What do you think?
Rate this book
Chief Inspector Woodend #20
Fatal Quest
After the dramatic events in Dying Fall, Woodend reminisces on his long career in a brand new story...
'You should have worked out by now that nobody wants this case solved!'
These words, delivered by Eddie, a Liverpool thug brought down to London especially to put the frighteners on him, send a shiver down newly-promoted DS Charlie Woodend's spine. Because Eddie is right. Nobody does seem interested in bringing the killer of sixteen-year-old Pearl Jones to justice. Not DCI Bentley, Woodend's immediate boss. Not Deputy Commissioner Naylor, whose word is law in Scotland Yard. Not even the dead girl's mother herself.
But Woodend cares. Working alone - sifting through the rubble of bombed-out post-war London and building up a picture of a life cut short - he is assailed by a growing anger and a deepening sorrow. He will find the murderer, he promises himself, even if that means putting his career - and perhaps even his own life - on the line.
'You should have worked out by now that nobody wants this case solved!'
These words, delivered by Eddie, a Liverpool thug brought down to London especially to put the frighteners on him, send a shiver down newly-promoted DS Charlie Woodend's spine. Because Eddie is right. Nobody does seem interested in bringing the killer of sixteen-year-old Pearl Jones to justice. Not DCI Bentley, Woodend's immediate boss. Not Deputy Commissioner Naylor, whose word is law in Scotland Yard. Not even the dead girl's mother herself.
But Woodend cares. Working alone - sifting through the rubble of bombed-out post-war London and building up a picture of a life cut short - he is assailed by a growing anger and a deepening sorrow. He will find the murderer, he promises himself, even if that means putting his career - and perhaps even his own life - on the line.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Sally Spencer
81 books152 followersA pseudonym used by Alan Rustage.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 10, 2019
Loved one of the earlier books, not so much this one. The STORY is good, the excesses really got to me.
After I finished the book, I imagined a brief interview with Alan Rustage:
Q. do you use a woman's name as your non de plume so that you can indulge your obsession with italics?
A. I see no problem with a female using 3 to 12 words in italics on every page, do you?
Q. How many fonts are really appropriate in a single book?
A. Obviously, six to eight is usually sufficient as long as one can be regular and italics and another can be regular and bold face.
Q. Still isn't four pages of italics to tell a story within a story, or five pages of Currier font to tell a dream a bit excessive?
A. clearly you have no idea how effective my artistic choices are.
Q. Is it more important to you to write patois or to make the dialogue clear?
A. I am brilliant at writing dialects. There are four different dialects in this story and my readers are far to dull to be able to "read in an accent" without my genius!
Q. But you don't use exaggerated spelling or the "posh" accent.
A. Obviously not as we speak properly.
After I finished the book, I imagined a brief interview with Alan Rustage:
Q. do you use a woman's name as your non de plume so that you can indulge your obsession with italics?
A. I see no problem with a female using 3 to 12 words in italics on every page, do you?
Q. How many fonts are really appropriate in a single book?
A. Obviously, six to eight is usually sufficient as long as one can be regular and italics and another can be regular and bold face.
Q. Still isn't four pages of italics to tell a story within a story, or five pages of Currier font to tell a dream a bit excessive?
A. clearly you have no idea how effective my artistic choices are.
Q. Is it more important to you to write patois or to make the dialogue clear?
A. I am brilliant at writing dialects. There are four different dialects in this story and my readers are far to dull to be able to "read in an accent" without my genius!
Q. But you don't use exaggerated spelling or the "posh" accent.
A. Obviously not as we speak properly.
December 11, 2024
I have just finished reading all the books in this series back to back.
I have so enjoyed the journey with the detectives and their relationships.
The books were also informative over some things, especially the Cuban crisis. as like in the book to me it was something that just happened. I remember my parents huddled round the tv and seeming concerned but as a youngster it really passed me by so it also gave insight into how things were really being perceived at the time.
The books are well worth the time to read
I have so enjoyed the journey with the detectives and their relationships.
The books were also informative over some things, especially the Cuban crisis. as like in the book to me it was something that just happened. I remember my parents huddled round the tv and seeming concerned but as a youngster it really passed me by so it also gave insight into how things were really being perceived at the time.
The books are well worth the time to read
October 6, 2021
Really sad that this is the last book of this series.
August 3, 2016
I read a digital copy of the book, the first time I've ever done that. I suppose I'll get used to reading books this way but I still prefer hardcover books to have and to hold.
