Malice in the Highlands

Rating:
Summary: As mysteries go, this is a fair one.
Review: I find most mysteries confusing: Too many characters, too many plots and subplots, just a little too much work for a good read, but this one is okay. There's a murder, (of course), that takes place near a Scottish fishing lodge. Chief Inspector Barrett and Detective-Chief Superintendent of New Scotland Yard, Erskine Powell, are vacationing there and enjoying a premiere salmon-fishing spot when they are thrust into a melting pot of potential killers, shady characters, and suspicious suspects everywhere. The plot thickens and spreads it's arteries ever outward when a fishing buddy of Detective Powell's is also nearly killed in the same manner & circumstances as the late Charles Murray, owner of Castle Glyn Estate, located nearby. What I truly enjoyed the most were the delicately embroidered descriptions of the Highlands, the fishing lodge, and Scotland itself. This author has a good relationship with adjectives. I would read Graham Thomas again, given the fact this was his first book, a good read, and with his writing style, he will be sure to get better and better.

Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: If you really want to read a mystery that has a lot of information about Scotland and fly fishing, you will enjoy this book. I thought it was so-so. Among British fictional detectives, I very much prefer Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford or Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks.

Rating:
Summary: Grand debut, thought provoking atmospheric mystery
Review: New Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Erskine Powell spends more time covering his superiors' butts than solving crimes. Every year he goes on a Highland vacation where he engages in a friendly fishing competition with the local constable, Chief inspector Alex Barret. This year Pinky Warburton join the law enforcement duo on their fishing expedition.

On the first day of Erskine's vacation, the body of the new owner of Castle Glyn is found in the river. It appears at first that the victim's death was accidental, but the subsequent autopsy reveals a murder has been committed. The deceased was an internationally renowned Canadian with numerous enemies. When Pinky almost becomes the next victim, Erskine has a personal stake in uncovering the identity of the killer.

MALICE IN THE HIGHLANDS, the first episode in what appears to be an ongoing series, stimulates the reader's cranial electrodes with its seemingly unsolvable puzzle. Talented Graham Thomas brings the Scottish Highlands to colorful life and has created an endearing hero. Readers will definitely want to read more stories starring this special, one of a kind sleuth. Fans of the British police procedural will enjoy this 1990's Hercule Poirot.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Only Fair!!
Review: This is the first book by Graham Thomas that I have read so maybe it is not fair to say only fair. I was not held in suspense waiting for something else to happen. Erskine Powell is a Detective-Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard. He goes on an annual fishing trip and this is where the crimes take place. There are may suspects but Chief Superintrendent Powell finally figures it all out. I did not feel as close to Scotland as I feel with either M. C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series or Rhys Bowen's Evans series. Doubt if I try another Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping stuff. Kept me guessing until the final page.
Review: Very evocative writing. Makes you feel like you are ther in the Highlands