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Reid Bennett #3
Live Bait
Reid Bennett hits the mean streets of Toronto again. Because of his expertise, he (and his German shepherd, Sam, of course) is asked to bring in the vermin that has been bludgeoning nighttime security guards. And he makes the collar as advertised. So the police department asks him to stay on the case and find out who has been ordering these beatings. Reid¿s got to get down to business and sift through the long list of suspects. But he gets a little too involved ¿ the culprits start looking for him, or at least he thinks they are. Reid must get to the bottom this case quickly, before he becomes the next victim.
- GenresMystery
188 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 1979
7 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Ted Wood
36 books23 followersBorn Edward John Wood in Shoreham, Sussex, England, he lived in London until the outbreak of the Second World War. Enforced relocation to rural Worcestershire, which left him with a lifelong love of the countryside, was followed by service in RAF Coastal Command. In 1954 he immigrated to Canada, where he was a policeman in Toronto for three years. In 1957 he joined MacLaren Advertising as a copywriter, eventually becoming a creative director. He now lives in Whitby, Ontario.
While employment in law enforcement and advertising provided food and shelter for his growing family, Wood found time to write and sell short stories to Canadian and American magazines and to write television plays; he also collaborated on the musical comedy Mister Scrooge, which was produced in Toronto and on cbc television. In 1974 he published a collection of Chekhovian short stories, Somebody Else's Summer.
His Dead in the Water (1984) won the Scribner's Crime Novel Award, and publication in the USA and Canada. The book featured a small-town policeman, Reid Bennett, and his dog Sam—the entire law enforcement needs of Murphy's Harbour, a fictional resort community in the Muskoka region of Ontario. Bennett's and Sam's popularity was enough to extend the series though Murder on Ice (1984) to its current tenth title, A Clean Kill (1995), and to have the books also published in England and in many translations. A second series featuring a peripatetic Toronto-based bodyguard, John Locke, has thus far extended to three titles: Hammerlocke (1986), Lockestep (1987) and Timelocke (1991).
Source: Ted Wood Biography - (b. 1931), Mister Scrooge, Somebody else's summer, Dead in the water
Librarian Note: The John Locke series is published under the pseudonym Jack Barnao.
While employment in law enforcement and advertising provided food and shelter for his growing family, Wood found time to write and sell short stories to Canadian and American magazines and to write television plays; he also collaborated on the musical comedy Mister Scrooge, which was produced in Toronto and on cbc television. In 1974 he published a collection of Chekhovian short stories, Somebody Else's Summer.
His Dead in the Water (1984) won the Scribner's Crime Novel Award, and publication in the USA and Canada. The book featured a small-town policeman, Reid Bennett, and his dog Sam—the entire law enforcement needs of Murphy's Harbour, a fictional resort community in the Muskoka region of Ontario. Bennett's and Sam's popularity was enough to extend the series though Murder on Ice (1984) to its current tenth title, A Clean Kill (1995), and to have the books also published in England and in many translations. A second series featuring a peripatetic Toronto-based bodyguard, John Locke, has thus far extended to three titles: Hammerlocke (1986), Lockestep (1987) and Timelocke (1991).
Source: Ted Wood Biography - (b. 1931), Mister Scrooge, Somebody else's summer, Dead in the water
Librarian Note: The John Locke series is published under the pseudonym Jack Barnao.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 28, 2022
A wonderful regional small town Canadian series, well written.
November 19, 2018
As Live Bait by Ted Wood begins, the summer tourist rush in Murphy’s Harbor is over and Chief Bennett is on vacation. Bennet is a bit bored. Not much is going on for him other than he has to figure out what to with the surplus of tomatoes from his garden. That is until Fullwell pulls up and gets out of his cal.
Fullwell works for Bonded Security and did not making the 200 mile drive up from Toronto on a social call. The company he works for has had some incidents at some of their construction sites during the night hours. The latest incident included a security guard badly beaten who wound up in the hospital. He is going to be okay, but has a long road of healing in front of him.
Something has to be done. Fullwell would have done the normal thing and would have contacted the Toronto Police, but the new VP of Marketing shut that down hard. The VP of Marketing is all worried about the publicity angle. He is the golden child to those in power, so if Fullwell ignored him and went to the police anyway, Fullwell would lose his job in a heartbeat. Since that is not an option, he has convinced the VP they could use Bennett as bait to see if the goons come by and try the same thing again. Fullwell is sure that Bennett with his skills, ex-military after doing a stint with the Marines in Vietnam and ex Toronto Police officer, can more than hold his own against a couple of thugs.
Bennett is bored and is intrigued. The money would also be pretty good as the amount he would make for a night or two of work down in Toronto is the same as a full week of work back in Murphy’s Harbor. Not to mention the fact he can see his sister and her family while he is in Toronto
He agrees and goes undercover on the job site of the most recent attack. At first, things work exactly as plan. Until they don’t. Once they start heading in the wrong direction, things quickly go downhill. Bennett in danger is one thing and he signed on for that. But, things get very personal as Bennett’s sister and her family is suddenly at risk in a case that involves organized crime from Canada and Asia, enemies on the Toronto Police force, and numerous other characters many of which pose a significant threat.
Third in the series behind Dead in the Water and Murder on Ice, Live Bait is primarily an action-oriented mystery read. There is some further character development regarding Bennett’s past in Vietnam and memories that still haunt him. But, the main focus is on action as he careens from violent incident to violent incident as he attempts to put the pieces together.
This read also comes across as bit dated in spots as “the triads” are explained as if they are new phenomena. Of course, back in the early 80’s they were new to the mainstream audience, though the concept and practices had gone on for centuries. All in all, Live Bait is another very good read in a very good series. While one could read this one without losing very much of the previous two books, it is recommended to read them in order.
Live Bait
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1985
ISBN# 0-684-18330-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
212 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
Fullwell works for Bonded Security and did not making the 200 mile drive up from Toronto on a social call. The company he works for has had some incidents at some of their construction sites during the night hours. The latest incident included a security guard badly beaten who wound up in the hospital. He is going to be okay, but has a long road of healing in front of him.
Something has to be done. Fullwell would have done the normal thing and would have contacted the Toronto Police, but the new VP of Marketing shut that down hard. The VP of Marketing is all worried about the publicity angle. He is the golden child to those in power, so if Fullwell ignored him and went to the police anyway, Fullwell would lose his job in a heartbeat. Since that is not an option, he has convinced the VP they could use Bennett as bait to see if the goons come by and try the same thing again. Fullwell is sure that Bennett with his skills, ex-military after doing a stint with the Marines in Vietnam and ex Toronto Police officer, can more than hold his own against a couple of thugs.
Bennett is bored and is intrigued. The money would also be pretty good as the amount he would make for a night or two of work down in Toronto is the same as a full week of work back in Murphy’s Harbor. Not to mention the fact he can see his sister and her family while he is in Toronto
He agrees and goes undercover on the job site of the most recent attack. At first, things work exactly as plan. Until they don’t. Once they start heading in the wrong direction, things quickly go downhill. Bennett in danger is one thing and he signed on for that. But, things get very personal as Bennett’s sister and her family is suddenly at risk in a case that involves organized crime from Canada and Asia, enemies on the Toronto Police force, and numerous other characters many of which pose a significant threat.
Third in the series behind Dead in the Water and Murder on Ice, Live Bait is primarily an action-oriented mystery read. There is some further character development regarding Bennett’s past in Vietnam and memories that still haunt him. But, the main focus is on action as he careens from violent incident to violent incident as he attempts to put the pieces together.
This read also comes across as bit dated in spots as “the triads” are explained as if they are new phenomena. Of course, back in the early 80’s they were new to the mainstream audience, though the concept and practices had gone on for centuries. All in all, Live Bait is another very good read in a very good series. While one could read this one without losing very much of the previous two books, it is recommended to read them in order.
Live Bait
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1985
ISBN# 0-684-18330-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
212 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
October 4, 2023
The Reid Bennet series in general is a hard boiled, more or less police procedural. This one he lets Bennet off the leash for a private investigation. Sort of. Many of Bennet's ex-coworkers on the Toronto Force are involved.
It's an easy read, although a bit dated in attitudes. The series is set in the mid '80s, and can be a bit macho. Having warned you about that, I will say I find the books a good read.
It's an easy read, although a bit dated in attitudes. The series is set in the mid '80s, and can be a bit macho. Having warned you about that, I will say I find the books a good read.
November 17, 2023
We now find Reid Bennett on the mean streets of Toronto, a town that is changing, and not necessarily for the better. Sam is there too, but this time he is dealing with some very bad men, and the Chinese triads. Reid will be fooled - more than once - but he will have to persevere to prevail. Exceptional mystery. Best with a bottle of Labatt Classic.
July 31, 2015
Great Police Work
Asked to help a friend in Toronto, Reid meets up with a variety of crooks trying to take him off the job. With Sam his faithful dog at his side, they start cleaning up the town.
Asked to help a friend in Toronto, Reid meets up with a variety of crooks trying to take him off the job. With Sam his faithful dog at his side, they start cleaning up the town.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews