Joyce Holms - Page 1
Hardback
Allison & Busby
(2004) |
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Hidden Depths
When a friend goes missing at the same time as a Ruben’s painting, Fizz and Buchanan smell a rat and set out to get some answers...
Barrister Tarn Buchanan is enjoying a rare, tranquil evening on the golf course. Poised gloriously on the brink of making the shot of his life, his concentration is abruptly shattered by the rude arrival of his exasperating former colleague, Fizz Fitzpatrick.
She needs his help. An old friend of hers, Irene Llovd, has disappeared. Also missing is a Rubens painting Irene had been working on worth £1.5 million...
Fizz refuses to believe Irene is guilty of the theft, even if all the evidence points to the contrary. She and Buchanan investigate, and soon become enmeshed in a tangled web of intrigue. What exactly is going on at the stately hut impoverished Abbeyfield House? Where had Irene’s clandestine taxi journeys been taking her? And did her obsessive boyfriend have good reason for his jealousy?
Together, the legal odd couple set out to uncover the answers in a captivating page-turner, full of invention and wit that will keep you intrigued and mystified until the final revelations...
Acclaim for Joyce Holms's Fizz and Buchanan mysteries
'Engaging and entertaining, it builds to a spectacular climax....Deft, daft and definitely delicious' Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
'The writing is deft and smooth, the characters well-drawn and Fizz and Tam are a couple worth keeping an eye on' Donna Leon, The Sunday Times
‘Cleverly-plotted...the characters are well-drawn and the story moves along at an enjoyably brisk pace.' Susannah Yager, Sunday Telegraph
'A good story, light-hearted, full of fascinating characters, and it makes me look forward to more of the exploits of Fizz and Buchanan' Birmingham Post
'I really enjoyed this book. Fizz is a sparkling creation… Despite the serious nature of its subject matter the book is very funny… both tense and comic… A brilliant, sassy debut' Crime Time
‘Highly enjoyable… A festive Edinburgh setting, lively pace, and bright, sparky characters’ Yorkshire Post
‘Full of credible characters doing unlikely things, lots of neat plot twists and a lack of self-importance’ Bristol Evening Post
‘Another excellent case for Fizz and Buchanan’ Peterborough Evening Telegraph
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First British Edition Headline (2001) |
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Bitter End
When Vanessa Grassick and her neighbour Jamie Ford die in a gas explosion, Tam Buchanan wishes his practise were anywhere but Edinburgh. His law firm is executor of Vanessa’s will and this case is promising serious trouble. While the police report declares the deaths a tragic accident, Tam has reason to believe that there’s a lot more to them than that. (What, for instance, were Vanessa and Jamie dong together when the blast happened at half past two in the morning?) but can he afford to entertain suspicions of a cover-up when Vanessa’s husband is probably the most influential advocate in the city – a man whose opinion could make or break his career?
It’s not long before morality (aided by a little gentle persuasion from Fizz) wins out, and Tam and his irrepressible assistant soon find themselves scouting for clues in the tiny village of Chirnside, where Mrs Grassick met her end. Unfortunately, however set they may be on discovering the truth, someone seems even more determined to ensure they never do.
One by one potential witnesses to the explosion are vanishing. Jamie Ford’s widow, Polly, who was taken to hospital for treatment after the blast, hasn’t been seen since she was released over a week ago, and no one can explain the sudden disappearance of Mr and Mrs Pringle, the Chirnside busybodies. It’s not long before Fizz and Tam begin to suspect there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye, but the path to the truth is a very precarious tightrope indeed.
| Paperback - Headline (2001) |
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First British Edition Headline (2000) |
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Mr Big
When one of the better-known drug barons in Edinburgh, Chick Mathieson, is killed, lawyer Tam Buchanan finds himself reluctantly drawn into the dodgy dealings of the city’s underworld. Freddie McAuslan, the young man arrested for Mathieson’s murder, has recently done time for a crime that was almost certainly committed by Mathieson himself, and Buchanan is convinced of his innocence. Aided by Fizz and her grandpa, who is in Edinburgh for an operation on his famous clicking knees, he sets out to prove it.
Although Mathieson’s widow doesn’t seem to be grieving for the loss of anything but her husband’s money, she does give Tam and Fizz their first clue: Mathieson telephoned someone at Greenfield House the night before he was murdered. But Greenfield House is a sheltered housing unit for indigent show-biz geriatrics, a background which, on the surface, could not be further removed from the murky world of Edinburgh crime...
In order to carry out sonic undercover espionage, Fizz gets Grandpa installed at the shelter for a few days’ recuperation. It soon becomes clear that no one there is quite what they first seem. But could any of the aged Thespians really have been involved in the death of Edinburgh’s Mr Big? It’s unlikely - but when Fizz gets caught up in the most terrifying experience of her life, it seems that she and Buchanan have got a little too close to the truth.
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First British Edition Headline (1999) |
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| Paperback - Headline (2000) |
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Thin Ice
It’s the week before Christmas and lawyer Tam Buchanan is hoping for a quiet break to catch up on work and generally wind down. So when his cousin Mark, a GP, corners him at a family gathering with a desperate plea for help, Tam's seasonal goodwill is pushed to the limit. Four-year-old Robin Tarrant has been kidnapped, apparently by his father - the ex-husband of Hazel, one of Mark's patients. The thought of her child in the hands of a seriously unbalanced drug addict is driving Hazel crazy but, in the face of a threat to kill Robin if the police are informed, her hands are tied. Mark's only option is to get Tam and his sleuthing partner, Fizz, on the case.
Mere kidnapping appears almost banal to Fizz but it soon becomes apparent that there's more to Robin's disappearance than meets the eye. The trail leads to the hospital in which Hazel works; to some of her colleagues who have private agendas and double lives; and to the strange demise of Doctor Arnie Baird. And finally, inescapably, to one perpetrator - whose immunity is guaranteed by the kidnapped child.
Fizz and Tam cannot see justice done without putting Robin's life in jeopardy, unless Fizz - resourceful, intuitive and often daringly foolhardy - can find a way. But this time it's not only Fizz who is walking dangerously on thin ice…
| Paperback - Headline (1999) |
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First British Edition Headline (1998) |
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Bad Vibes
See Review by
John Boyles
When an elderly German tourist is found dead in his bath in an Edinburgh hotel, the post mortem shows no injury incompatible with an accidental slip on a wet surface. No one suspects foul play - not even 'Fizz.' Fitzgerald, a legal student with a remarkable talent for detective work, who is moonlighting at the hotel. When the deceased's sister discovers that a painting her brother had bought on the day he died is not among his effects, she goes to the police. The senior officer who released the body for cremation is understandably reluctant to start a serious investigation. But Fizz is intrigued, and ropes in her sleuthing sparring partner, lawyer Tam Buchanan, to unearth the truth. Soon they're on a trail leading from Edinburgh to Musselburgh, the Moorfoot Hills and the island of Arran - and back fifteen years.
A rich vein of humour runs through this tense and tantalising new novel from an acclaimed author.
About The Author
Joyce Holms grew up in Glasgow now lives in Edinburgh. Suffering from a chronically low boredom threshold she is now living in her thirteenth house and has earned her keep in a variety of jobs in a variety of locations from running a hotel on the Island of Arran to working for an Edinburgh detective agency. Currently running a B&B in the Central Highlands during the Summer months she lives in Edinburgh during the rest of the year.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Hidden Depths
(Allison & Busby,
2004)
Bitter End
(Headline,
2001)
( Fizz & Buchanan)
Mr Big
(Headline,
2000)
Headline Pbk Jun 01
Thin Ice
(Headline,
1999)
Headline Pbk Feb 00
( Fizz & Buchanan)
Bad Vibes
(Headline,
1998)
Headline Pbk Mar 99
( Fizz & Buchanan)
Foreign Body
(Headline,
1997)
Headline Pbk May 01
( Fizz & Buchanan)
Payment Deferred
(Headline,
1996)
Headline Pbk 1997
( Fizz & Buchanan)
Hidden Depths
by Joyce Holms
