Headcase

Chris Honeysett #1

by Peter Helton

In the picturesque and artistic streets in Bath, things are not what they seem… Chris Honeysett lives an enjoyable life as a painter, supplemented by his work as a gourmet cook. However, he also runs an amateur investigative company on the side, taking small cases where he can. The work of his investigative company, Aqua, is also shared by his housemate Annis Jordan, another artist, and Tim, a whizz on the computer. Generally, it’s the usual sort of case; one spouse thinks the other is having an affair, however now some art has gone missing and Chris has been charged with finding it. One problem is that the client insists on not making it public or getting the police involved. Art thieves should be shot. Which is why Chris Honeysett very nearly doesn’t take the case. The police have much better resources for tracking stolen works of art, but his classic Citroen is due for an overhaul and the price of sea bass is going up… Someone else, who has become known as “Dr Atkins” has also been kidnapping overweight women and starving them to death. When Chris stumbles across the second victim, still alive he vows to find this sick individual. Things change for the worse when an old friend is brutally murdered and Chris finds himself high on a shortlist of suspects… Although Chris would much rather everyone just leave him alone to enjoy the long, hot days in his property, Mill House, he now has every intention of solving the case, clearing his name and finding out what happened to his dear old friend. Murder seems grotesque set against the genteel facade of Bath, but Chris knows from bitter experience that there is more bubbling under the surface of this beautiful city than hot springs. Amateur sleuth or not, he is determined to solve the case… ”Art imitates life imitating art in this appealing mystery debut” - Publisher’s Weekly Peter Helton was born in Germany in 1957. When he grew up, he moved first to Greece, and then to the UK, where he worked as a translator for film and TV. Earning A Levels at Bath Tech, and a humanities degree at Bristol poly, he completed his education with a foundation course in art and design and a fine art degree at UWE, Bristol. He had several shows, including a one man show, and was for years represented by Anthony Hepworth Fine Art. Headcase is his first novel.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2005

About the author

PETER HELTON was born in Germany but moved to London in 1982 where he worked as a translator for film and TV before discovering the attractions of the West Country.

He completed a Fine Arts Degree at UWE and has exhibited in London, Cornwall and Bath. At present he divides his time between his painting studio and writing in the study of a minute cottage near Bath in the company of his cat, Asbo.

Series:
* Chris Honeysett
* Inspector Liam McLusky

Reviews

[Cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mentioned on stopyourekillingme.com in the "What we're reading" column, this is the first of three (so far, I hope) mysteries built around an artist/detective based near Bath, England. Witty in the "oh-that was a funny line" style-it doesn't ever beat you over the head or preen, just waits for the reader to notice and chuckle. Slightly over-involved mystery, but it all comes untangled in the end with the deux ex machina so often found in mysteries-the unexpected visitor.

[LeeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of three (so far) mysteries featuring Bath artist/PI Chris Honeysett and his pals Annis and Tim. This one begins with Chris being called on to recover some stolen art. Along the way, Chris's friend Jenny, cook and caretaker at a halfway home, is murdered. With these two "mysteries" on his plate, Chris suffers numerous broken bones and concussions all while picking up a nasty smoking habit and drinking enough Stella to pickle the livers of an entire football team. This book has a lot going for it, primarily the fact that it is so smart and witty but I had to downgrade it a bit for being altogether too long and clunky. The primary mystery is solved in 200 pages leaving us an additional 50 odd pages to sort out the secondary mystery. The author also writes long, rambling, stream of consciousness paragraphs that run to a page and a half with alarming frequency. Fortunately, Mr. Helton can write. Unfortunately, this sort of writing does not really belong in what amounts to a modern day parlor drama. While this book won't be for everyone, if you don't mind slogging through the brain of a witty and beer addled artist for pages on end, the outcome is actually worth the effort.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I certainly didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. “Headcase” is the first book in a series by Peter Helton featuring a number of quirky characters such as Chris Honeysett who is the detective and painter, and Tim, his sidekick who has some very interesting skills when it comes to breaking into anything that is locked.

Plot summary: “Art thieves should be shot. Which is why Chris Honeysett, painter, gourmet cook and amateur sleuth, very nearly doesn't take the case. But his classic Citroen us due for an overhaul, part of his home and studio are falling down, and the price of sea bass is going up relentlessly. And something about the stolen paintings does smell decidedly fishy..."

