Published by Riptide
Publishing,
5 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-62649929-4 (PB)
5 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-62649929-4 (PB)
The
last thing that Robin Bright and Adam Matthews want is to be separated, especially
only a week after their wedding, but when Robin is asked to head an
investigation in another part of the country they realise they have no choice.
The Senior Investigating Officer in a murder enquiry has been rushed to
hospital with peritonitis and his boss, Detective Superintendent Betteridge, has
requested that Robin takes over the case. Betteridge was Robin’s mentor when he
was a junior officer and Robin feels he owes her his help; and he is also aware
that refusing would not help his career.
Robin is concerned about the competence
of the initial enquiry, when it was led by a detective inspector who was
already feeling ill, and he needs to establish this without alienating his new
team. The more he probes, the more complex the case appears. A man was found
dead of head injuries in the changing rooms of Hartwood Wasps Rugby Club, a
successful amateur club that had previously consisted of gay and bisexual
players, although it now takes heterosexual players as well. The team coach has
a strict policy of not allowing players to return to the clubhouse during
practice time, but the body was discovered earlier than might have been expected
because an accidental injury to one of the players necessitated calling an
ambulance and brought practice to a halt. Robin does not believe in
coincidences, but he discovers that this case is full of events that may be
coincidences or may be clues. Was it a coincidence that the injury to the rugby
player occurred on the same evening that a man was killed in the changing
rooms? And was it a coincidence that the player responsible for the injury insisted
that he wanted to go straight to the hospital and seemed so unwilling to enter
the changing rooms? Was it coincidence that the coach ordered him to go and get
changed first and this meant he found the body? Was it a coincidence that the
victim had once been a member of a rival rugby team and that he had an
acrimonious relationship with some of the Hartwood Wasps players? As Robin
tries to separate coincidence and clues, he also has to discover whether there
is a connection between this murder and a hit and run, which left another young
rugby player dead. However, there is one question that concerns Robin more than
anything else connected to the case: is it a coincidence that the brother of
one of the players is travelling several miles to become a member of the same fundraising
choir that Adam has recently joined?
Robin and his sergeant have to work
hard to motivate and win the confidence of their new team of detective
constables and to establish whether the previous investigative work has been
done properly. Robin is determined to discover the truth and get justice for
the victim, which is not easy when the murdered man had a skill for making
enemies. All the time he is haunted by the fear that Adam may have again become
inadvertently entangled with his investigation and be at risk.
A Carriage of Misjustice
is the fifth in the Lindenshaw series, featuring Detective Chief Inspector Robin
Bright and Deputy Headteacher Adam Matthews, and, alongside the murder mystery
plot, one of the main delights of this book, and indeed the whole series, is to
observe the development of their relationship. Robin and Adam are engaging
protagonists, although the heart-stealer is Campbell, their adorable (and very
spoiled) Newfoundland dog. A Carriage of Misjustice is a thoroughly
enjoyable read, which I would recommend for those who like their cosy crime
mixed with romance.
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Reviewer: by Carol Westron
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Reviewer: by 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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