What do you think?
Rate this book
DI Handford #5
Twisted Tracks
Prepare to face the horrors behind closed doors in the new Inspector Handford mystery.DCI John Handford and DI Khalid Ali are two of the most experienced - and best - investigators on the force. But nothing stays the same for ever, and promotion has split the team and put them on separate cases.Handford is tracking a young woman who vanished without trace, while Ali investigates the murder of a pensioner. But the stories of these two women, generations apart, look set to converge in gruesome fashion.As Handford and Ali's paths cross once more, they must investigate spurned lovers, feuding families, conmen and the ghosts of the past to unpick the motivations behind the rising body count before it's too late...
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Lesley Horton
10 books5 followersLesley Horton (1939-November 2018), was a British novelist and author of a series of crime novels featuring Bradford based Detective Inspector John Handford. Horton is a former schoolteacher who took early retirement in order to begin a career as a writer. She is also a past chair of the Crime Writers' Association.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 1, 2012
‘Twisted Tracks’ by Lesley Horton
Published by Orion, December 2008. ISBN: 978-0-7528-9060-9
DCI John Handford is investigating the disappearance of Bronwyn Price. Her stepfather David Younger is the prime suspect, but to date the police have not found a body, and have no concrete evidence against him.
John Handford is not a happy man; his investigation isn’t making progress, his wife Gill is still in the USA teaching, and his mother has kindly stepped in to take care of the house and children whilst Gill is away – a mixed blessing. The only upside is the excellent meals he is getting – nothing like a mother’s cooking. But adding to his misery is the re-investigation of an old case. Advances in forensic technology have resulted in the re-opening of past cases, one of these being the alleged rape of Josie Renshaw, who committed suicide thirty years ago. DCI John Handford was seventeen at the time and his brother Douglas asked him to give him an alibi, which John did. Now that action comes back to haunt him when the rape case is re-opened.
When Christine Blakely reports to the police that her husband Tom is missing, the matter is not taken too seriously for her husband, an ex-policeman, is a known womaniser and has frequently gone AWOL when pursuing a new love. Christine tells John Handford this time it’s different, but she doesn’t mention that someone is watching the house.
There are many threads in this story, each one fascinating and portraying the fallibility of human nature – how the best of people can be drawn into doing the wrong thing.
The story is told from multiple points of view that of DCI John Handford, Douglas Handford, Christine Blakely and David Younger. It’s a story that communicates the complexity of our lives, the deeper mess we can get into when we try to extricate ourselves from a mess, and above all the fallibility of the human being.
Highly recommended. I couldn’t put it down.
-------
Lizzie Hayes
Published by Orion, December 2008. ISBN: 978-0-7528-9060-9
DCI John Handford is investigating the disappearance of Bronwyn Price. Her stepfather David Younger is the prime suspect, but to date the police have not found a body, and have no concrete evidence against him.
John Handford is not a happy man; his investigation isn’t making progress, his wife Gill is still in the USA teaching, and his mother has kindly stepped in to take care of the house and children whilst Gill is away – a mixed blessing. The only upside is the excellent meals he is getting – nothing like a mother’s cooking. But adding to his misery is the re-investigation of an old case. Advances in forensic technology have resulted in the re-opening of past cases, one of these being the alleged rape of Josie Renshaw, who committed suicide thirty years ago. DCI John Handford was seventeen at the time and his brother Douglas asked him to give him an alibi, which John did. Now that action comes back to haunt him when the rape case is re-opened.
When Christine Blakely reports to the police that her husband Tom is missing, the matter is not taken too seriously for her husband, an ex-policeman, is a known womaniser and has frequently gone AWOL when pursuing a new love. Christine tells John Handford this time it’s different, but she doesn’t mention that someone is watching the house.
There are many threads in this story, each one fascinating and portraying the fallibility of human nature – how the best of people can be drawn into doing the wrong thing.
The story is told from multiple points of view that of DCI John Handford, Douglas Handford, Christine Blakely and David Younger. It’s a story that communicates the complexity of our lives, the deeper mess we can get into when we try to extricate ourselves from a mess, and above all the fallibility of the human being.
