A Sunset Touch

Gil Mayo Mystery #12

by Marjorie Eccles

The truth can't stay hidden forever… Detective Superintendent Gil Mayo soon finds himself drawn into a devastating case as an arson attack results in a house being burnt down. Much to the distress of the neighbours, it becomes a big concern that two children might have died, trapped inside the blaze. Yet when the fire brigade manages to get inside to inspect the burnt-out remains of the house, the intrigue only increases with what they find. The body of one man… With no sign of the children and the body not providing any answers, Detective Gil Mayo sets to work on a murder inquiry with his characteristic compulsive attention to detail. Never an easy life, another case also falls into Mayo’s lap but despite his best efforts, both cases seem to be tough to solve. With family connections, past lives and secret deals going on throughout, Mayo and his team struggle to grasp the true nature of both crimes. Only when both crimes seem to lead to the same path, from Poland to wartime England and so to the present day, is Mayo able to unravel the truth once and for all… A Sunset Touches is a chilling mystery filled with twists and turns. Praise for Majorie Eccles ‘Eccles produces smoothly flowing prose and an atmospheric setting’ - Publishers Weekly ‘Superior police procedural’ - Sunday Telegraph "It all makes for lively entertainment, enhanced by the author's forthright style, some resonant characters, a subdued village ambiance, and a puzzle neatly deconstructed but with minimum help from Lavenstock's likeable police team." - Kirkus Reviews Marjorie Eccles lived for many years in the Midlands and she is the author of many other books and short stories, for which she received the Agatha Christie Short Story Styles Award. Eccles’s books featuring Detective Gil Mayo were also adapted for the BBC.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

Aka Judith Bordill, Jennifer Hyde

Marjorie Eccles has written several romantic and crime novels, which have been published both in the UK and in the US. Many of her book shave been translated and serialised around the world. She has one grown up son and now lives in Hertfordshire

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying these Inspector Gil Mayo mysteries!

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The shabby house at the end of terrace of equally run-down houses, was beyond saving by the time the fire brigade arrived. With flames shooting sky high, the screams from a neighbour that there were two young Polish children in the house struck the knot of on-lookers with horror, as they watched the roof cave in.

For Detective Superintendent Gil Mayo it looks like a long night waiting for the fire brigade to conduct their gruesome search before he can establish if he has a case on his hands. From the neighbours the police learn that the house is being rented by a Polish man and his two children. They discover the body of a man, signs of arson and forensic evidence of foul play. Gil Mayo sets his young ambitious Inspector Abigail Moon to investigate. But where are the young children?

Recently returned to the area, Inspector Martin Kite is investigating the brutal attack on the elderly wife of Vicar Edgar Haldane. Cecily is in a coma, there are no signs of a burglary, but clear signs that Cecily had been entertaining at the time of her attack.

This is a complex story, which has its roots in the second world war. As the story progresses, seemingly unrelated incidents become linked, and the tenuous strands are pulled together providing a rich and absorbing story.

Running alongside the complicated relationships of Edgar Haldane and his children is the relationship between Gil Mayo and Alex Jones his partner.

This is the twelfth in this series, and it is an intriguing mystery with a fascinating background. A compelling and enjoyable read and one which I highly recommend.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A body is discovered in a burnt out house. But what of the children who are supposedly staying there with their father. But the case gets complicated. On the same day Cecily Haldane is attacked in her home which results in her being in a coma. Can Mayo and his team solves both cases.
An enjoyable mystery.

[pdxmaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

With small town England setting and seemingly orphaned Polish immigrant children, it seemed it would be compelling than it actually turned out to be. Didn't make me want to rush and read all the others in the series.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good storyline, a very good one. The characters are elaborated and very believable but it is not exactly the most suspenseful nor exciting crime/mystery book on the market.It is a good read but not an edge of your seat book. 

[Crittermom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marjorie Eccles can always be counted on to provide a mystery that is complex but at the same time utterly believable.  A Sunset Touch is a well done thriller where Gil Mayo and his team must solve two cases - one of murder/arson the other an unexplained attack on the wife of an elderly vicar.  It comes as no surprise to the reader that the two cases end up being related.  Everything  is related to two Polish refugees who fled Poland during WWII and fought alongside members of the RAF.  

While the mystery is competently composed and the background is intriguing as well as well thought out, somehow A Sunset Touch is not as compelling as Eccles other novels.  It didn’t generate the emotional involvement that I’ve come to expect of her novels.  Mayo and his team go through the motions, but they are cardboard versions of the characters I enjoy.  On the whole, while the novel was good, it wasn’t nearly up to Eccles’s normal standard.

3/5

I received a copy of A Sunset Touch from the publisher and net galley.com in exchange for an honest review

—Crittermom

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

British mystery featuring Superintendent Gil Mayo. Story jumps around as various characters relate information. Mayo finds his department investigating two cases: the death of a man in a house fire and the attack of a woman. The story is complicated and goes back to events during WW II. It is not a bad mystery as the police officers investigate and pull things together with a series of actions based upon incomplete or mistaken information.

[Ram Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ms. Eccles pace of storytelling. She is superbly suited to the great British novel tradition of Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene - wonder if she will try her hand at a serious novel? Until then, enjoy the unfolding and unraveling of the Gil Mayo series, this one is pretty good!

[MaryAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the Gil Mayo series.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Until the bizarre second half AST was the best in the series.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written and plotted novel. It is both suspenseful and moves along nicely.

A house is burnt down. An elderly lady is attacked in her home. What do these two cases have in common? Or do they?

Detective Superintendent Mayo's team is doing the investigations. As they track the clues and interview family and acquaintances, they get pictures of a confusing puzzles. They run into the story of two Polish WWII fliers, a missing priceless painting and relatives far from home. It is a mystery for sure. The denouement when it comes arrives quickly.

This is a good book. Marjorie Eccles is a fine author and I am anxiously awaiting the novel next in the series.