Tug of War
Detective Joe Sandilands series #6
by Barbara Cleverly
Commander Joe Sandilands is enjoying a bit of R&R in Surrey with his sister Lydia, when the War Office intervenes.
His special talents have caused him to be selected once again to solve a problem, this time in Reims. A shell-shocked
soldier in a mental hospital needs to be identified, but he is unable to speak or indicate who he is - or perhaps
that ought to be unwilling? Several people are claiming that he belongs to them, and Joe has to choose. The most
likely candidate is a wealthy and attractive woman called Aline Houdart, the owner of a champagne estate. Accompanied
by lively fourteen-year-old Dorcas (see The Bee’s Kiss, also reviewed on this site) Joe has to solve the
problem, and prevent more murders.
Well, it looks as though we have truly said goodbye to India in this engaging series, but at least we are seeing
France. One of the many good things about this series is their ability to spin an involving yarn, and their
dissimilarity to each other. To its detriment as a mystery, quite a bit of this is fairly easy to guess, but not
all, which makes all the difference. Joe remains a convincing protagonist, but he is never going to sparkle
so Dorcas does this for him. Hopefully we will be seeing more of her in future books. There is some fascinating
war history here, and Cleverly does a good job of recreating the atmosphere of this time sans the invariable
Roaring Twenties gloss that always colors most books about this period. An entertaining tale that is not the
strongest in the series, but still compulsive reading. |
The Book |
Constable (Constable & Robinson) |
19 October 2006 |
Hardcover |
ISBN-13: 9781845294281
ISBN-10: 1845294289 |
Historical Crime - 1926, France |
More
at Amazon.com UK |
Excerpt |
NOTE: Not yet up on US Amazon site |
The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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