Highly recommended. I couldn’t put it down.
-------
Lizzie Hayes
July 2, 2011
First Line: If anyone had asked her, she could have explained why she wasn't afraid.
After several years on the job, John Handford and Khalid Ali have turned into two of the best investigators on the force. But nothing remains the same. Both men have been promoted, and the new Detective Chief Inspector Handford and Detective Inspector Ali are working on separate cases. Although Handford is more than happy with his new boss, he feels untethered because his wife has accepted a teaching position in the United States, and he very much misses having her loving and level-headed presence in his life.
Handford is trying to find a young woman who's vanished without a trace, and Ali is tracking the killer of a 96-year old woman who was murdered in her own home. The two cases seem to have nothing in common, but the more the two men dig, the more the investigations seem to converge. Philandering husbands, insurance scams, an ex-con set on revenge... Horton's plotting is diabolical, and the only person who can deal with it is the multi-layered character of DCI John Handford.
It's not necessary to read the other books in this series before opening this book, but with such excellent plotting and characterization, I'd hate to see you deny yourself the pleasure of reading the entire series. It's one of my favorites.
After several years on the job, John Handford and Khalid Ali have turned into two of the best investigators on the force. But nothing remains the same. Both men have been promoted, and the new Detective Chief Inspector Handford and Detective Inspector Ali are working on separate cases. Although Handford is more than happy with his new boss, he feels untethered because his wife has accepted a teaching position in the United States, and he very much misses having her loving and level-headed presence in his life.
Handford is trying to find a young woman who's vanished without a trace, and Ali is tracking the killer of a 96-year old woman who was murdered in her own home. The two cases seem to have nothing in common, but the more the two men dig, the more the investigations seem to converge. Philandering husbands, insurance scams, an ex-con set on revenge... Horton's plotting is diabolical, and the only person who can deal with it is the multi-layered character of DCI John Handford.
It's not necessary to read the other books in this series before opening this book, but with such excellent plotting and characterization, I'd hate to see you deny yourself the pleasure of reading the entire series. It's one of my favorites.
November 30, 2012
I enjoyed this book. It takes place in Yorkshire and involves an unlikely pair of investigators: John Handford and Khalid Ali, who have created one of the best investigative teams on the force. But nothing remains the same. In this novel, Both men have been promoted, and the new Detective Chief Inspector Handford and Detective Inspector Ali are working on separate cases.
Handford is trying to find a young woman who's vanished without a trace, and Ali is tracking the killer of a 96-year old woman who was murdered in her own home. The two cases seem to have nothing in common, but the more the two men dig, the more the investigations seem to converge.
I enjoyed this book and I also enjoyed the setting that features many familiar landmarks from other Yorkshire detective series.
Handford is trying to find a young woman who's vanished without a trace, and Ali is tracking the killer of a 96-year old woman who was murdered in her own home. The two cases seem to have nothing in common, but the more the two men dig, the more the investigations seem to converge.
I enjoyed this book and I also enjoyed the setting that features many familiar landmarks from other Yorkshire detective series.
December 23, 2013
Two people disappear, a convict escapes from prison, a pensioner is murdered and a police inspector has to determine how all the cases are linked.
The start of this book is slow / confusing with too many different stories being introduced. The characters are good and the writing is reasonable. There are a couple of plot points which don’t make any sense but overall a reasonable crime thriller.
The start of this book is slow / confusing with too many different stories being introduced. The characters are good and the writing is reasonable. There are a couple of plot points which don’t make any sense but overall a reasonable crime thriller.
April 13, 2013
Well I only rate it a 2.5 and that is because I finished it.
It wasn't bad but just not interesting enough.
I was selecting my next book before I had finished.
Very put-downable
It wasn't bad but just not interesting enough.
I was selecting my next book before I had finished.
Very put-downable
February 2, 2015
Read this in one sitting. I will be looking out for the previous titles. It seems as if there are no more after this one, wonder why.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews