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A famous film director is found murdered on set in the South Yorkshire town of Bromersley.

Nearby, a penniless tramp is discovered shot dead with a gold sovereign in his mouth.

And Detective Angel’s wife spots an attractive young woman in a raincoat scaling a wall. The female thief drops a silver candle-snuffer as she makes her escape.

THERE ARE NO CLUES OR DNA FOR EITHER MURDER. AND WHO IS THE MISSING THIEF?

But Detective Inspector Michael Angel tackles these mysteries with his customary tenacity.

As usual, his superiors and the system seem to hinder him at every turn. Finding his life at risk, he has to apply his unique skills to overcome the danger, unravel the mystery and arrest the murderer before anyone else pays the ultimate price.

A BRILLIANTLY GRIPPING MYSTERY FULL OF TWISTS

Perfect for fans of R.D. Wingfield, Colin Dexter, Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, and Agatha Christie.

THE DETECTIVE
Michael Angel is over fifty, married to Mary. They don’t have any children. They are a devoted couple but the relationship sometimes breaks down due to his job or due to the problems of Mary’s sister who lives in Edinburgh and imposes on their easygoing natures. Michael works at the small local police station and is devoted to defeating crime, murder, and dishonesty of any sort and has no personal ambition beyond being a good husband and a successful detective. He doesn’t want promotion with all the routine office work and stress that goes with it. He is incorruptible but always short of money. He is always at odds with his immediate chief, Detective Superintendent Horace Harker, who is lazy, a hypochondriac and not a bit interested in assisting Angel in serious police work.

THE SETTING
Bromersley is a market town at the bottom of the Pennines surrounded by stone and hawthorn-edged fields grazed by cattle and sheep. It is cold as anywhere in the winter but its closeness to the mountains protects it from many gales and heavy falls of snow. The town’s industry today includes the manufacture of ball bearings and whisky bottles, and a huge brewery produces Bromersley’s best bitter, which is considered the finest beer for miles around. Wednesday is market day, and the town centre is host to the frequent cries of stall-holders hawking their wares while the enticing smells of cheeses, coffees, foreign spices and fish and chips tempt your taste buds as you wander through the stalls. The police always find it difficult to catch pilferers and pickpockets in such a crowd. Bromersley folk are easy to befriend but many of the old people are stubborn and still buy their fruit and veg in pounds and ounces, not kilos and grams.

Praise for Roger Silverwood

“Solid plotting, unpretentious writing, thoroughly reliable entertainment.” Morning Star

“A cast of characters you really want to populate with familiar faces of actors you see each week on TV —  great fun. Angel is terrific.

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

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About the author

Roger Silverwood

68 books87 followers
The Yorkshire author writes crime stories about Detective Inspector Michael Angel who lives a fairly happy existence with his wife Mary in the town of Bromersley in South Yorkshire.

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5 stars
586 (47%)
4 stars
458 (36%)
3 stars
155 (12%)
2 stars
29 (2%)
1 star
13 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Winnie Razey.
31 reviews1 follower
January 26, 2020
The white rabbit trick

I have read all 9 of the DI. Michael Angel and I have loved every one of them, he has a strange sense of humour which I love and he is very tenacious about getting his man of woman. He is also a kind man to people who need it be it the young cadet/ probationary police constable or Mrs Buller- Price he has a kind heart and he loves his wife too, I am really looking forward to the next book.
216 reviews8 followers
April 28, 2014
verdict: Don't waste your time .

Oh dear. What to say about this offering. In my defence I grabbed it off the shelf of the recently returned books at the library thinking it looked like a quick read. It was. I was able to skim large chunks of it without losing the plot.

Pedestrian writing and very thin plot with a Clichéd, predictable main character.
The only thing curious about The Curious Mind of Inspector Angel is how it got to 9 books in te series.
It reminded me of those formulaic American crime tv dramas from the 70s
I rapidly ran out of patience with the author's overuse of "humourous" similes. ("Darker than an undertaker's black cat in a bag of soot")
It raised a smile first time but scattered throughout the book every few pages? No thanks.
Also overuse of a couple of verbs had me grinding my teeth. You can describe an angry tone of voice using words other than bawled you know.
Only saving grace is tat it was a short book and soon dispensed with.
1 review
January 13, 2020
Witty crime caper

The writing style always makes me smile whilst delivering a who dunnit that keeps you guessing. Read the whole series to really appreciate the characters
Profile Image for Elaine .
683 reviews8 followers
October 31, 2025
The Inspector Angel books are short and to the point and I do enjoy them. Angel is often sarcastic and makes lots of jokes and puns to keep his troop entertained. This mystery is convolutes, with 3 major crimes being investigated. Are they linked in any way? You have to read it to find out. Inspector Angel has to report to a boss who is difficult at best and is more of an obstacle than a help. I love all the names Angel thinks up in his head to call the man. Angel is also not one to follow all the rules closely if they interfere with the end game. as you will see in this book. But all 3 mysteries are solved in a satisfying way by the end.
Profile Image for Sandy Adams.
403 reviews5 followers
May 7, 2020
A clever little mystery.

