The Missing Nurse

Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #1

by Roger Silverwood

For Inspector Michael Angel, the savage murder in an insane asylum twenty years ago marks the beginning of this gruesome trail of enquiries to find missing nurse Fiona Thomas.

In spite of obstruction from the chief constable, this quirky Yorkshire policeman reduces the suspects to one, by resorting to an unusual and original strategy.

A dead woman wearing one stocking inside out, an American class ring, a missing videotape of the lovely Lola, and two dead cats all play their part in this scramble to find the killer in this unusual and gripping mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, British Literature, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Michael Angel is a Man's Man. And the budget-priced Roger Silverwood whodunits are just my cuppa. To a "T" !

Folks, it's no longer a game of cops and robbers out there - it's a swamp filled with human rights lawyers and their nemeses, the flat foots like the Chief Inspector.

Enforcing the law nowadays requires three senior signatures, in triplicate and duly sealed and notarized. And CI Michael Angel even needs those 3 signatures to sneeze.

It's a fool's game.

I grew up in the 1950's when what you saw was what you got. Abruptly committed to an asylum in 1969, a fairly ASD-dumb me had no rights to speak of.

I was guilty until proven innocent. Why not? O tempora, O mores. My case was not isolated. And it ended up being forgotten. So I forgave and forgot and began a working life of public service.

Nowadays, if I still worked only as a consultant for the defence department I'd need to get a full environmental assessment and consult with an army of human rights lawyers to effect the most picayune military purchase.

Socialist "advances" have overrun our world.

In a way, I'm sorry I was born 30 years too soon. Now, even psych ward patients have rights. I coulda made it to my pension by subterfuge and not hard work - whining to the right people and not working. But no, I hate dishonesty.

But now, anyway, I can truly enjoy the Silverwood mysteries! Like me, Michael Angel has little respect for the heavily politicized upper strata of his department who would put a yoke on the Truth.

He and I are nothing if not outspoken.

***

Sorting through all the lies and half-truths of purposeful political misinformation is another fool's game, when motives are obscured. If you are as weary of all that as I am these days, Silverwood offers the antidote: his impeccable and inevitable logic.

Inspector Angel gets his hands dirty up to the elbows with the grit and grime of crime, but keeps his mind sharp as a tack regardless.

So his logic gives us peace in a world gone mad.

As the clues start to multiply, fit into place and interconnect with other tough cold cases, we are amazed at his acuity.

Roger Silverwood is an unsung master!

***

The motley crew of assistants to Angel - assigned to their job through 'political correctness' - provide a lot of welcome comic relief to the Chief Inspector's wearisome daily drudgery in constantly fighting City Hall.

You have to laugh... Though my vivid memories of my workplace redirect me to laugh at my own incompetent behaviour while neuroleptically drugged. I was no better.

But the hindsight of a sage old age, though sometimes 20/20, easily forgets the Stress City that was the defence department. Desperate times called for desperate measures!

Anyway, when Angel's sympathetic Superintendent forgets political correctness and gives him carte blanche to do things his own way, the killer hasn't got a chance.

Now Angel is free to nail him.

Goodbye, political correctness (and thanks for all the fish).

Five Stars for an impeccably written book!

[Beata · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was not particularly captivating or charming in the way I wanted it to be. It begins as an old case, set in Wales, and continues around twenty years later. Somehow the characters left be indifferent, and I even did not warm up to the main character who feels helpless after his wife goes away for a short period of time. True, the ending was unexpected, however, there was no real thrill in it. The subtitle suggest a mystery in Yorkshire, but most of the background is Welsh, which may be a little misleading. Good narration by Mr Gareth Armstrong certainly is an upside to this audiobook.
*Many thanks to Roger Silverwood, Bolinda Audion, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Miriam Thomas came into the station, reporting her sister Fiona missing, Detective Inspector Michael Angel couldn’t see the connection of this event and the murder of a nurse in an insane asylum twenty years previously. But it was the beginning of a series of events which would see Angel and his ragtag crew working all hours of the day and night.

