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Inspector Thanet #4-6 omnibus
The Inspector Thanet Mysteries Volume Two: Close Her Eyes / Last Seen Alive / Dead on Arrival
The second trio of mysteries in the “beautifully crafted,” Silver Dagger Award–winning police procedural series set in Kent, England (The Washington Post). Det.Inspector Luke Thanet may be a family man with a soft heart and bad back, but he also has a bloodhound’s nose for murder. With Sgt. Mike Lineham at his side, no case is too tough, in these mysteries from the “dependably pleasing” Dorothy Simpson (Boston Globe). Close Her When a teenage girl from a strict fundamentalist religious order goes missing, her parents insist that the investigation of her disappearance be left in the hands of God. But when Charity Pritchard is found murdered, Inspector Thanet and Sergeant Lineham vow to tear off the church’s veil of secrecy to reveal her killer. “A well-crafted [and] compelling mystery novel.” —The Armchair Detective Last Seen When Luke Thanet was a young man, Alicia Parnell was one of the most popular girls in Sturrenden—until her perfect life was shattered by her teenage boyfriend’s suicide. Alicia’s family left town soon after. But now, two decades later, Alicia has returned to the country village where she was born—only to die there the day after she arrives . . . To find the killer, Inspector Thanet will have to dig deep into their shared past, in this CWA Silver Dagger winner. “A classic detective story . . . complex and ingenious.” —Literary Review Dead on Inspector Thanet is brought in when a dead man is found in bed, apparently killed by a single blow with a blunt object. When the corpse is identified as Steven Long, the question is no longer who wanted to kill him, but who didn’t? Long was loathed by everyone in town, from his long-suffering ex-wife to the man whose family he killed in a driving accident. To find the culprit, Thanet will have to get to the bottom of a lifetime of hate. “An intriguing tale not to be missed.” —Yorkshire Post
- GenresMystery
809 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2018
173 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Simpson
36 books118 followersDorothy Preece Simpson writes...
"I was born and brought up in South Wales, went to Bridgend Grammar School and then on to Bristol University, where I read modern languages before moving to Kent, the background of the Thanet novels, to teach French at Dartford and Erith Grammar Schools.
Moving to the Maidstone area on my marriage, I then spent several years devoting myself to bringing up my three children. During that time I trained as a marriage guidance counsellor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years.
You may think that marriage guidance counsellor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realise it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counselling.
I began to write after a long illness in 1975. The success of my first book, a suspense novel called HARBINGERS OF FEAR, gave me sufficient impetus to carry me through the two rejections which followed - very disheartening at the time, but invaluable in retrospect.
It was during this period that I realised that the crime novel is of such diversity that it offers enormous scope to the writer and decided to attempt to lay the foundation for a series of detective novels in my next book. This was the THE NIGHT SHE DIED." This was the first in a 15 book series starring Detective Inspector Luke Thanet. Severe repetitive stress injury caused her to stop writing in 2000.
She is an award winning author, receiving a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain.
"I was born and brought up in South Wales, went to Bridgend Grammar School and then on to Bristol University, where I read modern languages before moving to Kent, the background of the Thanet novels, to teach French at Dartford and Erith Grammar Schools.
Moving to the Maidstone area on my marriage, I then spent several years devoting myself to bringing up my three children. During that time I trained as a marriage guidance counsellor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years.
You may think that marriage guidance counsellor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realise it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counselling.
I began to write after a long illness in 1975. The success of my first book, a suspense novel called HARBINGERS OF FEAR, gave me sufficient impetus to carry me through the two rejections which followed - very disheartening at the time, but invaluable in retrospect.
It was during this period that I realised that the crime novel is of such diversity that it offers enormous scope to the writer and decided to attempt to lay the foundation for a series of detective novels in my next book. This was the THE NIGHT SHE DIED." This was the first in a 15 book series starring Detective Inspector Luke Thanet. Severe repetitive stress injury caused her to stop writing in 2000.
She is an award winning author, receiving a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 11, 2018
Wonderful Series
These books are very well written, and the main characters are developed wonderfully. I like the combination of a good murder mystery and the personal lives of the detectives. Each book in the volume is so good and the endings are quite unexpected. I thought I had the last one figured out, but there was a twist I had not anticipated. Good reading. Now I will have to read the rest of the series, staring with the first three books, and then read the rest of the series from book 6 onwards. I don't want to miss a one.
These books are very well written, and the main characters are developed wonderfully. I like the combination of a good murder mystery and the personal lives of the detectives. Each book in the volume is so good and the endings are quite unexpected. I thought I had the last one figured out, but there was a twist I had not anticipated. Good reading. Now I will have to read the rest of the series, staring with the first three books, and then read the rest of the series from book 6 onwards. I don't want to miss a one.
January 19, 2022
Kept me guessing
Clever premise well presented with enough hints but no flashing lights. Continued character development of Thanet and family. Good story.
Clever premise well presented with enough hints but no flashing lights. Continued character development of Thanet and family. Good story.
November 9, 2018
Three stories in this box set, one of which I've already read and reviewed. I'll review them here as I finish each one.
Close Her Eyes:
A young girl is reported missing after several days have passed. When Thanet goes looking, he finds her body in a short-cut alleyway which was on her way home. Her parents and her uncle are members of an extremely fundamentalist sect which apparently believes that anything that gives pleasure is evil. Her best friend from school is hiding something, and various people give conflicting views of the dead girl's personality. The more Thanet finds out about her, the more it seems that she may have brought her death on herself. Thanet's wife is away taking a course for her job, and Lineham's pregnant wife is in the hospital, so they both have a lot on their minds in addition to this case.
Last Seen Alive:
A woman Thanet remembers from his grammar school days is found murdered in a local hotel. Several people from the clique she was a part of in school also live locally or are visiting, including a woman who is very jealous of her, and a man who is now a famous violinist, performing with his fiancee. Thanet and Lineham spend time in London to learn what brought her, but Thanet is sure that the reason behind her murder lies somewhere farther back in her past. And what became of the red folder?
Dead on Arrival:
I had this one as a book on my shelf, and reviewed it in October. Q.V. if interested. I'm rereading it (skimming) just because it's there, but I'm not going to review it again here.
Close Her Eyes:
A young girl is reported missing after several days have passed. When Thanet goes looking, he finds her body in a short-cut alleyway which was on her way home. Her parents and her uncle are members of an extremely fundamentalist sect which apparently believes that anything that gives pleasure is evil. Her best friend from school is hiding something, and various people give conflicting views of the dead girl's personality. The more Thanet finds out about her, the more it seems that she may have brought her death on herself. Thanet's wife is away taking a course for her job, and Lineham's pregnant wife is in the hospital, so they both have a lot on their minds in addition to this case.
Last Seen Alive:
A woman Thanet remembers from his grammar school days is found murdered in a local hotel. Several people from the clique she was a part of in school also live locally or are visiting, including a woman who is very jealous of her, and a man who is now a famous violinist, performing with his fiancee. Thanet and Lineham spend time in London to learn what brought her, but Thanet is sure that the reason behind her murder lies somewhere farther back in her past. And what became of the red folder?
Dead on Arrival:
I had this one as a book on my shelf, and reviewed it in October. Q.V. if interested. I'm rereading it (skimming) just because it's there, but I'm not going to review it again here.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews