio "Harry" Keating, must enquire into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger.
Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty, but alongside the mysteries he solves he manages to find time for a keen interest in cricket, warm beer and hot jazz, and the works of Tolstoy and Shakespeare — as well as a curious fondness for a German widow three years his junior.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
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