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Tommy Fox #3
Tomfoolery
The heist is on…
When a walk-in thief rips off dozens of hotel rooms at a posh West London hotel, both Jack Gilroy and his governor, Tommy Fox receive the call. It seems the thieves had a taste for fine jewellery.
New Scotland Yard’s Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox, operational head of the Flying Squad, takes on the case of tomfoolery. With a hundred’s grand worth of jewellery stolen, Fox knows this was a professional heist.
With two suspects identified, and the getaway car, Fox and Gilroy have a lot to start off with, or so they think.
There’s also a missing receptionist at the hotel … Wilkins. Could there be a connection? It is up to Detective Inspector Jack Gilroy and his team to find out, with Tommy Fox breathing down their necks.
When a set of finger prints are found in the getaway car, retrieved from the bottom of the river, Detective Sergeant Percy Fletcher is tasked with finding Jim Murchison, a small time crook.
Jane Meadows and Thomas Harley are linked through their golf club. Strangely, Thomas Harley has gone missing and his wife is worried. Soon, Jane Meadows and the man everyone thinks is Thomas Harley are the focal point of the investigation. They match the description of the thieves from the hotel.
Susan Harley seems to be totally oblivious to her husband’s antics.
But, Thomas Harley is also identical to Wilkins, the missing receptionist …
But Thomas Harley is dead … he is buried at a church. He’s been dead for some time. Confusion sinks in as the plot takes on a whole new turn.
A missing businessman, a mysterious funeral, a dead body and a near-naked blonde are not all that they seem. And so one thing leads to another … as it invariably does in the work of the Criminal Investigation Department. As Fox widens the circle of his enquiries, petty villains take cover — as do one or two members of the Flying Squad — and even a French detective in the South of France starts to feel threatened.
Praise for Graham Ison...
‘A neat job of police work and people so interesting you’ll want to race through…’- Kirkus Reviews
‘Another tangy procedural from ex-DCS Ison, fully stretching the unconventional wits of his dapper Cockney head of the Flying Squad … The villains ring as true as the coppers throughout.’ - John Coleman, Sunday Times
About the author...
Graham Ison was born and brought up in Surrey. The son of an artist, and the grandson of a composer, he served in the army for five years before joining the police. He spent most of his service with the CID at Scotland Yard and between 1967 and 1971 was Personal Protection Officer to Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. After a spell of duty with the Diplomatic Protection Group, he returned to Scotland Yard in 1981 as a detective chief superintendent. He retired at this rank in 1986 and now lives in Hampshire.
When a walk-in thief rips off dozens of hotel rooms at a posh West London hotel, both Jack Gilroy and his governor, Tommy Fox receive the call. It seems the thieves had a taste for fine jewellery.
New Scotland Yard’s Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox, operational head of the Flying Squad, takes on the case of tomfoolery. With a hundred’s grand worth of jewellery stolen, Fox knows this was a professional heist.
With two suspects identified, and the getaway car, Fox and Gilroy have a lot to start off with, or so they think.
There’s also a missing receptionist at the hotel … Wilkins. Could there be a connection? It is up to Detective Inspector Jack Gilroy and his team to find out, with Tommy Fox breathing down their necks.
When a set of finger prints are found in the getaway car, retrieved from the bottom of the river, Detective Sergeant Percy Fletcher is tasked with finding Jim Murchison, a small time crook.
Jane Meadows and Thomas Harley are linked through their golf club. Strangely, Thomas Harley has gone missing and his wife is worried. Soon, Jane Meadows and the man everyone thinks is Thomas Harley are the focal point of the investigation. They match the description of the thieves from the hotel.
Susan Harley seems to be totally oblivious to her husband’s antics.
But, Thomas Harley is also identical to Wilkins, the missing receptionist …
But Thomas Harley is dead … he is buried at a church. He’s been dead for some time. Confusion sinks in as the plot takes on a whole new turn.
A missing businessman, a mysterious funeral, a dead body and a near-naked blonde are not all that they seem. And so one thing leads to another … as it invariably does in the work of the Criminal Investigation Department. As Fox widens the circle of his enquiries, petty villains take cover — as do one or two members of the Flying Squad — and even a French detective in the South of France starts to feel threatened.
Praise for Graham Ison...
‘A neat job of police work and people so interesting you’ll want to race through…’- Kirkus Reviews
‘Another tangy procedural from ex-DCS Ison, fully stretching the unconventional wits of his dapper Cockney head of the Flying Squad … The villains ring as true as the coppers throughout.’ - John Coleman, Sunday Times
About the author...
Graham Ison was born and brought up in Surrey. The son of an artist, and the grandson of a composer, he served in the army for five years before joining the police. He spent most of his service with the CID at Scotland Yard and between 1967 and 1971 was Personal Protection Officer to Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. After a spell of duty with the Diplomatic Protection Group, he returned to Scotland Yard in 1981 as a detective chief superintendent. He retired at this rank in 1986 and now lives in Hampshire.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
37 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Graham Ison
53 books20 followersDuring Graham Ison's thirty-year career in Scotland Yard's Special Branch he was involved in several espionage cases and the investigation into the escape of the spy George Blake. He spent four years at 10 Downing Street as Protection Officer to two Prime Ministers and also served as second-in-command of the Diplomatic Protection Group.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 23, 2024
3 – 3.5 Stars
Tomfoolery is the third book in the Tommy Fox Series by Graham Ison. I had this pop up as a recommendation and as I love a good British Detective story, I snapped up the series (as a box set) and set off to investigate.
This is a crime and investigation mystery series, with suspense, cops & robbers, conmen, villains, killers, forgers & fraudsters, heists, intrigue, crime rings, drug smuggling rings, a whodunnit feel, old school gangsters, obstacles, challenges, humour, banter, colourful quirky characters, action, drama, and more.
There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in each book, so that somewhat confuses things... And the stories are a little dated in the portrayal of cultural issues, societal norms, and the available technologies (or lack thereof) etc- as the books were written in the early 1990’s and a LOT has changed since then. But the crimes, and the subsequent investigations still made for a good read, but definitely not as ‘thrilling’ as I was hoping for.
We follow Scotland Yard Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox in all his unorthodox, witty, sharp, cynical, contrary ways — as throughout all the investigations he treats police procedure, regulations, and the law with his usual disdain- getting the job done (his way) nonetheless...…
Happy Reading…
Thank you, Graham Ison!
Tomfoolery is the third book in the Tommy Fox Series by Graham Ison. I had this pop up as a recommendation and as I love a good British Detective story, I snapped up the series (as a box set) and set off to investigate.
This is a crime and investigation mystery series, with suspense, cops & robbers, conmen, villains, killers, forgers & fraudsters, heists, intrigue, crime rings, drug smuggling rings, a whodunnit feel, old school gangsters, obstacles, challenges, humour, banter, colourful quirky characters, action, drama, and more.
There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in each book, so that somewhat confuses things... And the stories are a little dated in the portrayal of cultural issues, societal norms, and the available technologies (or lack thereof) etc- as the books were written in the early 1990’s and a LOT has changed since then. But the crimes, and the subsequent investigations still made for a good read, but definitely not as ‘thrilling’ as I was hoping for.
We follow Scotland Yard Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox in all his unorthodox, witty, sharp, cynical, contrary ways — as throughout all the investigations he treats police procedure, regulations, and the law with his usual disdain- getting the job done (his way) nonetheless...…
Happy Reading…
Thank you, Graham Ison!
December 13, 2017
This is an oldie (1992) but a goodie. A first class British police mystery which is accurate for the time period. Subtle British humor coupled with a realistic plot of theft and murder. There is nothing in this book but a well told story so no one should be offended.
I rated this book 5 stars.
I obtained this book from Amazon in Kindle format
I rated this book 5 stars.
I obtained this book from Amazon in Kindle format
August 17, 2017
Good one
Well written crime story, by someone obviously familiar with UK police procedures and underworld slang. Well worth the $0.00 price from Amazon.
Well written crime story, by someone obviously familiar with UK police procedures and underworld slang. Well worth the $0.00 price from Amazon.
January 27, 2018
Misdirection is the name of the game for many mysteries, and so it is in Tomfoolery. It's not especially successful here, but it's a decent read nonetheless.
June 15, 2007
strange funny book full of weird tricks with words
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews