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Chief Inspector Woodend #14
Stone Killer
'Spencer continues to display her mastery of the British procedural and this one... is one of her best yet' - Booklist Starred Review
'Spencer expertly balances personal and prfessional angst in this tense, compelling tale' - Kirkus Starred Review
Prove my wife is innocent or the hostages die!
Never before has DCI Woodend had to work under such terrible and terrifying pressure. He has just a few days, at the most, to find a flaw in the weighty evidence which led to Judith Maitland's conviction as a stone-cold killer a few days to produce the real murderer. But what if Judith really is guilty as charged? What if she did, in fact, brutally butcher her lover, Clive Burroughs, in his own office, as the facts seem to suggest?
How can Woodend produce the evidence when there is none to find? As the hostage situation becomes tenser the hostage-takers increasingly nervous; the army itching to intervene at whatever the cost. Woodend realizes that unless he can find an improbable rabbit to pull out of the hat, the only way the siege will end is in carnage!
'Spencer expertly balances personal and prfessional angst in this tense, compelling tale' - Kirkus Starred Review
Prove my wife is innocent or the hostages die!
Never before has DCI Woodend had to work under such terrible and terrifying pressure. He has just a few days, at the most, to find a flaw in the weighty evidence which led to Judith Maitland's conviction as a stone-cold killer a few days to produce the real murderer. But what if Judith really is guilty as charged? What if she did, in fact, brutally butcher her lover, Clive Burroughs, in his own office, as the facts seem to suggest?
How can Woodend produce the evidence when there is none to find? As the hostage situation becomes tenser the hostage-takers increasingly nervous; the army itching to intervene at whatever the cost. Woodend realizes that unless he can find an improbable rabbit to pull out of the hat, the only way the siege will end is in carnage!
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Sally Spencer
80 books152 followersA pseudonym used by Alan Rustage.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 3, 2019
I love the Inspector Woodend series. Irascible and thought to be a bit of a dinosaur, he is great at solving difficult investigations and leading his team of equally talented DI's! Great mysteries and unexpected twist and turns.
June 7, 2019
DCI Charlie Woodend is called to the scene of a bank where there men are holding the customers and employees hostage. The leader has a simple request for Woodend: find the proof that Judith Maitland, who is serving 25 to life for murder, is innocent of her crime. Woodend, and his sergeant, Monika Paniatowski, reluctantly reopen the case only to find there are plenty of suspects who had a reason to do in the man Maitland is accused of having an affair with.
This edition of the Woodend is a quick and enjoyable read. There are several side trips down blind alleys before justice is done, but the journey to the finish is great. This is the first of the Woodend series, set in the early 1960s, I have read, but I have read and liked the later series in which Paniatowski is elevated to chief DCI in the 1970s. I am looking forward to reading more on both series. Highly recommended for all mystery fans.
This edition of the Woodend is a quick and enjoyable read. There are several side trips down blind alleys before justice is done, but the journey to the finish is great. This is the first of the Woodend series, set in the early 1960s, I have read, but I have read and liked the later series in which Paniatowski is elevated to chief DCI in the 1970s. I am looking forward to reading more on both series. Highly recommended for all mystery fans.
October 28, 2021
😞 not up to usual snuff
In this case, I figured out who the villain was. Had a few guesses, then got it right. And, I’m honestly not happy with the trope the author used. It was too easy, and disappointing.
In this case, I figured out who the villain was. Had a few guesses, then got it right. And, I’m honestly not happy with the trope the author used. It was too easy, and disappointing.
August 8, 2021
Capable and engaging, but I'm knocking a star off for the unnecessary viciousness of the ending, which feels unwarranted.
May 19, 2009
This was a nice size book to read, only 217 pages in hardcover, and one I found at the bookmobile. Mystery stories are my favorite genre. This one is set in England, and is the 14th in the series involving Detective Chief Inspector Woodend, who is good at his job.
The husband of a woman in jail for murder holds hostages while the police hurry to find the real murderer before any hostages can be harmed. Naturally, there are some surprises along the way.
The husband of a woman in jail for murder holds hostages while the police hurry to find the real murderer before any hostages can be harmed. Naturally, there are some surprises along the way.
February 21, 2009
This is a pretty average mystery with an interesting little twist. A woman's husband holds hostages in a bank to try and get her proved innocent of murder and released from prison. The characters are enjoyable enough, though not so vividly drawn as my favorites like D.I. Rebus or D.C.I. Alan Banks...
December 4, 2013
A man has taken 20 people hostage in a bank. He calls for DCI Woodend and demands that he prove that his wife, Judith, is not guilty of the murder she is in prison for. DCI Woodend begins to look into the crime and soon finds that the woman is indeed innocent but he needs to find out who did the crime before something happens and innocent people are killed or hurt. A very good read.
June 12, 2009
This book was ok but a little thin in its ending. However, the ending was surprising. Not the best book I've ever read but still an enjoyable enough read.
February 25, 2011
I love British murder mysteries. DCI Woodend and asst. Monika Paniatowski.
March 11, 2023
Oh what a tangled web we weave! Great tale!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews