Illegal Tender

Rating:
Summary: One last book by Gerald Hammond
Review: An excellent entry into the series. For the first time we get to see Henry Kitts on his own, without the others at Throaks. While John Cunningham is very much a favorite of mine, it was delightful to see Henry & to see the power of his quick & agile mind. Bravo to Mr. Hammond for penning another very worthwhile installment in the series. Long may such characters live in our hearts and minds, for they are a true inspiration to those of honor.

Rating:
Summary: A valediction
Review: Gerald Hammond is the author of over forty mysteries, most using the field sports-fishing, upland bird hunting and shooting-as back drops. Having lived beyond the normally allotted "three score and ten" Hammond writes in his introduction that Illegal Tender will be his last mystery.

Henry Kitts, the husband of Isobel Kitts, a veterinarian and part owner of Three Oaks Kennels, is the protagonist of this valedictory novel. Former army officer John Cunnigham usually is featured in the Three Oaks Kennels mysteries, with Henry a lively, though somewhat doddering, assistant sleuth. Hammond strongly identifies with Henry, he even says so in the preface, which makes him a fitting "star" of the book.

A character driven mystery, Illegal Tender is also pleasantly anachronistic. There is more than a hint of the bitterweet on these pages. Henry's views are hardly politically correct. Women are indeed the fairer sex, though his attempts at a more modern view are charming. A mystery buff will have little trouble "solving" the crimes (an e-mail fraud and a murder).

Hammond's books have always been delightful. A couple of hundred pages of pure escapism with interesting, flawed, quite human characters and a generous dollop of single malt scotch, fine shotguns, fly rods, hunting dogs, driven pheasant hunting, salmon fishing and the genteel life of sporting Scotland.

I'll miss the old boy.

Rating:
Summary: A valediction
Review: Gerald Hammond is the author of over forty mysteries, most using the field sports-fishing, upland bird hunting and shooting-as back drops. Having lived beyond the normally allotted "three score and ten" Hammond writes in his introduction that Illegal Tender will be his last mystery.

Henry Kitts, the husband of Isobel Kitts, a veterinarian and part owner of Three Oaks Kennels, is the protagonist of this valedictory novel. Former army officer John Cunnigham usually is featured in the Three Oaks Kennels mysteries, with Henry a lively, though somewhat doddering, assistant sleuth. Hammond strongly identifies with Henry, he even says so in the preface, which makes him a fitting "star" of the book.

A character driven mystery, Illegal Tender is also pleasantly anachronistic. There is more than a hint of the bitterweet on these pages. Henry's views are hardly politically correct. Women are indeed the fairer sex, though his attempts at a more modern view are charming. A mystery buff will have little trouble "solving" the crimes (an e-mail fraud and a murder).

Hammond's books have always been delightful. A couple of hundred pages of pure escapism with interesting, flawed, quite human characters and a generous dollop of single malt scotch, fine shotguns, fly rods, hunting dogs, driven pheasant hunting, salmon fishing and the genteel life of sporting Scotland.

I'll miss the old boy.

Rating:
Summary: Henry Kitts gets away to solve a mystery of his own
Review: Isobel and Henry Kitts are well known characters in the Three Oaks series. Isobel is resident vet and dog trainer, and Henry, a retired banker assists the Throaks staff wherever necessary. In this novel, Henry gets a call from the granddaughter of an old friend. She asks him to join her syndicate in a shoot in addition to helping her with a financial problem. Henry is one of her trustees as well as being a fellow director in the Agritechnics firm. Apparently Elizabeth has been taken in by an email scam, to the tune of one and a half million pounds. Then a debtor of Agritechnics is found dead by Henry, who embroils himself in yet another murder mystery.

This was a very good mystery, although I missed the folks at Throaks. Henry is an often overlooked character in the series, and this novel developes his character more fully.

Rating:
Summary: Henry Kitts gets away to solve a mystery of his own
Review: Isobel and Henry Kitts are well known characters in the Three Oaks series. Isobel is resident vet and dog trainer, and Henry, a retired banker assists the Throaks staff wherever necessary. In this novel, Henry gets a call from the granddaughter of an old friend. She asks him to join her syndicate in a shoot in addition to helping her with a financial problem. Henry is one of her trustees as well as being a fellow director in the Agritechnics firm. Apparently Elizabeth has been taken in by an email scam, to the tune of one and a half million pounds. Then a debtor of Agritechnics is found dead by Henry, who embroils himself in yet another murder mystery.

This was a very good mystery, although I missed the folks at Throaks. Henry is an often overlooked character in the series, and this novel developes his character more fully.

Rating:
Summary: A talented mystery writer pens his last work
Review: Sir Peter Hay, the rich owner of Hay Lodge, and Henry Fitts, part owner of Three Oaks Gun-dog Kennel are friends. When Henry died, his entire estate went to his granddaughter Elizabeth Ilwand with Henry acting as executor until she either marries or is mature enough to manage the empire.

Henry and Elizabeth are close friends so he accepts her invitation to hold a business discussion over dinner. At dinner, Henry mentions an e-mail scam he learned about. When Elizabeth haers about this, she nearly faints. She explains that she gave banking information to the con artists who wiped out a million and a quarter pounds from her account. As Henry tries to track the money trail, he and Elizabeth look at another account causing problems that might require personal takeover. This delinquent account and the e-mail scan are related and dangerous to anyone who seeks the connection.

Now seventy, author Gerald Hammond says in the preface that this will probably be his last mystery. Hopefully a talent as good as Mr. Hammond will change his mind and provide his loyal following with at least a dozen more tales. However, if ILLEGAL TENDER is his finale, it is a great way to go into retirement. The characters are realistic and the non-violent story line makes for a fascinating mystery. The book's climax is a surprise that will fool everyone into yelling at Mr. Hammond for one more encore at a minimum of a dozen times.

Harriet Klausner