Ironic, compassionate and entertaining all at once, this ingeniously plotted third instalment in Mason's DI Wilkins Mysteries finds the two namesake Oxford detectives investigate the disappearance of a wayward celebrity.
Oxford, city of rich and poor, where the homeless camp out in the shadows of the gorgeous buildings and monuments. A city of lost things - and buried crimes.
At three o'clock in the morning, Emergency Services receives a call. 'This is Zara Fanshawe. Always lost and never found.' An hour later, the wayward celebrity's Rolls Royce Phantom is found abandoned in dingy Becket Street. The paparazzi go wild.
For some reason, news of Zara's disappearance prompts homeless woman Lena Wójcik to search the camps, nervously, for the bad-tempered vagrant known as 'Waitrose', a familiar sight in Oxford pushing his trolley of possessions. But he's nowhere to be found either.
Who will lead the investigation and cope with the media frenzy? Suave, prize-winning, Oxford-educated DI Ray Wilkins is passed over in favour of his partner, gobby, trailer-park educated DI Ryan Wilkins (no relation). You wouldn't think Ray would be happy. He isn't. You wouldn't think Ryan would be any good at national press presentations. He isn't.
And when legendary cop Chester Lynch takes a shine to Ray - and takes against Ryan - things are only going to get even messier.
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
ISBN: 9781529425895
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 247 g
Dimensions: 196 x 126 x 30 mm
As in all fine novels, it is the voice that grips you: ironic, eloquent, but compassionate. - Nicholas Clee, Bookbrunch
Better than Morse in its bite, pace, urgency and characterisation. - The Critic
Mason has created a gripping case while making his cops so human they leap off the pages. - Peterborough Telegraph
Superb - Sun
Class conflict and police corruption are at the heart of the third novel in this superb series. - Sunday Times (Pick of the Month, Jan 2024)
Class conflicts and police corruption are at the heart of the third novel in this superb series. - The Times (The 10 best crime and mystery books of 2024)
The satisfyingly knotted plot is underpinned by acute psychology - Mail on Sunday
An original and unexpectedly attractive character - Literary Review
My favourite UK series. - M W Craven
Simon Mason's Ray Wilkins crime novels are my latest addiction. I wait impatiently for each one. What are the triple pillars of any great story? Character, Plot and Language. In the twin heroes of his novels (both called Wilkins and so unalike: they somehow create together one immortal police detective) he has created characters for the ages. His plots race thrillingly around an Oxford you never knew existed. His language though ... without exhibiting a trace of "writerly" self-consciousness, he is capable of phrase-making and description of the very highest quality. Those three perfect pillars support truly memorable crime novels, as great a contribution to the noble British genre of detective fiction as any writer for decades. - Stephen Fry
Another winner from this excellent author. I thoroughly enjoyed Simon Mason’s first two novels, set in Oxford and this new one featuring Detectives Ryan and Ray Wilkins ( no relation) is another great read.
Still...
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This is a very good series, set in Oxford and featuring two police officers with the same surname of Wilkins. It's well written, with a twisty piece of plotting and plenty twists. I like the characterisation,... More
A troubled socialite crashes her car and then goes missing. The news is all over the media and the two Wilkinses are brought in to investigate. Ray Wilkins has just won an award and is being headhunted to be the... More
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