Hazell Plays Solomon

James Hazell Mystery #2

by P.B. Yuill

1976 Penguin first, spine ends split, covers creased, marked and worn, page edges tanned. Orders received by 3pm Sent from the UK that weekday.

Genres: Crime

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Joint pseudonym of Gordon M. Williams with Terry Venables

Reviews

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: why should a rich guy be interested in a woman who had a child six years ago, asks PI James Hazell.

[Kenneth McMahon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who knew that Terry Venables co-authored some detective novels in the 70s? I had no idea, so picked this up immediately when I found it at charity book sale. It's a very slight story that holds some interest for its 1970s east end London setting, but the protagonist himself is fairly intolerable. Constantly interjecting himself into conversations with unfunny witticisms, the other characters just ignore him while he thinks he's the smartest kid on the block.

Also contains this bizarre paragraph:

" A beautiful, half-naked girl opened the door. She had black hair, deep brown eyes and the kind of smile that would corrupt an archbishop.

The top half of her white bikini was missing and the bottom half wasn't hiding anything but essentials. Her exquisitely smooth shoulders and boyishly-firm breasts glistened with drops of water.

Unfortunately she was about eight years old. "

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. It’s dated, but kept you guessing until the end. The dialogue was typical cockney, and did make me smile at times. The story was well thought out and all the characters were believable for those times. This was an entertaining read throughout. I will definitely read the other two books from P.B. Yuill, with Hazel as the main character.

[Wayne Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!