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Keith Calder #12

Adverse Report

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In Adverse Report, Hammond adds a new twist to the series

This time, the story is told by a bemused Londoner who meets Calder, and a host of other local characters, when they all become embroiled in a Highland whodunit.

When Englishman Simon Parbitter journeys to Scotland to view a piece of property he has inherited from a recently deceased relative, he learns that the “shooting accident” that killed his uncle may not have been quite so accidental.

Picking up the unpleasant scent of murder, Parbitter turns to Keith Calder for help in investigating the incident; but when Calder himself is injured in another such mishap, he and Parbitter are forced to throw themselves into a full-fledged hunt for the killer.

What follows is a taut, complex mystery, a true test of Keith Calder’s mental resources.

Praise for Gerald Hammond:

“Gerald Hammond’s series about gunsmith Keith Calder is rewarding indeed.” - Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Born in 1926, Gerald Hammond lived in Scotland, where he retired from his profession as an architect in 1982 to pursue his love of shooting and fishing and to write full time. After his first novel, Fred in Situ, was published in 1965, Gerald became a prolific author with over 70 published novels. Most of his novels were published under his own name, but he also wrote under the pseudonyms Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden.

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1989

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About the author

Gerald Hammond

100 books19 followers
Gerald Hammond, (Gerald Arthur Douglas Hammond) son of Frederick Arthur Lucas (a physician) and Maria Birnie (a nursing sister) Hammond; married Gilda Isobel Watt (a nurse), August 20, 1952; children: Peter, David, Steven. Education: Aberdeen School of Architecture, Dip. Arch., 1952. He served in the British Army, 1944-45. Although born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, he worked in and retired to the country he most loved, Scotland.

He also writes under the names of Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden. He was an architect for thirty years before retiring to write novels full-time in 1982. He has written over 50 novels since the late 1960s.

His novels center around guns, shooting, hunting, fishing, and dog training.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Charles  van Buren.
1,910 reviews305 followers
November 16, 2021
In book 12 of the Keith Calder mysteries, writer Simon Parbitter joins the cast. His Uncle George has been killed in what authorities are content to call a shooting accident. Simon inherits Tansey House, a small, stone 19th century farm house, and 50 some acres. London being in the grip of a nasty heatwave, Simon decides to stay for awhile. He is also interested in Keith Calder's idea that the death of Uncle George did not occur as authorities have lad it out. And off we go!

The investigation into Uncle George's death eventually merges with an investigation Keith conducts as a favor to Police Superintendent Munro. This novel has great character development of both good guys and bad guys, interesting background and historical information, a look at rural Scottish life, a fine plot and an exciting ending.
14 reviews
February 25, 2019
Adverse Report

Enter a new character, and one who fits in well from the very beginning. Also enter a new dog, Boss, guaranteed to be a star turn in the future.
36 reviews
January 3, 2024
Super plots great characters .I love Keith

One of the best set of crime novels .excellent plots and wonderful grasp of crimes and clues .I'm going to read them all .I'm only at book 12 . Bring them in .😊😊
59 reviews
July 26, 2019
I’m sorry but I got excited about this book, which is unusual because I usually love reading mysteries from English and Scottish authors, but I just couldn’t get in to this book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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