The Ghost Dancers by
Roy Lewis
hbk out February 99
Published by Collins Crime
at £15.99
This novel is the latest in Roy Lewis's series of 'Arnold Landon' mysteries, set
in the Northeast of England and centred on The Department of Museums and Antiquities in Morpeth.
After the sudden death of the department's director, Simon Brent-Ellis, in lurid circumstances, a consultant named Steve O'Hara is hired to prepare a bid for lottery funds, much against the wishes of Karen Stannard, the acting director, whose project the proposed bid had been. When O'Hara is then named on the shortlist (along with Arnold Landon) for the post of director, Karen is furious as she believes that the job is rightfully hers but, as she is a woman, there is a conspiracy against her appointment.
All this upheaval takes place during ongoing excavations of what appears to be an ancient burial site, and during the run-up to an important archaeological conference organised by the department, the local council and several eminent local archaeologists. Matters come to a head during the conference and murder follows. Landon's 'old sparring partner, DCI Culpeper arrives to investigate this gathering, seething with disaffected and disagreeable people in conflict with one another.
This is the first novel that I've read by this author and I certainly like the idea and the setting, with a mixture of rivalry and conflict within both the worlds of academia and local government. This is a short book, however, and most of the characters, although not necessarily unbelievable, are not well rounded and often extreme. The dialogue too, is a little thin and matter-of-fact and leaves one feeling that there are no real relationships amongst the characters. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this, despite feeling that another thirty or so pages might have considerably improved the quality of the book.
The Ghost Dancers by
Roy Lewis