The violent burglary at the nearby service station, and the assault on the young woman working there would bring another side of the mystery into play. Gradually, Angel began bringing the strings together and in his unusual and sometimes unethical manner, his determination to catch the culprit shone through. But would it work?

The Missing Nurse is the 1st in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries by Roger Silverwood and I quite enjoyed it. At the beginning, Angel came across as rude and obnoxious, but I gradually warmed to him. It was his manner, but it got results. With his wife away caring for her sick mother, Angel and the cats (don’t forget to feed the cats dear) kept one another company – when he was home. I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the young Cadet Ahmed Ahaz, as he did his best to help Angel with the case. Recommended.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have given this mystery 3 stars as the story was okay, but I did not like Inspector Michael Angel. He had many unlikeable characterisics which I found annoying. I felt sorry for his wife, for those who worked for him, and his cats (even though I'm not a cat fan.) Not likely to read anymore in the series.

[Mandy K · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Missing Nurse (audio)
1⭐️

I’m all for realistic characters, which includes the unfortunate fact that there are sexist unlikable people, but the main character had no redeemable characteristics. None. The story didn’t grab me or keep my attention. At only 6ish hours of audio this took me a long time to trudge through. When I would take a break from the book I felt no pull or interest in picking back up again. Good thing they are fictional, otherwise I’d feel guilty about not caring about the missing or dead characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for this audio ARC.

Pub Date Jul 01 2024

[Joan]

I stopped reading on page three when DI Angel bellowed 'Hey, boy." at an unnamed 22 year old Asian man who was in the CID room.

No. Seriously. No.

Had Angel been the antagonist, I would have continued but this is supposed to be the 'good' cop, but I refuse to read crime novels featuring racist 'old school' policemen.

Dnf. Not rating at this moment

[Dr M A Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not warm to the characters, in particular Michael Angel. As a police procedural it was unconvincing and clunky, and the plot was thin with a rather silly ending. Shan’t be reading any more in this series. Two stars is being generous really.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Missing Nurse is book one in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries by Roger Silverwood. Inspector Michael Angel caught a case of a murdered woman found in the local park. At first, Inspector Michael Angel had no clue into what happened. Until a witness comes forward, that allowed Inspector Michael Angel to narrow down his investigation. The readers of The Missing Nurse will continue to follow Inspector Michael Angel investigation to find out what happens.

Wow, another series for me to read. The Missing Nurse was the first book I have read of Roger Silverwood, and a fantastic book to read. I love Roger Silverwood portrayal of his characters and the way they intertwine with each other throughout this book. I like Roger Silverwood writing style that allows me to engage straight away with the plot of this book. The describing of the settings of this book was excellently done by Roger Silverwood that I could imaging living in Yorkshire. Reading The Missing Nurse, I have to laugh with what some of the characters were getting up too. I love the cover of The Missing Nurse.

The readers of The Missing Nurse will learn about how newspapers can be a fantastic resource to close a murder case. Also, the readers of The Missing Nurse will understand the consequences of jealousy and hatred in a family.

I recommend this book.

[Susan Blackshaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dalziel wannabe

Dalziel and Pascoe wanna be. The main character full of sayings found in a second hand joke book. Completely bigoted and unlikable. The plot unbelievable. What a waste of time n don't bother

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Thanks NetGalley for this ARC/audiobook. How had I missed this series with Yorkshire detective Angel?? Great work, superb narration - I.m going in search of the rest of this series and other books by Roger Silverwwod to boot!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a connection between a death at the Moorside Hospital for the Criminally Insane in 1981 and a missing nurse in the present (2004). And what about a spate of burglaries.
DI Michael Angel and his team investigate.
An enjoyable modern crime story, a good start to the series.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason it just dragged on and on.

[margaret chalmers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Missing a thrill or two.

