Scent of Death

June 16, 2014
In Rowlands’s low-key 13th mystery featuring Det. Constable Sukey Reynolds (after 2012’s Unnatural Wastage), Sukey and her newly promoted boss, Det. Sgt. Vicky Armstrong, look into the suspicious drowning death of Lance Rainbird at a classical music festival held at Dallington Manor, a country-house hotel near Clevedon in Somerset. Taking charge of the case is newly minted Detective Inspector Rathbone, who drinks endless cups of coffee, delegates most tasks, and has an unfortunate tendency to fixate on one suspect at a time. The unlikable Rainbird, a knowledgeable music expert, had conflicts with a number of his fellow festival attendees. The desultory investigation picks up when another death occurs and reaches a frantic pitch with a third death. Sukey and Vicky try to sort out a tangle of relationships and possible personal and professional motives with little physical evidence. An amiable cast compensates for a shortage of drama and suspense.

July 15, 2014
When a music buff is murdered, DC SukeyReynolds (Unnatural Wastage, 2012, etc.) toggles between helping herboss, DI Rathbone, and her boyfriend, reporter Harry Matthews.Lance Rainbird is a man of fewwords, and most of those show off his vast knowledge of classical music. Manyof the ladies who attend Justin Freeman's musical programs are charmed byLance, but the men don't cotton to him. Lance looks down his nose at Romeo, anitinerant singer who makes a living busking and always gives a recital atFreeman's annual musical weekend at the Dallington Manor Hotel. This year, though, Lance isn't around to sneer at the talented amateur; the night beforethe performance, he's found drowned in the pond outside. Newly promoted DIRathbone, anxious to clear his first case, sends not only Sukey, but DS VickyArmstrong and two uniformed officers to interview everyone on the scene. Thefour start off by having coffee while they wait for the participants to be onbreak. They interview the participants, then break for more coffee before reportingtheir scant findings to an impatient Rathbone. At home, Sukey treads carefully.She wants to help Harry get a story but doesn't want to divulge details thatcompromise the case. Luckily, Harry has a brain wave and invites Sukey toLondon, where she searches Rainbird's apartment for clues. When she shares whatshe learns with Vicky, the two are in a position to reinterview severalsuspects, after stopping, of course, for coffee. But it isn't until Rathboneinvites the team to his office for coffee that Sukey has one of her famoushunches that allows the team to solve a baffling crime.Rowlands might as well have set thiscase in Starbucks, since it comes from the last inch of the pot.

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