Death on the Eleventh Hole

Lambert and Hook #15

by J.M. Gregson

In a busy pub in her local town, Kate Wharton is on edge. Her good looks are attracting all sorts of male attention. But not from the man she has come here to see. He waits in a shadowy corner and laughs when she brings him her news. She wants out. Kate walks out from the pub, away from her dealer boss and a life of pushing drugs and prostitution. But she has also signed her death warrant. Whilst playing his usual round of golf, Sergeant Bert Hook finds an unpleasant surprise at the eleventh hole. The body of Kate Wharton. With her murky past, Kate’s killer will be hard to find. But it seems that it is not just her criminal connections that have a motive for murder. What can Superintendent John Lambert and Sergeant Hook make of the room-mate who never reported her missing or the junkie boyfriend who talks of a big argument, and an even bigger mistake? What of the wealthy golfer Richard Ellacott who spent hundreds in return for Kate’s company? Could their meetings have cost her her life? Back at home, Kate’s mother stands by a new lover with a history of violence. A mother who never asks how her daughter was killed...

Genres: Mystery, Crime

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

James Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare.

Reviews

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Wharton is a drug dealer and a prostitute. She has decided she wants to get out of both trades and start out on a new life. But someone has other ideas and she is found dead near the eleventh whole on a golf course at Ross on Wye shortly after she announces her decision to stop dealing drugs.

Lambert and Hook are presented with plenty of suspects. Her estranged mother shows none of the signs of grief which might be expected of her in the circumstances. Her boy friend is conspicuous by his absence and what about her mother's new partner? Then there are her regular clients in both her occupations. Lambert and Hook fear that this may be a contract killing in which case they may never find the culprit.

Many of their suspects seem to be hiding something which may or may not be connected to the death of this young woman. Several people may have had cause to wish her dead. Delving into her life and her finances provides Lambert and Hook with plenty of things which need investigating and which may lead to her killer.

This is a well plotted crime story with an evocative picture of the drugs trade and the misery it causes. Hook is still struggling with his golf swing and wishing he'd never started the game. Lambert is contemplating imminent retirement. If you like your crime stories with little on the page violence then this may be the book and the series for you. Though the book is part of a series it can be read as a standalone novel as can the rest of the series.

[Wilbur Hundley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting mystery

Death on the Eleventh Hole is another exciting Lambert and Hook mystery. It has the appropriate twists and turns and leaves the reader guessing to the end. A great read.

[Lyle Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it kept bogging down with one character, and then there were multiple suspects with a quick-fire wind-up. I'm not sure how the suspect was found out, but in the end, I doubt I would read another one from this author.

There is good writing and great characters, however, more work on building the plot would be appreciated.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman gets out of the drug trade then is found dead by the eleventh hole at a golf course by Lambert & Hook. There seem to be a lot of suspects. Can they figure out who did it?

Good writing and good procedural.

[Brian Keane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot and the two main characters go well together. But could lose the golfing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The body of drug dealer and prostitute is discovered by Sergeant Hook in a ditch on the Ross-on-Wye golf course. Superintendent John Lambert and his team investigate.
An enjoyable story