A Cold Case

by Peter Turnbull

Introducing Maurice Mundy, retired detective constable at the Met; a maverick who's back and about to raise the temperature on a ten-year-old unsolved murder of a young boy.

Maurice Mundy, recently retired detective constable at the Metropolitan Police, has returned to join Scotland Yard's Cold Case Review Team. Ten years ago a twelve-year-old boy was murdered, his body left floating in a nearby pond. A second look at the case soon reveals that a sex worker was also murdered nearby on the same night.

While nothing linked the two murders at the time, it is one of a number of attacks on sex workers over a twenty-year period that Essex Police are still investigating as part of Operation Moonlight.

Known as a loose cannon who doesn't always play by the rules, Mundy is in danger of ruffling more than a few feathers as he probes deeper into the events of that fateful night. Will his maverick approach lead him to the truth, or will it prove to be a dangerous step too far?

Genres: Mystery

192 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2017

About the author

Peter Turnbull is the author of nineteen previous novels and numerous works of short fiction. He worked for many years as a social worker in Glasgow before returning to his native Yorkshire.

Reviews

[Alex Cantone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ageing detectives Maurice Mundy and Tom Ingram of the Met’s Cold Case Review Team travel to Essex to review evidence in a 10-year-old case of murdered schoolboy Oliver Walwyn, who died of head injuries and whose body was found in a pond off a village green. But while interviewing the boy’s mother and later the investigating officer they learn of a second murder in Essex on the same day, of a prostitute found in a ditch. That murder is part of an ongoing investigation into the deaths of several call girls in the region, and by re-interviewing an eye-witness from the time they glean information on a vehicle seen in the area.

‘It had all stagnated, and what do we do? Me and Tom…we make two home visits and hey presto, we hand them a very likely suspect. But they’re unhappy. What planet are they on?’

Aside from stepping outside their brief of cold cases, the maverick Mundy has reservations about one of his first assignments as a rookie uniformed police officer, the arrest of an intellectually-impaired man for the vicious and bloody murder of an ageing actress who he worked for doing odd jobs. Mundy visits him in prison, where he has served 28 of a 30 year sentence, maintaining his innocence. And as Mundy finds out, someone in the Met doesn’t want him probing…

A Peter Turnbull mystery is always pleasant, like watching “Midsomer Murders” as the various threads weave and unravel. An easy read at less than 200 pages, the language is at times stilted, as if a police officer is reading from his notebook, but the emotions and affections expressed are genuine, and there’s the trivia, which I enjoy.

‘Fletcher’ was an arrow maker in medieval times...the feathers at the rear of an arrow are the arrow’s “fletch”.

[Sally Cartwright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the first Peter Turnbull book I've read and it caught my eye as it was the first in a new series. Whilst the story was good I really didn't like the style of speech that belonged to the main character and which seemed to translate to many of the others too. It was quite repetitive and along with the odd use of underworld slang, I found it really irritating so I won't be continuing with any further exploits of Maurice Mundy.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rather like Maurice Mundy. He's independent and doesn't care much for following the rules, but he's smart and a good investigator.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I can summarize this book in two words: scattered and boring. It's scattered as the author decided to add characters along the way without an introduction. Only later in the book did their relevance become apparent. It's boring in that the main character (Maurice Mundy) has no depth. Again, the depth only begins to be revealed towards the end of the book. The book just seemed amateurish. If you are looking to read something to fill some time, then this book would fit that description.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was decent, but not omg amazing. it was solid but it didn't wow me.

[Daisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was chosen for a book club thinking it was part of a series. It is listed as Maurice Mundy series book 1. I haven't seen any follow up books. It seems that the author got bored with him, and decided not to write anymore stories involving him. He was not a likeable character, pursuing his own agenda. He did get results, but the top brass was not happy with his methods. I think I was hoping for something like New Tricks, an old BBC program about retired officers working cold cases.

[Irv Kantrowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a police detective who is assigned to a Cold Case division of the police department. He is assigned to a eighteen year old case of a murdered boy. The detective is a "loose canon" who does not follow the rules and gets in trouble.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit plodding at time I nevertheless enjoyed it once I got used to his style

[Caroline Ingvaldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a new crime series featuring an unsuccessful detective constable who turns to cold crime cases: simply written, thoughtfully plotted and well-characterized.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this tale was told in an unusual way. The story line was good and delivery was mediocre.

[Devi · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf
Alright, let’s spill the tea on A Cold Case by Peter Turnbull. I was pumped for a gritty mystery with Maurice Mundy, this rogue detective stirring up old murders. But, y’all, I tapped out at 10%. Chapter one hit me with an avalanche of details—clothing, surroundings, you name it. Five pages in, I was lost in a fog of descriptions, forgetting what the story was even about. I love a vivid setting, but this felt like reading a furniture catalog with a side of tweed jackets. I wanted to vibe with Mundy’s maverick energy, but the pacing was slower than my grandma’s knitting circle. Maybe it picks up later, but my attention span said, “Nah, we’re good.” I’m all for deep dives into mysteries, but this one buried me in details before the plot could even say hello.

[Emily Colligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the plot of the book. It's told almost completely through conversations, more like a play, which I enjoyed. Overall it was a good book with a likable main character.

[Mo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really couldn't get into the style of writing. So I'm afraid to say that I gave up on this one after about 4 chapters.