First Sentence:
Behind them shone the bright lights of Blackpool, ahead
of them lay the darkness of the Irish Sea.
DCI Charlie Woodend is out of Scotland Yard
and banished by his new boss, SD Ainsworth to Blackpool—without
his right arm, Bob Rutter, to investigate the murder of a
Blackpool policeman. There, he is assigned DS Monika Paniatowski,
who has issues of her own, not the least of which is being
the first female sergeant in Blackpool. They are also up against
a squad determined to prevent Woodend from finding out too
much.
The book opens with a classic scene of a
young couple at the beach, but the scene has a very non-classic
ending. At the end of the first chapter, there’s no
question that you’ll go on to read the rest.
Spencer provides wonderful descriptions of
Woodend’s return to the town in which he grew up and
that feeling of both familiarity and foreignness one can have…”So
perhaps you never really could go back, he thought—because
back wasn’t there any longer.”
The best description of Woodend is given
by an officer who’d worked with him previously…”You
don’t really know the meaning of the term “bloody-minded”
until you’ve worked the Cloggin’-it Charlie. He’s
stubborn, unreasonable, relentless, and possibly the best
policeman it’s ever been my privilege to work with.”
He is also a fan of Dickens, hard, but fair and, it turns
out, a very good team leader and boss to the young, female,
D.S. Monika’s background is very much incorporated into
the story. Spencer’s representation of a woman who has
experienced that which Monika has done, is painfully accurate.
Spencer’s descriptions can be delightful,
particularly that of Woodend’s landlady…”She
was a real dragon, Woodend thought admiringly. If Saint George
had had to face a creature like Mrs. Bowyer in this quest
to free the maiden, he would have abandoned the girl to her
fate and gone off in search of the nearest pub.” He
also provide an excellent sense of time by including references
to books, television shows—Bonanza--and movies—The
Guns of Navarone—of the time.
The
Golden Mile to Murder is an excellent mystery that is
so well plotted. Not only did I not identify the killer, but
the epilogue provides a wonderful “WOW” moment.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
The
Salton Killings #1
The
Golden Mile to Murder #5
Sins
of the Fathers #17
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