Missing, Presumed Dead

Inspector Peach #2

by J.M. Gregson

Detective Inspector Percy Peach, as bouncy and as aggressive as a bantam cock, is feared greatly by the petty criminals of Lancashire - and not a little by his own chief, the feeble Superintendent Tucker. Peach finds to his disgust that his new detective sergeant is to be a woman. However the capable and resourceful Lucy Blake proves, as the tale proceeds, to be more than a match for the formidable Peach. Their initial assignment is a baffling one. A nineteen year old girl has disappeared without warning from her home. Two years later, her body is found at the bottom of a deep pond on the North Lancs golf course. Peach and Blake, in finding out about those who are close to her in her last months, begin to work out their own relationship and find it may after all be a rewarding one. The solution to the mystery is as unexpected as it is chilling and convincing.

Genres: Mystery, Amazon, Crime, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

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]

DI Percy Peach has been persuaded to join a prestigious golf club even though his golf isn't really that good. Unfortunately one of the first things that happen after he joins is the discovery of a body. The club's members decide to remodel the 8th hole by draining a pool in a quarry and creating a lake. The body is discovered at the bottom of the lake. Once the identity of the young girl - Debbie Minton - is discovered there are plenty of suspects. It seems she wasn't the angelic daughter her grieving mother believes her to have been.

I enjoyed reading this well plotted police procedural crime novel and like the way DS Lucy Blake is introduced into the series much to Peach's disgust. He really doesn't want to work with a woman but maybe he is going to have to change his mind about Lucy.

As well as having darker themes to it there is plenty of humour in this well written story and anyone who enjoys crime novels without too much graphic violence and bad language will probably enjoy this series. Peach himself is an interesting and likeable character as is Lucy Blake.

[Mrs Susan J Bociek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stuff

If you want a murder mystery, this one is for you. At a time when women are still frowned upon in many workplaces, Percy Peach is pleasantly surprised to find that his new detective partner is not only easy on the eye, but that they make a formidable team. With droll wit the murderer is revealed. Very satisfying.

[Wilbur Hundley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Gregson murder mystery

Missing, Presumed Dead is another exciting murder mystery in the Inspector Peach series. Gregson introduces Peach's new assistant, which creates an interesting side story. A great read. Looking forward to more in this series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the first in the series. Peach has become a bit more likeable by the influence of his new female sidekick.

[Ted Tayler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"An entertaining read"

Percy Peach and Lucy Greene are yet another pair of detectives thrown together.by their superiors to see if they gel as a team. A world-weary DI in his late thirties, Percy seems old before his time in this one. His new DS, Lucy is ten years younger, fit and attractive, with all the 'get-up and go' that we've come to expect from decades of similar pairings on both sides of the Atlantic. Their first case concerns the discovery of a body on a golf course. There are a lot of stones to be turned over until the culprit is uncovered and the plot, characters and police procedurals are all handled with aplomb. Percy and Lucy are like two pieces of a jigsaw. You know that at the start all the hard edges of their characters will knock against one another and sparks will fly. It's a given that they will solve the case; but will they eventually manoeuvre those hard edges so that they discover they're a perfect fit? Perhaps this series has some mileage left in it as we find out?

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Percy Peach novel, or at least the first featuring DS Blake. It sets the tone and conventions for the novels to follow: Peach joins the North Lancashire golf club, heaps scorn and mockery on his boss Tommy Tucker, is assigned a murder investigation in which the body has been found 2 years after the fact, and brings the investigation to a successful conclusion despite the lack of physical and forensic evidence. In this case there was essentially no evidence against the perpetrator, so Gregson had to invent a Perry Mason-like ending in which the accused simply confesses after being confronted with the suspicions against him.

Not one of the best in the series.

[Julia Ibbotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently reading this crime novel and I'm enjoying it so far, although surprised that it was first published in 1997; somehow it feels more dated than that. The setting in the golf club and the way that Inspector "Percy" Peach is described makes it feel more like the 1960s. However, we'll see ... full review later.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the first in this series totally failed to interest me, this one's a peach. Yes, Percy is pugnacious, tends to go for he jugular when interviewing a suspect, and might have been a dyed in the wool chauvinist until Lucy got hold of him, but there's a lively charm about him that makes this - taking into account murder is the subject - an amusing read.

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read with some interesting and believable main characters. Peach and his sidekick new sergeant develop an interesting relationship.
The plot was an interesting one, however the story was just getting into its side and the mystery of who dunnit was starting to be developed it ended.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. One of the early Percy Peach novels.

Pacy and interesting.

Highly recommended.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read with some good humour

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

the story that shows how a supervisor in a police station in England who is very jealous of the detective who works under him

[Kathy]

A well written and delightful English detective novel. Easy enjoyable reading