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Devil At The Crossroads
A DCI Channon Mystery - Book III

by Olive Etchells

     

Helen Pascoe and her three children have come to West Cornwall to live, following a separation from her husband. Trenoon, inherited from a relative, has always been her haven but that peace is about to be shattered. The body of a young man has been found propped up against a standing stone at a crossroads, and Helen might have been the last person to see him alive—or the first person to see him dead. DCI Channon is on the case with his team, and determined to discover who, what and why before the killer strikes again.

This is the third in this series of modern police procedurals, set in beautiful West Cornwall. As well as a jolly good mystery to unravel, complete with a fisherman’s catch full of red herrings, there is Ms Etchell’s trademark of showing how a crime causes the degeneration of a small village community. This author is adept at showing contemporary Cornwall with its uneasy mixture of frequently impoverished locals living alongside wealthy Londoners in their second homes, and how this affects the community and economy. As I know the area, I can comment on being impressed with how spot-on her depiction of it is, and how it enhances the story with its deceptively "cozy" setting into a work of realism. The pacing is excellent too, and if many of the characters have a clichéd feel to them it is only because such types exist—in abundance. A series well worth looking for.

The Book

Constable (Constable and Robinson)
June 2009
Hardback
1845294144 / 9781845294144
Crime / Contemporary / Cornwall, England
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2009
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