When a hundred thousand pounds' worth of jewellery is stolen from a West End hotel, Detective Inspector Jack Gilroy picks up the call on his radio. But so does his boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox, head of the Flying Squad. A missing businessman, a mysterious funeral, a dead body and a near-naked blonde are not all that they seem.
During Graham Ison's thirty-year career in Scotland Yard's Special Branch he was involved in several espionage cases and the investigation into the escape of the spy George Blake. He spent four years at 10 Downing Street as Protection Officer to two Prime Ministers and also served as second-in-command of the Diplomatic Protection Group.
Tomfoolery is the third book in the Tommy Fox Series by Graham Ison. I had this pop up as a recommendation and as I love a good British Detective story, I snapped up the series (as a box set) and set off to investigate. This is a crime and investigation mystery series, with suspense, cops & robbers, conmen, villains, killers, forgers & fraudsters, heists, intrigue, crime rings, drug smuggling rings, a whodunnit feel, old school gangsters, obstacles, challenges, humour, banter, colourful quirky characters, action, drama, and more. There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in each book, so that somewhat confuses things... And the stories are a little dated in the portrayal of cultural issues, societal norms, and the available technologies (or lack thereof) etc- as the books were written in the early 1990’s and a LOT has changed since then. But the crimes, and the subsequent investigations still made for a good read, but definitely not as ‘thrilling’ as I was hoping for. We follow Scotland Yard Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox in all his unorthodox, witty, sharp, cynical, contrary ways — as throughout all the investigations he treats police procedure, regulations, and the law with his usual disdain- getting the job done (his way) nonetheless...… Happy Reading…
This is an oldie (1992) but a goodie. A first class British police mystery which is accurate for the time period. Subtle British humor coupled with a realistic plot of theft and murder. There is nothing in this book but a well told story so no one should be offended.
Misdirection is the name of the game for many mysteries, and so it is in Tomfoolery. It's not especially successful here, but it's a decent read nonetheless.