This is such a terrific series as D. I. Angel gets his man and/or woman. Usually there are two or more cases under investigation as Angel tries to catch the criminals. The cases may be related or not but it is always fun to find out! If you like a good mystery with likeable characters, a touch of humor and no gore or constant swearing, you will like these stories.
676 reviews6 followers
June 25, 2020
Twisted mystery

DI Angel solves mysteries in his own unique way. The book is humorous at times because of that . A murdered tramp, a film being made and valuables from various thefts. A definite who dunnit.
There a is a least one error - was it gunshot wounds or stab wounds? Also too many commas.
28 reviews2 followers
August 22, 2020
Engaging

I am enjoying this series of books oh so very much, sometimes too much. I just feel the urge to keep reading to see what is going to happen next and loose all track of time. The twists and turns and how it all comes together are quite good from my viewpoint.
278 reviews2 followers
January 13, 2020
Enjoy these Yorkshire murder mysteries with Inspector Angel!
1,181 reviews6 followers
March 1, 2020
Another great

Another great story by Roger with Inspector Angel and his team. These stories are so easy to read and are quite addictive.I can't wait for the next one.
752 reviews7 followers
May 13, 2020
Always fun as this hardworking policeman solves all the crimes around him with ingenuity and cunning.
18 reviews
July 5, 2020
Enjoyable

Enjoyable reading on a rainy weekend. And by the way, I did think that Run Away Someone's Coming stood for those letters.
54 reviews
July 10, 2020
Not as Good

This is the 9th book in the series that I have read. It's okay but not as good as others with DI Angel and the other main characters. Too many coincidences.
28 reviews
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September 14, 2020
Once you started reading one of Roger Sillverwood's books it's hard to put it down. He is amazing in solving crimes. Love this book and will continue reading his books.
46 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2021
The Missing thief

Another amazing story line,cleverly written and really enthralling .I have really enjoyed all of these books love the characters looking forward to the next one
18 reviews1 follower
November 5, 2022
Up to standard

Gray stuff. Never want to get to the end of these stories. Great humour as well. Incredible descriptions 'as cold as a toads belly '
Profile Image for Scott Kalas.
537 reviews11 followers
December 28, 2020
Not a nail biter but good

Other tasks have slowed my reading down to a book in two days but The Missing Thief wasn’t a nail biter to prevent me from getting other stuff done. It was easy to put up and down, but certainly not a yawner.

It opened with another story from the past. I like stories that have a past that impacts the overall story, but the last two or so including this one really didn’t add to the story.

I think this is the first book since maybe the first one that Mrs. Buller-Price was not included.

But still enjoying the clean reading and the mysteries are good enough to keep me reading. For now.
Profile Image for Damaskcat.
1,782 reviews4 followers
November 16, 2012
D I Angel – working in Sheffield – is presented with a murder case. A well known film director is found dead on the set of a film which is being made locally. His observant wife has also presented him with a mystery. She saw a girl climbing over a wall and dropping something shiny on the ground. The enterprising Mrs Angel gets off the bus and walks to where she saw the girl get over the wall and picks up what was dropped – which appears to be made of silver. Why won’t the owner of the house acknowledge the property as his?

Angel appears more interested in the girl climbing over the wall than he does in the murder case. The reader loses the sight almost completely of the murder case and very little work is done to solve it until three quarters of the way through the book which I found quite irritating. Though the mystery of the piece of silver and the reason why it is attracting so much interest from a variety of people is interesting I wanted to know about the murder.

I liked the characters of the police involved in the story and loved DI Angel’s ingenuity towards the end of the book. I liked the disappearing Trevor Crisp and the DS Gawber’s persistent cough and his dubious cough medicine and the ending of the book was exciting. I also liked the other characters in the story especially the dubious antique dealer. It just didn’t quite warrant me giving it four stars. It was an entertaining quick read and I think I shall be reading others in the series.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews