Backlash

Monika Paniatowski #4

by Sally Spencer

The fourth book in the acclaimed new series featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski - DCI Monika Paniatowski has a bitter personal history with Chief Superintendent Kershaw, but that is not the only reason she doesn’t want the investigation into the sudden disappearance of his wife, Elaine, landing on her desk. A young prostitute, Grace Meade, has also disappeared, and yet all resources are being channelled into Elaine’s case alone. Monika determines to spend time finding Grace, but when a heavily mutilated body is discovered on the moors, it begins to look as if she has made the wrong decision.

 

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Procedural

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

A pseudonym used by Alan Rustage.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).

Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.

He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.

His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.

He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.

His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.

Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.

Reviews

[Barbara]

Monika is a flawed and therefore very real character to admire and like, even grow to love in this series. She sometimes lets her pain, her past hurts, her emotions get in the way - don't we all at times. But she never varies from doing the best she can at her job, a chief inspector in one of the British countryside areas. Her faults, however, make her take missteps and errors in judgement along the way, but she seems to try to find the right path as soon as she gets over what may be interfering.

This series can be very dark at times and disturbing; but not so much so that it disturbs me greatly or turns me off. It just seem to slap me across the face (relatively gently, but a wake up none the less) and remind me that life isn't so nice and kind as I like to delude myself that it is when I read.

Mixed feelings that I'm near the end of this series; at least for now. Dark enough to have some relief, but so good, I don't want it to end.

[Marilyn]

Sally Spencer (aka Alan Rutledge) is published by Severn House, a firm that houses several of my favorite British authors. I have followed the Sally Spencer series for some time thanks to my library that does a wonderful job of buying British mysteries. This is the fourth Monica Paniatowksi novel after she follows Chief Inspector Woodend, a gnarly difficult officer who always got his man while annoying everyone in the department. These mysteries are always quirky and often dark -- strong women who are fighting the old boy system and mostly winning. A good read.

[Barbara Bothwell]

A hard-to-put-down story. Loved it.

DCI Monika Paniatowski is puzzled by the apparent kidnap of the wife of Chief Superintendent Kershaw - her one time boss.

Then a young prostitute disappears and Monika feels that the young girl is being sidelined. Even when her body is discovered Monika feels she is the only one who cares. And, of course, are the two crimes connected?

Then Mrs. Kershaw's body is discovered. Yes, Monika decides they are connected. But why?

Spencer keeps us in suspense until the end and it is a surprise.

Don't you dare read the end first!

[M. O'Gannon]

Backlash – A DCI Monika Paniatowski Mystery #4 – Published 2011 - ***1/2 rounded to 4 - DCI Monika Paniatowski investigates the disappearance of Chief Superintendent Kershaw’s wife. This is a difficult task to do with objectivity due to past history between Monika and Kershaw. A second abduction ties in with the first and there is a good deal of detective work to discover the perpetrator. The plot is interesting with sufficient twists and red herrings to keep the reader interested and turning pages. Monika is not the most loveable protagonist, but she is an excellent bulldog of a detective. I was never too invested in any of the characters and that was a drawback to the book. Another negative was the little personal side histories that were dumped into the story and didn’t blend well leaving a jerky feeling to the flow. Still, it was a good detective read, and I will add more Spencer books to my reading list.

[Violet]

This is the first I have read by this author. I like it. DCI Monika Paniatowski proves that women can do the job of policing as well as the men. The plot is good with glimpses into the kinky sex world and we really don't know what happened to the Chief Superintendent's wife until the very end. I will read more of this author.

[Catherine Woodman]

This is a short book, pretty enjoyable, with a memorable and likable (for me) main character. In this one 2 people disappear, one a prostitute and the other a chief inspector's wife. There are elements of S&M in this, which is not a favorite topic for me, but it was definitely an ok book, will read another in the future.

[Tasula]

Excellent police procedural series. This book reaches back a bit into Inspector Paniatowski's history with Supt. Tom Kershaw, whose wife has just gone missing. Then another woman is reported missing. Good characters, interesting mystery, what's not to like?

Except I wondered about the postmortem results, why they didn't reveal something that Paniatowski figured out near the end.

[Wendy Hearder-moan]

I read through this very quickly to find out what was going to happen. Along the way there were some good lines, but looking back on the whole, there were too many implausible scenes to make it work for me.

[Robert Jackson]

This was a well written book. The plot was clever and held my interest throughout. Each of the main characters were developed in a Scandinavian style - with strengths but enough flaws to make them very real.

I will look out for any books by this author!

[Lyana Margareth]

3.6 is the right score.

[Mrs Mary Curd]

Monika is good as usual

[Julie]

Not the best one

The murderer was who I expected, but good story anyway. Lots of Paniatowski ruminating over the life she might have had, and conflict with Beresford.

[Wendy Biden]

good

These are good stories, with good twists and turns but very badly written. I think this author needs a better proof reader.

[Marie Shirley Griffin]

Excellent

I like this series, but it's not for the faint of heart. Things are described just like it happened in real life. Don't recommend this as "before bed" reading.

[Georgia]

Couldn't put it down.

[William]

Backlash
great book with well developed characters and attention to detail. I would recommend this book and series to all mystery readers. I enjoyed the UK setting. 2012

[Jan]

I love this series! Classic short novel format police procedural that never fails to satisfy!

[Monica]

Short and sweet, a fast moving plot about the death of two women...and the power play of the police. More into the past of Monika and others on her team. A solid book in the series.

[Marcia]

A little too kinky for me.

[wendi wigham]

The red shoes

Deception runs throughout this story. Nothing and no one are as they seem. When one layer is revealed another obscures the vision of the truth.
Everyone is influenced by past experiences or lack of them, and that is how the characters relate to each other. Each little corner of the curtain is raised to give a little hint of what is to come, the more revealed makes the finale so perfect.
A thoroughly good read, can't wait for the next one.

[kenneth Fowler]

An enjoyable read, well thought out and delivered in a way that kept us guessing till the last few pages . A great detective story in capable hands with believable characters in imaginable situations definitely worth your time to investigate further

[Louise Armstrong]

There was a library ticket over the publisher, so I didn't notice that it was Severn House. I never like their fiction. This one has a little bit of kinky sex thrown it, to make you feel you were doing something naughty, but overall there was the whiff of cardigans and boredom despite the prostitutes. I also thought the end was roaring cliche.

What was brilliant was Spencer's portrayal of a bore. I adored Nathan Jones. Here he is, finding a body.

"...I realized immediately, you see, that you needed to be informed as soon as possible, and, as chance would have it, just at the moment, a car appeared in the distance and I was able to flag it down. The driver, who you'll no doubt want to talk to, works for a company which manufactures surgical boots and..."

1. There's the self importance: I realized immediately...I was able to flag it down...
2. There's the long-windedness and all the empty phrases: you see, as soon as possible, as chance would have it, just at that moment
3. There's telling other people their business: the driver, who you'll no doubt want to talk to
4. There's the addition of useless extra information: a car appeared, in the distance, works for a company which manufacturers surgical boots.

It's really hard to write good dialogue, but that was brilliant.

[diana hart]

Backlash

Backlash by Sally Spencer is an excellent story , well worth reading, one you will not want to put down

[Lynn]

I really hated this book. I thought the plot was weak and the gore was over the top. I don't like the detective, although I do like her supporting cast, but she's just too self-destructive to be successful. It's so unlikely, given the misogyny of the squad that she would have gotten where she is with her history of sleeping with then being openly hostile to her superiors.
I won't read another one of these.

[Marilyn Shea]

I liked it and am seeking out books in this series that go chronologically in order.

I have to add that I was interested in this series because I thought it was written by a woman. Now that I know Alan Rustage actually wrote these books, my paradigm has changed. I'm still interested but not in the same way.

[Jean]

All the books in this series are great if you like British mysteries

[Raine]

Wow .......

[Mary Curd]

Not the ending I expected, very gripping.

[Dorothy Sharp]

A mystery with a difference

Monikas' character is credible and so likeable. The twists and turns in the books keep you hooked until the very end....looking forward to the next!