New Brighton Rock

Inspector Vignoles Mysteries #6

by Stephen Done

Summer 1951. A young boy fishes something sinister out of a river. A ship enters Liverpool carrying a stoker who is not who he claims to be. In the fairground, an odd character looking like a down-at-heel Marlene Dietrich, cranks a barrel organ and sings 'Mack the Knife' in a cracked voice. She sheds a silent tear for her long-dead brother.
D.I.Charles Vignoles and wife Anna are holidaying in the seaside resort of New Brighton, but all is not well in their boarding house. A fellow guest is missing, and soon they are drawn into a steadily-deepening mystery. What does the missing man know about a violent robbery at Bidston station that left a man dead? Did he know too much?
Charles and Anna's quest to discover the truth takes them onto Liverpool's Overhead Railway and across the electrified railway lines of Wirral. But as the sun beats down on sea and sand, there are sinister and violent men moving through the holiday crowds ...

Genres: Crime

268 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Museum curator, Liverpool F.C. fan and writer of Inspector Vignoles mysteries series.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, had me guessing to the end. As it is set on the Wirral, where I live, I found all the local references very interesting.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining detective story, involving a holiday by the seaside, railways, Liverpool docks, a funfair, a beauty contest and stamp collecting. All set in 1951 in Wirral.