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Keith Calder #6
Cousin Once Removed
Keith Calder is puzzled by the unusual attention given to his vintage gun collection when he receives a strange, unsolicited offer from a politician and a mysterious assailant attempts to murder him
- GenresMystery
Hardcover
First published October 1, 1988
19 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Hammond
101 books20 followersGerald Hammond, (Gerald Arthur Douglas Hammond) son of Frederick Arthur Lucas (a physician) and Maria Birnie (a nursing sister) Hammond; married Gilda Isobel Watt (a nurse), August 20, 1952; children: Peter, David, Steven. Education: Aberdeen School of Architecture, Dip. Arch., 1952. He served in the British Army, 1944-45. Although born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, he worked in and retired to the country he most loved, Scotland.
He also writes under the names of Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden. He was an architect for thirty years before retiring to write novels full-time in 1982. He has written over 50 novels since the late 1960s.
His novels center around guns, shooting, hunting, fishing, and dog training.
He also writes under the names of Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden. He was an architect for thirty years before retiring to write novels full-time in 1982. He has written over 50 novels since the late 1960s.
His novels center around guns, shooting, hunting, fishing, and dog training.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2019
Why did someone try to kill Keith?
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: June 21, 2018
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Language: English
ASIN: B07DXL4GVS
156 pages
Number six in the Keith Calder series is the mystery of who tried to kill Keith and why. This is closely entwined with the mystery of a cased pair of duelers found in strange circumstances. But are people solely after the duelers or is something else hidden among the antique guns which Keith and Molly bought in France? As usual, a number of interesting, unusual and just plain quirky characters including dogs populate the pages of the novel.
Mr. Hammond finds places in his story to express his strong, and generally spot-on, views concerning conservation and hunting. How about this observation from Keith Calder:
"These idealists mean well, but they’ve been brain-washed by Walt Disney. They think that you’ve only got to give the cuddly bunnies somewhere safe where nasty people can’t get at them and they’ll live happily ever after. What usually happens, just as it has at Foleyhill, is that the place gets taken over by vermin, especially by those that prey on other creatures’ eggs or young. When they’ve cleaned out their own patch they go raiding over the boundary."
I downloaded this book through Kindle Unlimited.
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: June 21, 2018
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Language: English
ASIN: B07DXL4GVS
156 pages
Number six in the Keith Calder series is the mystery of who tried to kill Keith and why. This is closely entwined with the mystery of a cased pair of duelers found in strange circumstances. But are people solely after the duelers or is something else hidden among the antique guns which Keith and Molly bought in France? As usual, a number of interesting, unusual and just plain quirky characters including dogs populate the pages of the novel.
Mr. Hammond finds places in his story to express his strong, and generally spot-on, views concerning conservation and hunting. How about this observation from Keith Calder:
"These idealists mean well, but they’ve been brain-washed by Walt Disney. They think that you’ve only got to give the cuddly bunnies somewhere safe where nasty people can’t get at them and they’ll live happily ever after. What usually happens, just as it has at Foleyhill, is that the place gets taken over by vermin, especially by those that prey on other creatures’ eggs or young. When they’ve cleaned out their own patch they go raiding over the boundary."
I downloaded this book through Kindle Unlimited.
January 4, 2026
I'm re-reading this series for at least the 3rd time, this time on the kindle. Spoilers ahead.
This is a character and setting based series. I won't explain the characters as this series should be read from the beginning. Calder has gone on a French vacation cum gun buying trip. He picks up a few antique pieces here and there plus a Scottish hitchhiker. However his car is also robbed, or picked over twice on the way back.
One day, he is asked to check out Foleyhill, a small nature "reserve" that is run by student nature activists who really have no idea what they're doing. In this series we do get a bit of proselyting on how game shooters do a better job on preserving natural ecology than those who let the land and animals run wild. And while he's doing that to the student who's showing him around he gets shot by a crossbow bolt in the shoulder and is gravely wounded.
The long and short of the plot is that an impoverished landowner/politician and a distant cousin of theirs both want to get their hands on Calder's French acquisitions, the politician to stave off some long ago impropriety and cash and the cousin for cash.
Once again, the author has a good idea and tries to build the whole book around it. The idea was that the French guns included a pair of ancient dueling pistols that was used to cheat someone of a legacy several generations ago, but the plotting of the book just didn't do it for me.
This is a character and setting based series. I won't explain the characters as this series should be read from the beginning. Calder has gone on a French vacation cum gun buying trip. He picks up a few antique pieces here and there plus a Scottish hitchhiker. However his car is also robbed, or picked over twice on the way back.
One day, he is asked to check out Foleyhill, a small nature "reserve" that is run by student nature activists who really have no idea what they're doing. In this series we do get a bit of proselyting on how game shooters do a better job on preserving natural ecology than those who let the land and animals run wild. And while he's doing that to the student who's showing him around he gets shot by a crossbow bolt in the shoulder and is gravely wounded.
The long and short of the plot is that an impoverished landowner/politician and a distant cousin of theirs both want to get their hands on Calder's French acquisitions, the politician to stave off some long ago impropriety and cash and the cousin for cash.
Once again, the author has a good idea and tries to build the whole book around it. The idea was that the French guns included a pair of ancient dueling pistols that was used to cheat someone of a legacy several generations ago, but the plotting of the book just didn't do it for me.
March 25, 2021
A suitable ending
I am enjoying the books in the Keith Calder series. This is another interesting tale about fictional guns and some very unlikable people. A good read
I am enjoying the books in the Keith Calder series. This is another interesting tale about fictional guns and some very unlikable people. A good read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews