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Mike Stanhope Mysteries #2
Deficit of Diligence: Make no assumptions
When journalist and would-be novelist Mike Stanhope learns he’s inherited a house in northern England from someone he’s never heard of, he willingly accepts an assignment that will take him to the area and allow him to investigate. Who was the mysterious benefactor, and how did she know him? On the alert for clues, he thinks he’s found one in the chance sighting of a young woman in an ancient film.
However, Mike soon has more urgent concerns. The finances of the company he’s been sent to visit don’t stack up, and the owner’s daughter is a little too friendly. People at the company are wary of him, and he can’t decide who to trust. An ill-judged article puts his work on the line, and a misunderstanding throws his relationship with his girlfriend into doubt. Suddenly his world is crumbling around him.
Mike is convinced he can get his life back on track by finding out the truth about the troubled company, but it’s a road fraught with danger. As the mystery deepens and the pace gathers, he finds himself embroiled in a kidnapping and at odds with the police, and he's being pursued by people who will apparently stop at nothing to prevent him from interfering.
However, Mike soon has more urgent concerns. The finances of the company he’s been sent to visit don’t stack up, and the owner’s daughter is a little too friendly. People at the company are wary of him, and he can’t decide who to trust. An ill-judged article puts his work on the line, and a misunderstanding throws his relationship with his girlfriend into doubt. Suddenly his world is crumbling around him.
Mike is convinced he can get his life back on track by finding out the truth about the troubled company, but it’s a road fraught with danger. As the mystery deepens and the pace gathers, he finds himself embroiled in a kidnapping and at odds with the police, and he's being pursued by people who will apparently stop at nothing to prevent him from interfering.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 10, 2016
84 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Peter Rowlands
9 books10 followersPeter Rowlands is an author whose mystery thrillers “are about ordinary people getting thrust into challenging, sometimes dangerous situations.” His leading characters don’t have special skills, and are forced to reach deep into themselves and find the resources they need.
He says character and plot have equal importance for him, and he aims to make his main participants jump off the page as believable, fleshed-out individuals. His objective at all times, he says, is to deliver clear, lucid prose and vibrant natural dialogue.
His keynote series of loosely-connected mysteries features downbeat journalist Mike Stanhope, who works in the superficially unpromising world of logistics journalism. However, his job brings him into contact with all kinds of demanding situations, from corporate corruption to kidnapping, theft and even murder. Along the way he has to weave his way through a tangled love life, trying to do the right thing even when he can’t work out quite what that is.
Mike has aspirations to be a thriller-writer himself, so the series also provides some revealing and occasionally ironic insights into the tribulations of a self-published author.
Peter picked up his background knowledge from editing and contributing to UK business magazines covering transport and logistics. He has also achieved a minor status as a photographer of commercial vehicles – especially British buses – and co-published his first hardback book in that field, Twenty Turbulent Years, in 2022.
He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England, but has lived all his adult life in London. He has travelled widely in Europe and North America, and makes use of that experience in some of his novels.
He has also published a thriller under the pen-name Anders Teller.
He says character and plot have equal importance for him, and he aims to make his main participants jump off the page as believable, fleshed-out individuals. His objective at all times, he says, is to deliver clear, lucid prose and vibrant natural dialogue.
His keynote series of loosely-connected mysteries features downbeat journalist Mike Stanhope, who works in the superficially unpromising world of logistics journalism. However, his job brings him into contact with all kinds of demanding situations, from corporate corruption to kidnapping, theft and even murder. Along the way he has to weave his way through a tangled love life, trying to do the right thing even when he can’t work out quite what that is.
Mike has aspirations to be a thriller-writer himself, so the series also provides some revealing and occasionally ironic insights into the tribulations of a self-published author.
Peter picked up his background knowledge from editing and contributing to UK business magazines covering transport and logistics. He has also achieved a minor status as a photographer of commercial vehicles – especially British buses – and co-published his first hardback book in that field, Twenty Turbulent Years, in 2022.
He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England, but has lived all his adult life in London. He has travelled widely in Europe and North America, and makes use of that experience in some of his novels.
He has also published a thriller under the pen-name Anders Teller.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2022
In the second novel of the series, journalist Mike Stanhope has relocated to Cornwall to be close to Ashley and Latimer Logistics. But if he thought the move would distance him from trouble, his investigative nose and impulsive nature lead into more adventures as three separate mysteries pull him to the north east.
A proposed merger soon brings him into contact with Jenna, who likes to tease and provoke, stirring up trouble in his love life with Ashley. Then there are the suspicious companies on the periphery of the merger and suspicions of false accounting. If this isn’t enough to bring Mike into contact with some unsavoury characters, there’s an unexpected bequest from a person he’s never heard of and a legal challenge from a nasty nephew.
It’s all simply another day in Mike’s complicated life, which seems to twist and turn from one danger to another. It’s not as if he’s a hero. He’s more downtrodden and reluctant, but doesn’t like unanswered questions.
It’s another twisting and weaving, multi-layered mystery, laced with humour and wry observation that enjoyable and intriguing as the hapless Mike never quite rids himself of the trouble he’d prefer to avoid.
Looking forward to reading the third novel in the series.
A proposed merger soon brings him into contact with Jenna, who likes to tease and provoke, stirring up trouble in his love life with Ashley. Then there are the suspicious companies on the periphery of the merger and suspicions of false accounting. If this isn’t enough to bring Mike into contact with some unsavoury characters, there’s an unexpected bequest from a person he’s never heard of and a legal challenge from a nasty nephew.
It’s all simply another day in Mike’s complicated life, which seems to twist and turn from one danger to another. It’s not as if he’s a hero. He’s more downtrodden and reluctant, but doesn’t like unanswered questions.
It’s another twisting and weaving, multi-layered mystery, laced with humour and wry observation that enjoyable and intriguing as the hapless Mike never quite rids himself of the trouble he’d prefer to avoid.
Looking forward to reading the third novel in the series.
September 9, 2022
For a story about a journalist writing articles about logistics companies, I found this book surprisingly compelling.
However, this book has some typographical issues that are kind of annoying. There are lots of sentences with missing words, repeated words, or words with missing letters. Did anyone proofread this book? Book 1 had similar issues, but I felt like there were many more mistakes in this one.
Also, Trina from the first book is back, but for some reason she's now named Tina. There's no acknowledgement or explanation of this change. Did the author forget what they named their own character?
I haven't seen any other reviews mentioning these errors, so maybe my copy of the e-book is just defective. I don't know since I don't have a print copy to compare it to.
However, this book has some typographical issues that are kind of annoying. There are lots of sentences with missing words, repeated words, or words with missing letters. Did anyone proofread this book? Book 1 had similar issues, but I felt like there were many more mistakes in this one.
Also, Trina from the first book is back, but for some reason she's now named Tina. There's no acknowledgement or explanation of this change. Did the author forget what they named their own character?
I haven't seen any other reviews mentioning these errors, so maybe my copy of the e-book is just defective. I don't know since I don't have a print copy to compare it to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2023
I find most British writers uninteresting so I'm not sure why I downloaded Peter's 1st book but now I find myself starting the 3rd in this series.
A bit too much geography for folks on this side of the pond but I like the same kind of references when they are books on areas I'm familiar with so I can put up with it since I find the balance of his writing a good trade off for not being familiar with the English countryside.
All in all, a good read.
A bit too much geography for folks on this side of the pond but I like the same kind of references when they are books on areas I'm familiar with so I can put up with it since I find the balance of his writing a good trade off for not being familiar with the English countryside.
All in all, a good read.
July 25, 2021
Getting better with every book.
Characters are interesting and the plot well formed. A mystery that develops around writing about logistics doesn't seem thought provoking but it is. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Characters are interesting and the plot well formed. A mystery that develops around writing about logistics doesn't seem thought provoking but it is. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
February 12, 2020
Just so... British
The story is well enough written and plotted, although for someone raised on Sam Spade and Spenser the action is slow and relatively mild. Still, a good read
The story is well enough written and plotted, although for someone raised on Sam Spade and Spenser the action is slow and relatively mild. Still, a good read
April 15, 2022
Mike Stanhope, a free-lance writer sure gets himself into some pickles. A pretty good thriller.
March 4, 2018
I received an ecopy of Deficit of Diligence: Make No Assumptions, second in the Mike Stanhope Mysteries series from author Peter Rowlands for review.
Having read the first book in this series; Alternative Outcome and giving it highest marks, I fully expected to enjoy Deficit of Diligence as well. I have to say I enjoyed this one even more. Mike Stanhope, not a sleuth, but a writer, gets himself into so many tight spots he should maybe reconsider his profession. But where would the fun be in that. He has to juggle a budding relationship while people are trying to kill him.
This time out our hero gets caught up in corporate deviousness while at the same time trying to find out why he inherited the estate of a woman he has never met. I have to admit (somewhat smugly) that I figured this part out before he did. Maybe I'm getting better at reading mysteries. But then again I only figured out a very small part of that story line and not all the details so, maybe not.
The story is a bit more action oriented than the first, Stanhope takes even more of a beating but appears to keep his stiff British upper lip throughout. Author Rowlands does a wonderful job of keeping our hero complex, yet believable and human, amid all the turmoil he has to deal with.
Again, Mr. Rowlands gives us a tight tale full of twists, turns and surprises that kept me hooked. The story never lagged, keeping me reading until I couldn't keep my eyes focused.
What I find interesting is the authors ability to set a story in a rather mundane setting; business logistics, and keep it exciting. Stanhope is no hard-boiled detective, but he is a lot of fun to follow.
Action, mystery, romance, intrigue and logistics. What more could a reader want? I highly recommend Deficit of Diligence by Peter Rowlands. Enjoy!
Having read the first book in this series; Alternative Outcome and giving it highest marks, I fully expected to enjoy Deficit of Diligence as well. I have to say I enjoyed this one even more. Mike Stanhope, not a sleuth, but a writer, gets himself into so many tight spots he should maybe reconsider his profession. But where would the fun be in that. He has to juggle a budding relationship while people are trying to kill him.
This time out our hero gets caught up in corporate deviousness while at the same time trying to find out why he inherited the estate of a woman he has never met. I have to admit (somewhat smugly) that I figured this part out before he did. Maybe I'm getting better at reading mysteries. But then again I only figured out a very small part of that story line and not all the details so, maybe not.
The story is a bit more action oriented than the first, Stanhope takes even more of a beating but appears to keep his stiff British upper lip throughout. Author Rowlands does a wonderful job of keeping our hero complex, yet believable and human, amid all the turmoil he has to deal with.
Again, Mr. Rowlands gives us a tight tale full of twists, turns and surprises that kept me hooked. The story never lagged, keeping me reading until I couldn't keep my eyes focused.
What I find interesting is the authors ability to set a story in a rather mundane setting; business logistics, and keep it exciting. Stanhope is no hard-boiled detective, but he is a lot of fun to follow.
Action, mystery, romance, intrigue and logistics. What more could a reader want? I highly recommend Deficit of Diligence by Peter Rowlands. Enjoy!
April 19, 2017
This is book 2 in the series. I haven’t read book 1 yet, but it doesn’t matter. Book 2 is written in such a way that you don’t feel like you have missed anything. It can easily be read as a standalone book. Having said that, it has made me want to read book 1 (and books 3, 4, 5 etc. if and when they are available). This isn’t your typical mystery book where you get all of the answers at the end. There are a number of mysteries going on at the same time and you are slowly fed the answers, with new complications and questions arising as you travel through the book. It works really well and makes you keep reading. You find yourself questioning almost every character and situation and you don’t know who to trust or believe.
The author develops both the characters and the storyline well and makes you feel that you are actually in the places in England in which this book is set. Overall, it is a very enjoyable read.
The only reason I am not giving this a 5 star rating is because I did not warm to the main character, or his girlfriend. He is a little too trusting of people and acts without thinking sometimes. He is also a little weak. By that I don’t mean that the author has not done a good job in portraying him, far from it. He is realistic and believable. For me, though, the main character in a mystery novel should be strong. The way his girlfriend treats him, for example, he should have stood up for himself better. I am sure other readers will disagree, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Summary: if you like mystery books, this one is a must read.
The author develops both the characters and the storyline well and makes you feel that you are actually in the places in England in which this book is set. Overall, it is a very enjoyable read.
The only reason I am not giving this a 5 star rating is because I did not warm to the main character, or his girlfriend. He is a little too trusting of people and acts without thinking sometimes. He is also a little weak. By that I don’t mean that the author has not done a good job in portraying him, far from it. He is realistic and believable. For me, though, the main character in a mystery novel should be strong. The way his girlfriend treats him, for example, he should have stood up for himself better. I am sure other readers will disagree, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Summary: if you like mystery books, this one is a must read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews