Published by Riptide Publishing,
8 February 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-62649-873-0
8 February 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-62649-873-0
Robin
Bright and Adam Matthews have enjoyed their summer holiday and are now bracing
themselves to return to their respective jobs: Robin is a Detective Chief
Inspector and Adam a deputy head in a local school. The pair have lots of
changes to plan in the near future as they contemplate their marriage and moving
to a new house. Determined to enjoy the last days of the holiday, they take
their Newfoundland dog, Campbell, for a walk. Their happy day turns into a
nightmare when they hear a shot and, running to investigate, discover a dead
dog. Robin is used to the dangers of his job, and has become resigned, albeit
unwillingly, to the fact that Adam is occasionally at risk, but the thought
that someone could harm Campbell appals them both.
Although Robin is not in charge of the
investigation into the shooting of the dog, his first serious case as he
returns to work is clearly linked with it, when a man is found shot to death at
the residence of the owner of the dead dog. The house (and the dog’s owner) is
reported to be a man named Britz, but Robin recognises a photo and realises
that Britz is in fact Harry Wynter, a teacher who had helped to make his school
days hell. The victim’s face is too badly damaged to identify, and Robin tries
to discover whether the dead man is Wynter or whether Wynter has run away, possibly
because he is the murderer. He and his team also want to investigate whether
the murder is in some way connected with Wynter’s interest in an old case
involving the death of a local boy in 1941. Nine-year-old Tommy Burley had
wandered away from home and his body was discovered in woods on the nearby
Rutherclere estate. Official records said that Tommy had a weak heart and had
died of natural causes, but several conspiracy theorists claim that he was murdered,
and the truth was covered up and the newspapers have dubbed him the Babe in the
Wood.
While Robin is struggling to
investigate the murder and not allow himself to be influenced by the memories
of Wynter’s bullying, Adam also probes into the past, meeting some old friends
and acquaintances in an attempt to help his lover discover the truth about the
killing of both man and dog. All the time both men are afraid that danger
threatens their own beloved dog.
Old Sins is the fourth
book in the series featuring Robin Bright and Adam Matthews, and of course
Campbell the dog. This is a series that gets better all the time and this book
is excellent, with an interesting plot, lively dialogue and engaging
protagonists. The author has only one problem, she has made Campbell so
endearing that he is going to have to be the longest-lived dog in fictional
history, because his fans will never allow her to kill him off. Old Sins is a thoroughly enjoyable book.
A page-turner.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
Reviewer: Carol Westron
Charlie Cochrane couldn't be
trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team— so she
writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical
romances/mysteries. A member of the
Romantic Novelists’ Association, and International Thriller Writers Inc,
Charlie's Cambridge Fellows Series, set in Edwardian England, was instrumental
in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name.
Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative
Writing teacher. She is the moderator
for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. The Terminal Velocity of Cats the
first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Carol recently
gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link
below.
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