Rat Poison

December 19, 2011
Action trumps plausibility in Duffy’s 15th mystery set in Bath featuring husband and wife ex-MI5 agents Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley (after 2010’s Corpse in Waiting). Det. Chief Insp. James Carrick asks Gillard and Langley, who now assist the Serious Organized Crime Agency, to repel an incursion into Bath by a vicious London mobster known as “Uncle,” for murdering his own nephew. Gillard and Langley engage in lone-wolf heroics that heighten the suspense but defy common sense. That their survival is never in doubt undercuts the tension. Some may wonder how the couple, who are married for the second time to each other, can manage a complicated household that includes five children, two of whom are adopted, without their police work suffering. Crime fiction fans who like a quick page-turner with plenty of violence and brushes with death will be most satisfied.

January 15, 2012
The latest hair-raising adventure of the husband-and-wife team of Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley strikes uncomfortably close to home. Patrick and Ingrid's friend DCI James Carrick asks for help when his patch, the beautiful city of Bath, unexpectedly becomes the scene of bloody gang wars. Having made the move from MI5 to SOCA, the Serious Organized Crime Agency, the pair is well prepared to take on almost anything. The fearsome criminal known as "Uncle," a master of changing identities, has been spotted in Bath, accompanied as always by his vicious minder, Joy Murphy. When the gang, always one step ahead of their pursuers, seek to confound them by having one of their local members accuse Patrick's father, a vicar, of unseemly sexual advances, Patrick and Ingrid's two oldest children, who fancy themselves detectives, mount a brisk counterattack. Matthew is caught checking out the local pub, whose publican, almost certainly involved in criminal activity, has the cheek to accuse Matthew of breaking and entering. An angry Patrick scares some of the low-level local muscle into revealing what they know, but Uncle is still on the loose. In the end, Patrick takes some dangerous chances and puts himself in harm's way to catch up with Uncle. Only some last-minute intervention from Ingrid saves the family bacon. Reliable veteran Duffy (Corpse in Waiting, 2010, etc.) serves up another tasty blend of thriller and police procedural with a touch of romance.

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January 1, 2012

Married sleuths with an MI5 history (Corpse in Waiting) must intervene when gang warfare erupts in Bath. Entertaining banter mixed with breathtaking danger.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
A case becomes personal as well as deadly in the latest outing (after Corpse in Waiting, 2010) for British husband-and-wife team Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langely, of the Serious Organized Crime Agency. Trying to get to the bottom of gang warfare in Bath that leaves nine dead, the pair gets unsolicited sleuthing help from the two oldest of their five children, Matthew, 13, and Katie, 11, adopted after the death of Patrick's brother. The kids suspect foul play at the local pub, and Matthew's persistence in pursuing the matter garners him a criminal charge. Meanwhile, Patrick and Ingrid use local mobsters, plus a last-minute tip from Matthew, in their hunt for the shadowy crime boss, Uncle, and his psychopathic female cohort. Even in dire straits, Patrick and Ingrid can still muster the distinctive humor that constitutes such a large part of this series' appeal. Another well-plotted entry in an always entertaining series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)