Straight and Level

The Claire Hardcastle Mysteries #2

by Penelope Haines

Hot on the heels of her first adventure, Death on D’Urville, commercial pilot Claire Hardcastle is back, and flying New Zealand skies has never been so exciting!

All Claire wanted was to get through Dry July, await the return of her boyfriend, Detective Sergeant Jack Body, from his overseas trip and revert to her usually quiet life. If only it were that simple!

A chance meeting, a dead body and a request from the local police is only the beginning.

A botched raid results in Claire being kidnapped and forced into a violent situation of drugs and eco-terrorism that will take all her skills as a pilot to survive.

Straight and Level is the second novel in the Claire Hardcastle Mystery series set in New Zealand, following Claire’s adventures as a commercial pilot, flying instructor and accidental detective.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Penelope Haines became a writer when she realized she could gaze out of the window with a glass of wine in her hands and claim to be working.

Her previous occupations of Nurse, Management Consultant, Parent, Farm Manager, CEO and Commercial Pilot failed to achieve this simple clarity.

Her training as a nurse taught her not to kill patients; her training as a flying instructor convinced her to be patient as students attempted to kill her. Penelope’s current status as ‘alive’ is a testament to the speed of her reactions.

Writing detective novels allows her to explore new and creative ways of murdering those who have offended her. So far the results of that exploration have remained purely fantastical.

Penelope's interests are centered round reading, writing, music, theatre and horse-riding. She maintains she is a single minded person, having one dog, one cat, one horse and one husband.

She lives in Otaki, New Zealand. Penelope hopes you will enjoy her novels.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL is the second in a series of novels based around central character, commercial pilot Claire Hardcastle, which fall into the crimance category. Part crime fiction, part romance, with a bit of adventure thrown in courtesy of the locations and the situations into which the author can put a pilot. In this case, the relationship aspects are high on the agenda, the adventure comes by way of a kidnapping and enforced fight, and the crime element is all about murder and corruption in developer circles. Solid plot set up, and the use of the commercial pilot aspect is well done.

[David O'Hare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the precursor (yet) so this was my introduction to this author and her protagonist - Claire Hardcastle. As the central character Claire is thoroughly believable as the feisty flight instructor and bears more than a passing resemblance to real-life New Zealand female aviators I have encountered. I looked forward to the scenes involving Claire's piloting skills as they were well-described and sufficiently descriptive to entertain the more knowledgeable reader whilst not getting overly bogged down in unnecessary detail. The mysteries that arise during the narrative are nicely resolved by the end and, without giving anything away, could really only have happened in New Zealand. The novel feels deeply grounded in the local setting which makes it a nice addition to the New Zealand mystery genre featuring strong female protagonists such as Vanda Symons's Sam Shephard. A particular strength of the book is the dialogue which snaps along nicely and never gets in the way of the narrative. I was less taken with the love interest side of the story but this is purely a matter of taste. Overall, a well-written aviation themed thriller with a convincing central female protagonist. I look forward to catching up with Claire again.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all Penelope's books and was keen to read the second instalment of the Claire Hardcastle mysteries.
I was intrigued by the concept of flying female hero and Claire didn't disappoint. The second in the series - Straight and Level - was as readable as the first. Having learnt of Claire Hardcastle the first time round I was interested in seeing how she developed as a character as what her next adventure might be. The second book did not disappoint and I read until 2am the first night I had it.
Female, flying and fatalities - what more could you want.
I await the third in the series to see what else Claire and her new beau have coming to them.

[sara straub · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, well paced book. As I am familiar with the area I observed how well researched her writing was. My only negative, not really interested in graphic sexual scenes. If this is what I wanted to read I would look in another genre.

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start almost gave up on the book. Glad I didn't. Good book.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting mystery

I enjoyed this mystery. Claire Hardcastle is a great heroine. It is obvious that Penelope Haines knows about flying airplanes. It makes her mysteries better.

[Sreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough story but lacks depth, especially of character.

[Jill Mccaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series.
As a woman pilot I'm loving having a heroine who is a competent pilot, a competent woman all round.
I agree with Claire's boss, trouble does seem to follow her around, and sometimes she's a little bit slow on the uptake, but all round, I don't think I've enjoyed a heroine quiet so much in ages.
I really enjoyed too, the rich sense of place in the locations and the empathy for the Maori perspective of the people and the land.
A nice easy but compelling read.