Mad Carew by
Ken McCoy
pbk out October 06
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
Better known as a writer of sagas, Ken McCoy has turned his hand to crime fiction
with entertaining results. The author is a Yorkshireman, and the style and sturdy
humour of this book are reminiscent of the work of his fellow Tyke, Stuart Pawson.
Unlike Pawson, though, McCoy has chosen as the central character for his book (and
this is the first in an anticipated series) an amateur rather than professional sleuth.
Sam Carew, the eponymous 'Mad Carew', is a former police sergeant who now
combines private investigation with building work - surely a first in the annals of
crime fiction? The setting is Unsworth (which 'isn't twinned with anybody - it has a
suicide pact with Grimsby') and the bits of information about building work with
which the story is peppered - such as: what builders mean by a 'frog' - is genuinely,
if perhaps surprisingly, interesting. The starting point for the book is the death of
Sam's father, but the murder investigation centres upon a killer of prostitutes, and
Sam's professional knowledge proves invaluable in unravelling the mystery. An
agreeable read.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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Mad Carew by
Ken McCoy