Lots of humour in this book but not so much that it leans too far from being a great mystery/murder. Good pace, well written….great fun to read…so I’ll be reading the next one in this series very soon.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The proof-reading and formatting are pretty dire all-in-all, but this is an Endeavour Press publication so I should have been forewarned.
The writing is lovely - well, not ‘lovely’, but it packs a punch and says a lot in a few words. This is a crime story after all.

So Jenny was around somewhere. I found her in the sitting room. I briefly threw up on to the carpet. Not much, just a short heaving, a little liquid spilled out and then it stopped. Everything stopped, apart from a curious racing in my lungs and a tingling in my arms.

A nicely complex story with intriguing characters and engaging enough to make me tolerate the typos and poor editing. Shame on the publishers for letting this go out without even the most cursory proof-read!

I will definitely look for more by this author.

[Linda Burns · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read a few pages and couldn't keep track due to the way the writing jumped from one scenario to another without either a gap in the paragraphs or written explanation (e.g. one minute Chris was having lunch with Jenny then the next paragraph jumped to trying to get hold of Simon ) It was very confusing

[Earlece · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lovely town of Bath is a great setting, but, outside some street names, the book could have been set anywhere. I really liked that the PI and crew were working on multiple cases at once. The book seemed a bit chopped up, possibly because the Kindle edition is so disjointed.
I will give the next book in series a try.

[Betty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed that I don't like this book because it's set in the city of Bath and I love everything about that area. Hoped I was into a great series. But this was just a little too wild of a ride for me. Might be fine for others.

[Janey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and engaging. A man who earns his living by being a private investigator, a gourmet cook and an artist, and who lives in a rural valley near Bath. Just had to be good - and it was.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting murder mystery.

[krlittleton · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
Just went on and on and on. Too many plot lines, every character was annoying and main character was obnoxious. The author thinks he's very clever, and he's just kinda crass. Blech.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all, this was an enjoyable read, with some novel takes on various anti-stereotypical characters and much witty dialogue, only slightly obstructed by possibly one too many plots lines. Published around 2005, it naturally shows a bit of a beard around the 'hi-tech' use but that has to be forgiven for the very nature of that ridiculously accelerating world and how it affects all of us. Thanks be for the convenient and ever useful talents of a good old fashioned expert lock picker then.

Helton's lead character Chris Honeysett however consistently displays little talent or skill in basic detection beyond the odd voice imitation over the phone trick. Kinda lame I felt. Throughout "Headcase" Honeysett gets battered, beaten, concussed and stabbed yet staggers along making sillier decisions as he goes. My yelling at the book didn't seem to help him either. Frustrating and annoying. Especially when he ignores the monstrously serious concussion he receives and tries to tough it out only to get into more difficulties. Well DUH!

And when this selfsame 'hero' repeatedly demonstrates an astounding lack of speculation and basic foresight I have to wonder why in God's name did he ever think he could add private dick to his income stream model? Without spoiling the plot, for an example I found his inability to secure the scene for a confrontation with the evil one, as incredibly stupid...concluding he deserved the consequences. Clearly this man has never had to defend himself in a classroom of 16 year olds and so wouldn't survive even that for 10 minutes.

Fortunately for our hero, the team around him comes across as far better at working the cases with more smarts, intelligent insight and originality that Honeysett ever displays. So there is usually someone to save his butt. A bit tiresome though.

On the other hand, he's a dab hand with fish and owns a studio locale I'd sell my granny for. So maybe I'll check out the other titles. But it would be nice if Helton allowed his lead to use some sense half as much as he downs the PUs.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the the mysteries, the characters, the pace and the setting. Chris Honeysett is interesting and amusing although he is found too often at time of crises incapacitated by drink and this gets tiresome. Getting drunk most every night doesn't say much for Honeysett's judgement in the long run. The fact that all his companions are usually in the same shape detracts from the story.

Over all I liked it enough to give the series another try.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art thieves, forgers, Honeysett hired by insurance company to find the missing art. Honeysett enlists his friends who conduct some illegal measures to get to the bottom of this theft. Murder happens along the way.

[Joy]

Great title!

[MaryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author! His main character's sense of humor, along with the antics of his clients, co-workers and crooks, make these a fun read without being too silly.

[Jenine]

Had to stop when the chief inspector asks our private investigator, "Whose side are you on?!" Oy.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the mysteries that keep me guessing and have twists that are plausible.