Little & Brown (0 316 87715 8) £15.99 Close Quarters is the latest Mike Yeading mystery and in it
Clare Curzon offers an interesting puzzle. The body of a woman, thought to be a London
prostitute, is discovered in what the blurb calls the sleepy little commuter village of
Mardham. She appears to have no connection with the village and possible links are of
necessity mooted by the police in the course of the investigation.
The police have a difficult task. This is the Thames Valley force with its headquarters in
Kidlington, but there is no Inspector Morse because this is Clare Curzon and not Colin
Dexter. Instead there is Superintendent Mike Yeadings, who plays a lesser role here than
Morse does in the Dexter books. He is, however, a more attractive figure than Morse. He
may not have much to do in the book, but he is the dominating presence. The lower ranks of
the police service, here represented by Sergeants Beaumont and Zyczynski, appear to revere
him. He is the Boss, big in every sense of the word. By contrast the unwelcome outsider
called in to lead the investigation, Detective Inspector Jenner, is disliked by everybody.
Jenner is a replacement from Banbury for the regular inspector, Mott, who has been
seconded to the Windsor and Maidenhead areas as an Acting Superintendent.
There are a bewildering number of suspects in Mardham, particularly in Orchard Close,
despite the lack of motive. The obvious suspect, is not, of course, the murderer. There is
a second death, this time of a Mardham man, a respected resident of Orchard Close, but
there is some doubt whether this death is murder or suicide. If it is murder is it
connected with the death of the prostitute or are the two deaths unrelated? Jenner is
convinced that Snelling is the murderer, which is an added reason for thinking Snelling
entirely innocent. The other police are equally convinced of Snelling's innocence, but are
puzzled by the two deaths and search for a link between them.
Two more murders follow. The outcome is not what the reader expects but is handled quite
convincingly. Clare Curzon writes very well, though I did not find her book an easy or a
compelling read. There are some books which are difficult to put down, but Close
Quarters is not one of them. There seemed to be too many people milling around,
few of them being sharply defined, and this made for some confusion and not a little
dissatisfaction. (John Boyles)
