Toyshop

During the bleak closing decade of the Cold War, there is no sign of a thaw between the opposing powers of East and West. But what if there is a common threat, which can only be faced with a common response? Unless, of course, the common threat itself is an illusion created by one of the players in the intelligence game.

But someone, for some reason, is blackmailing key members of the intelligence community on both sides of the Iron Curtain. And people are dying - in violent circumstances. Coincidence? If not, what is the common link uniting the different cases?

Eric Blaines, the dyspeptic trouble-shooter from the Ministry of Defence, is the only man who can find the answer. But to do so he must confront the ghosts in his own past.

"As Andrew Taylor triumphantly proves...there is still room for excellence." Irish Times

"Eye-blinking finale and a refreshing air of being plotted on the hoof." The Guardian

In 1958 Elvis was doing his Military Service and Long John Silver (Harry) and the Pirates were doing a summer tour.  All goes well until the theatre's ASM is killed.
Other incidents include the tyres on the group’s van being slashed, Julia (Harry's girlfriend) has her hotel room raided, an attempt is made on Harry's life and Julia receives a threatening message.
DI Burton doesn’t like young people or rock’n’roll.  His DS and DC aren’t prejudiced and with help from Harry, the Pirates and Julia the crimes are solved.
The group who open for LJS are also involved in the mayhem.  There are teenage girls in full skirts, reversed cardigans and bubble cuts, not forgetting the blue police boxes and coffee bars.
Who would want to kill two unrelated people and carry out the attacks?

Why would someone want to murder two writers?  Because they belonged to the same writers' circle?  Or was there a more sinister reason?

The action takes place in New Arundel, in Florida, where Englishwoman Trudi Johnson lives.  Trudi is a travel writer and member of the New Arundel Writers.  There she becomes close friends with Lucia O'Mahoney. 

Marcia Annenberg is an estate agent with ambitions to be a writer.  Unfortunately she has a habit of copying other people's ideas and presenting them as her own.  Several NAW members are angry about it.  Is it one of them who kills Marcia?

And who would want to kill another member of the circle who was a friend of Marcia's? 

Information garnered by Trudi and Lucia helps Detective Ricardo Gomez solves the crimes.

Cleo is back in all her caftan glory.  In this book she encounters more murders and with help from her crime journalist friend, Primrose Day, tries to solve them.  DCI David 'Steaming' Kettle and his team are on the job and, of course, there is the clash of two strong personalities - Cleo and David.

When an estate agent drops dead at the end of a Dinner, his wife insists it was a heart attack.  But was it?  Having previously met the husband and wife, Cleo becomes involved and there is a long list of suspects if his death wasn't due to natural causes.  People such as other estate agents, fellow golfers, and, of course, his family.

Then a woman golfer is killed in a hit and run and another is clubbed to death on the golf course.

Are all three murders connected? 

There isn't a car chase in this book, but Cleo and the villagers do have a night time adventure.

Late one evening Cleo Marjoribanks comes home to find that her housekeeper has drowned in the swimming pool.  The housekeeper's husband, Dan, is missing.  A couple of days later his body turns up on a beach.  He had been shot.

Later in the book the village gossip is found dead in Cleo's garden.  This was an attempt to frame her but that failed as Cleo was in London that day.

Towards the end of the book there is a very strange car chase - keeping to the speed limits and obeying traffic lights…

A busy day for Cleo is when she is threatened by three murderers in one day.

The DCI in charge of the case is 'Steaming' Kettle - a one time neighbour and schoolfriend of Cleo's.  Yes, they do get it together.