Payback: A Mystery

by Alan Dunn

It is early February and security consultant, ex-cop and some-time detective Billy Oliphant is suffering from more than just winter blues. His girlfriend is on a year's sabbatical in North America. His ex-wife is on honeymoon with her new husband - and Billy's left babysitting his 16-year-old daughter. Billy's friend, Sly, thinks that a free luxury weekend at the Forestcrag Moorland Holiday Village will be just the thing to cheer Billy up. But, having battled the worsening weather to get to Forestcrag, they discover that things are far from idyllic. David Morland, the manager of the park, believes someone is poisoning his staff. And though Billy is reluctant to get involved, he soon has little choice when the Village is snowed in and the body of Eric Salkeld, the Payroll Manager, is discovered.It looks like a straightforward suicide. There's even a note, left on a computer disk, containing Salkeld's confession of embezzlement. Left nominally in charge of the investigation by police unable to get to the crime scene, Billy can't help but feel that the suicide looks a little too perfectly staged. Amongst the guests trapped at the Village, there could be a killer. And, if the police are right about the recently escaped prisoner --- a man Billy put behind bars --- is heading for Forestcrag, perhaps more than one...

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 9, 2013

Reviews

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've only just now started to delve into the mystery genre. From what I can tell, this was a pretty good book, and it held my interest. But it could be slow at times. And it always disappoints me when the ending isn't as great as the building up to it.

[JenniferB]

Good suspense but bit hardbitten in parts. Plot quite good.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, although it was a bit slow moving at times. In my opinion, anyway.
An isolated country club, a sudden death that may or may not have been murder.
The shooting of a young girl, in a case of mistaken identity.
An escaped prisoner, out for revenge.
These strands are all pulled together towards the end. Surprisingly satisfying. Just as I was thinking “what happened to the prisoner”, BAM! There it was - A fantastic and surprising ending.
The wonderful description of the bitter cold, the howling wind, the ice and snow made me almost feel I was there, living it!

[Katie Grainger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, I have never read a story where the Payroll Manager is murdered! I thought that was a brilliant concept. Unfortunately I just found it really hard to get into the story and struggled. I wanted it to be more exciting than it was, although it was well written it just wasn't the book for me.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable detective novel told with a hint of wry British humour, replete with twists and surprises that make it the more enjoyable. The plot fulfills the promise of the book's title in an enjoyable way. Well written, clever, enjoyable.