Prospect of Death by Margaret Duffy
Piatkus Crime (0-7499-0327-9) £15.99
When Detective Inspector
James Carrick is found at 11.48pm on Burns Night, in his Kennedy tartan kilt, unconscious,
in his car which has plunged through a hedge into a ploughed field, it looks a clear cut
case of one too many whiskeys with the haggis and the bagpipes, and bodes ill for his
professional reputation. And there are those among his colleagues who would not be too
unhappy if he did have the book thrown at him. For he is too colourful, intelligent and
attractive a character who does not suffer fools gladly to make for an easy life with some
others who are less well endowed with brains and personality. Besides, he has already been
in trouble through a romantic attachment with his one-time sergeant, Joanna Mackenzie, who
is now in business as a PI, having been forced to leave the CID because of the affair with
her boss. But the explanation for Carrick's accident and ensuing amnesia turns out to be not straightforward after all. And there is another mystery to be solved with the discovery, next day, of a dead body in the weir. It is that of Marvin Gilchrist, a TV director who specialised of late in documentaries exposing corruption, including that of a certain police department. The paths of the trails of the two mysteries often cross. Solving them involves eventually being led away from the environs of Bath and Bristol with the picturesque villages with thatched roofs and names like Hinton Littlemoor to Strathclyde and the heart of Glasgow. The involvement of another colourful and maverick character, Patrick Gillard, undercover agent for MI5, adds new possibilities and interest to the plot. This is an excellent whodunit with no lack of suspense, excitement and action a plenty. I shall be looking out for Margaret Duffy's previous thrillers, including Corpse Candle, Gallows Bird and Dressed to Kill, all pulished by Piatkus, and looking forward to her next. (P.E.D.)
