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Wesley Peterson Murder Mystery Series -
Book XVI
Kate Ellis
Piatkus (little, Brown)
3 February 2011 / ISBN-13: 9780749953720
Mystery / Contemporary / Devon, England
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US
- UK
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
When two teenage bodies are found at the foot of a cliff, it looks
at first as though they are victims of a suicide pact. But somebody
has shot them, and why are they naked? Meanwhile, DI Wesley Peterson
is dealing with the case of a woman found dead in her home. Too
decomposed to identify after some days lying undiscovered, nobody
is quite sure who she is. The case becomes even more baffling when
it becomes apparent that the teenagers had been taking part in a
bizarre form of hunting without a fox, a tradition which dates back
to the Regency and which is a part of a sinister local story.
If you like police procedurals, immersing yourself in a well-drawn
location and a historical angle, then this excellent series is for
you. I live in Devon myself and applaud the way Ms Ellis has the
county spot on; and for anybody who knows the area, spotting local
places and folklore adds to the fun. This is an involved (and involving)
story in the best sense of the word, with a large cast of characters,
a trawler load of red herrings and puzzles within puzzles that are
sure to keep any reader on their toes. Ms Ellis has an enviably
readable style and paces her tale well, managing to balance the
right amount of procedural, local history, archaeology and the domestic
lives of her series characters. She is adept at making her characters
into people we care about, and manages to make even the minor ones
more than mere ciphers. This is a series that shows no signs of
running out of steam, and one of my very favorite contemporary detective
series. May it continue and never be ruined by being dramatised
for television!
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