A workmanlike story. Not exciting in any way and it's policeman seemed to be in a 70s' timewarp. The lead detective is played for comedy which doesn't quite work. He is, I think, middle-aged but comes over as older than Methusaleh. He has an absent wife checking on her elderly mother and keeps sending updates on her condition. Said detective gets involved with two robberies and a missing woman later found dead. There is also reference to an old scandal of a nurse who robbed her hospital causing the death of a male nurse by a patient who had been given watered down medication. Where is this nurse? Did she kill dead woman found in park? Do we care? Not a lot. To say this is pedestrian stuff with lame borderline racist jokes is putting it mildly. It is also painfully slow. You want a book to put you to sleep? This will do the job. And it goes on and on and on. Not recommended except for insomniacs.

[Joyce Rigg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have only read the first book and certainly won't be reading the rest. At first I understood it to be a detective story, then thought it must be a not very funny comedy. An unbelievably rude and aggressive detective inspector who spends all his time either treating his only sergeant and a cadet to verbal abuse,or trying to kill his two cats. The latter is assisted by his wife who, every day, calls to tell him to feed the cats pints of milk, never mentioning food. Most cats are lactose intolerant so his cats should be dead. More seriously I would hate to think there was a policeman who in reality would take a stolen video and instead of putting it into evidence, stuck it in a paper bag, shoved it in the drawer in his desk and, without viewing it, handed over to a pretty girl because she asked for it. Do we also put a suspect in a cell and leave them there for several days without either charging them or providing them with a solicitor? I think I finished reading this because I couldn't believe it. I will not be reading the rest. It has one star because I couldn't give it half.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first Inspector Angel book has promise. I really enjoyed the mystery. It kept me guessing until the end-- when I discovered that my deductions were all wrong. I've read a lot of crime fiction, so I always like it when an author pulls the wool over my eyes.

Inspector Angel is definitely the star of this show. He's as stubborn as they come, he likes to shout, and a lot of his humor contains dated references that zoom right over the heads of the sergeant and cadet who are working with him. Since I understood his humor, I found much of it to be genuinely funny.

But there are a few kinks that need to be ironed out. Angel is a strong character, but it's not always for the right reasons. I got tired of his shouting. He "pursed his lips" so much I began to fear that he would be forced to face the world with a permanent pucker. And I most certainly did not care for the way he treated the cadet working with him. Early on the cadet proved himself to be hard-working and self-motivated, and Angel did mentor him a bit, which was good to see, but Angel also treated the poor young man as a lackey-- making him go out frequently for groceries, to make restaurant reservations, get his lunches, and the like. Since the cadet is an Indian, and Angel refers to him as "Sabu," a case could be made for bigotry. At least he treats Detective Sergeant Crisp no better... and sometimes worse.

Halfway through the book, I suddenly thought to myself, "Where are all the females?" Throughout In the Midst of Life, the only females making an appearance are victims, victims' relatives, witnesses, and suspects. Not a one was in police uniform. Rather strange for a police procedural set in 2002.

Silverwood has written a strong mystery that I did enjoy, but the problems I had with Inspector Angel leaves me doubtful that I will be returning to read more of the series.

[Sarah Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

I enjoyed this book. Not one that I got into easily, but persevered and really enjoyed it. I would recommend it as it's a good easy crime thriller to get into.

[Yvette · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character does not only rub his colleagues the wrong way but also the readers.
He's a completely unlikeable person and a not very clever, inefficient, demotivating team leader.
As a police procedural, the story is a complete joke. The way MA talks about an 'embargo' on search warrants is completely ridiculous.
Twice in the story he yells 'chop chop' to his Asian co-worker. I find this thoroughly denigrating and racist. Probably because I saw a British tourist once yell this to a waiter in Thailand after finding he did not like the food he had ordered. 'I do not like it, take it away, chop chop' and adding a stream of invective about the idiocy of the waiter who told him that what he ordered, he needed to pay for. This image has stayed with me for 25 years and I was shocked to find it in a book, used by a so called team leader in public service.
The story itself: I do not like solutions to a crime which are not in evidence, by which I mean that as a reader we should be able to deduce ourselves the 'whodunit'. A mysterious phone call not shared with the reader helps MA to solve the mystery. Lucky for him, as he's not too clever himself.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Inspector in this story is a bit of a curmudgeon, but he plays fair (mostly) and gets the results needed. I wouldn't say he was dishonest, but in one instance he truly tricked one of the miscreants into confessing. But in a clever and funny way.

The murder part of the story was interesting, if a little bit light. The resolution was OK but it seemed to pull elements the reader was not aware of into the puzzle. But again, he utilizes people and situations to full benefit.

I finished this book off in no time so I did overall enjoy it and plan to see if my library has any others by this author.

[Bill Mullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read, but not as thrilling, funny or descriptive as either the Beatrice Stubbs series or the Hilary Greene series. I will read additional books in the series when I have a lull in my other preferred authors or series. A bit frustrating that this middle aged, world class detective can't sort his own grocery shopping, laundry, or dry cleaning and is completely helpless when his wife has to go away to tend to her sick mother, and he NEVER calls her while she's gone! He's definitely so last century in his interactions with his staff and his behavior. Not PC at all, so, that's good fun.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story - especially as I got further into it - I found that the character of Inspector Angel was quite annoying. Eventually I discovered that his "tics" were mostly put on for the benefit (or otherwise) of his underlings - but they were still annoying! The text needed a good edit as well, and I don't know if Roger Silverwood is American or British but the text was very Americanised - "airplane" instead of "aeroplane" etc. If I was able to give it a half star I would have given it 3 and a half stars.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in a detective series set in Yorkshire, with Inspector Angel as the key detective. I'm not a fan of him very much, but I like the young copper Ahmed. The story was easy to read which is exactly what I wanted/needed this week and I read it in just a few days. I might read another in the series, to see how the characters develop - will see.
In this one, a nurse from Wales confess to town and then goes missing and her sister comes looking for her, who goes missing herself. There are a lot of coincidences - some are red herrings

[James Oates · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story line, nothing special with a so so ending.

However what made the book challenging for me to read was DI Angel the main character. For me you have to like the character (such DI Green; DI Erika Foster; DI Calladine) but with DI Angel there was little to like, He was arrogant, condescending and treated his "team" like shit. He was never polite and showed very little humanity to anyone.

I did download book 2 in this series and will probably read it when I run out of the Hillary Greene books.

All and all not a bad book, but a lousy main character.

[M R B Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should I read another?

This first book in a series of many about DI Angel is a good story and intriguing plot that Angel, through intuition, appears to solve. The writing tended to grate on me and Angel,s turn of phrase often left something to be desired, although, often, it was amusing. I wonder if the character develops in the series? Only one way to find ou! Read another!

[Margaret Barbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

The missing nurse.

It took quite a while to get into this book, it seemed really dry & just plodding along. But eventually it all started to come together and the cases were solved. OK, but I wouldn't go crazy over it.Will read another book by the author to see if there's any difference to this one.

[Denis Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My award was somewhat generous in retrospect. Angel is an autocratic throwback to a bygone age when police reprimanded youngsters with a clip around the ear. The convoluted plot was drawn from the realms of fantasy , and my sympathy lay with those unfortunate to work under Angel. Perhaps, as the series develops, they might arrange for him to be kidnapped.

[barbara jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best story I have read. A bit silly at times and with Angel trying to be funny all the time, put me off.

I have this author's three books. I just hope the next two are better than his first one. And if he keeps mentioning the green corridor, I will scream.

[Val Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay read. I was not too impressed with Michael Angel and, as others have commented, I did not find his sarcastic comments funny I felt they did not fit into the book. I have read a couple of his books and may read more, as it is easy reading.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't gel

A basic plot, felt a little hurried, however my main disappointment was that I don't gel with the main character. Perhaps if it was sent it years gone by, the personality and behaviours would be more believable. It's a shame as I felt the author has potential.

[Beverly Mccollum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather typical British murder mystery. The main character-inspector Michael Angel -isn’t politically correct at all and often is quite annoying. However, that does differentiate him from many other major characters in this genre. A quick , easy read. I’d recommend it.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written and good twisty tale Inspector Angel is very non PC and while some of his sayings can be funny they are a bit annoying after awhile however I enjoyed the plot and will move on with series