The Golden Mile to Murder

July 16, 2001
It will come as no surprise to the astute reader that Spencer (The Dark Lady) was born and raised in Cheshire, as her murders have a genuine catlike creepiness about them and her bloodcurdling finale leaves one with a maniacal grin. Her seventh Charlie Woodend procedural is a walk on the wild side of Blackpool, Britain's R-rated Disneyland for the working classes. Det. Insp. "Punch" Davies has been found brutally murdered under the amusement pier. Everyone seems to think old Punch was up to something he shouldn't have been, and no one wants Woodend to find out about it. Likewise, they are most anxious that his investigation not hurt the tourist trade. He and his new partner, Monika Paniatowski (who has problems of her own as the first woman detective sergeant on the force), are faced with a case no one wants solved. In no time, the case involves several other cases Davies was investigating, one of which may provide the motivation for his murder. Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight. She manages a large cast of characters and a detailed portrait of Blackpool without losing the thread of her story. The book is a bit too leisurely to begin with and Woodend too pedantic to like very much, but it does carry a jolly good sting in its tail that should give the reader a shiver or two.

August 1, 2001
Ex-Scotland Yarder Charlie Woodend, banished to Whitebridge, Lancashire, gets a murder case his first day on the job. Someone has killed a bobby under a pier in the seaside resort of Blackpool, where Woodend's methodically unorthodox investigative procedures prove effective against a memorable mixture of side-show barkers, fortune tellers, petty thieves, narrow-minded police, and profit-motivated shopkeepers. At the mercy of his chip-shouldered new boss, and bereft of his usual sidekick, Woodend badgers his assigned partner, a woman, into her best efforts. Unique settings and psychological details supplement Woodend's usual antics: a surefire series addition.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2001
The latest Charlie Woodend mystery has the chief inspector exiled to Blackpool on the Irish Sea, after his work on a sensitive case irritates his superiors [" The Dark Lady," BKL Ja 1 & 15 01]. Assigned to find the murderer of a Blackpool detective, Woodend must overcome the resistance--even to the point of attempted sabotage--of the image-conscious Blackpool police force and its sullen, unreliable Detective Sergeant. In this latest Woodend novel to appear in the U.S., Spencer continues to display the hallmarks of her far too little known series: a lively pace, a strong central character, a satisfying plot, and vivid, realistic views of 1960s England. The bonus in this book is a fascinating description of life at an English resort, where much of the action takes place. Highly recommended for fans of English mysteries or police procedurals in any setting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)