It was the last of the Chief Inspector Woodend novels but was set up as a prequel, an account of Woodend's first major case and the reason he was promoted to Chief Inspector, told to his successor, Monika Paniatowski, who has her own series. He told this story to her as they are parting ways, he heading off to his retirement home in Spain, and she continuing on the work they used to do together as a team at Scotland Yard. It was well written, witty, exciting, insightful. I want to read this whole series in order, having heard so much about Charlie Woodend in the Monika Panitowski books I've read. He was her mentor and friend, and after his retirement, she continuously asks herself what Charlie would do in any particular situation. I want some of the history of the cases they worked on together. I find this author's work absorbing.
It was the last of the Chief Inspector Woodend novels but was set up as a prequel, an account of Woodend's first major case and the reason he was promoted to Chief Inspector, told to his successor, Monika Paniatowski, who has her own series. He told this story to her as they are parting ways, he heading off to his retirement home in Spain, and she continuing on the work they used to do together as a team at Scotland Yard. It was well written, witty, exciting, insightful. I want to read this whole series in order, having heard so much about Charlie Woodend in the Monika Panitowski books I've read. He was her mentor and friend, and after his retirement, she continuously asks herself what Charlie would do in any particular situation. I want some of the history of the cases they worked on together. I find this author's work absorbing.
September 9, 2013
DS Charlie Woodend is retiring and while waiting for the train to take him away he tells his partner Monika Paniatowski all about the case that made him a Chief Inspector. Nobody cared about the murder of a "coloured" girl whose body was found near an old war bomb site after WW II. Nobody but Charlie, at least. As the investigation continued, no one at the New Scotland Yard seemed interested in the case. As Woodend stubbornly continues the investigation, he is threatened by both gangsters and his own superiors, but that cannot stop him.
Charlie Woodend's career has come to and end, but this story describes how he became the determined detective he was.
Charlie Woodend's career has come to and end, but this story describes how he became the determined detective he was.
October 10, 2015
Interesting to learn the history of CI Woodend's promotion.
The brutal murder of a teenaged girl is barely investigated. Woodend's boss is not interested in the death of a "darkie". Racism and crooked coppers all over the place in this story set in the 50's.
Despite being blocked from investigating, Charlie uses his own time and resources to uncover the truth. It is a shocking discovery, one that the higher echelons of the police force want to keep hidden. Rough justice is dispensed and, to keep him quiet, Sargent Woodend gets a double promotion to Chief Inspector, and the threat of being sent up north whenever the forces there need help!
The brutal murder of a teenaged girl is barely investigated. Woodend's boss is not interested in the death of a "darkie". Racism and crooked coppers all over the place in this story set in the 50's.
Despite being blocked from investigating, Charlie uses his own time and resources to uncover the truth. It is a shocking discovery, one that the higher echelons of the police force want to keep hidden. Rough justice is dispensed and, to keep him quiet, Sargent Woodend gets a double promotion to Chief Inspector, and the threat of being sent up north whenever the forces there need help!
July 21, 2016
I really like Charlie, the main character, and I adore his wife! I tend to be a determined individual
( a.k.a. stubborn) that frequently does career challenging things in order to do what is right, and so does Charlie. The novel covers quite a bit about class distinctions, and who is REALLY in charge. It is set in London, fairly soon after WWII ends. It rates three rather than four, because I had pretty much figured out the who done it and why about halfway through.
( a.k.a. stubborn) that frequently does career challenging things in order to do what is right, and so does Charlie. The novel covers quite a bit about class distinctions, and who is REALLY in charge. It is set in London, fairly soon after WWII ends. It rates three rather than four, because I had pretty much figured out the who done it and why about halfway through.
March 2, 2010
On his retirement, Wooden recounts his first case. The narrative is littered with racist slurs which I found offensive. I tried reading it in context of the time period and to consider that the protagonist was also offended by the terms. Add that the plot was rather predictable and slow going, and it made for just an okay read. I doubt I'll look for other titles in the series.
July 4, 2016
Charlie Woodend's first case, is actually the last one the author has written about him. An appealing procedural set in the grim streets of post-Blitz London, it's a highly satisfying prequel to the series.
March 16, 2018
This book was OK. The constant italicized words were extremely annoying so after awhile I couldn't even focus on what the book was about
July 7, 2014
FATAL QUEST
A good mystery but very hard to read because of the dialogue. Well written and a page turner except for the use of the Cockney language.
A good mystery but very hard to read because of the dialogue. Well written and a page turner except for the use of the Cockney language.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews