Death Surge

November 4, 2013
Rowson plunges readers into the midst of the series’ intricate backstory in her 10th Det. Insp. Andy Horton mystery (after 2013’s Undercurrent). Two paragraphs in, the reader learns that Horton’s mother disappeared in 1978, and that he believes a covert member of the British intelligence services, Lord Eames, may know what happened to her. His search for answers is temporarily placed on hold when he’s asked to help an old friend, Sergeant Cantelli, whose 23-year-old nephew, Johnnie Oslow, has gone missing. There, too, the history is complex (“Horton had steered Oslow away from a path of criminality seven years ago, when he’d been sixteen and in trouble with the law, following an arson attack”). So within three pages, a newcomer may feel as if he or she is already catching up. The fast-paced narrative, which focuses on the Oslow case, with its multiple theories, will draw readers along, and does a lot to overcome the awkward start.

April 8, 2013
In British author Rowson’s sturdy ninth police procedural featuring Det. Insp. Andy Horton (after 2012’s Death Lies Beneath), Horton investigates the death of naval historian Douglas Spaulding, whose broken body was found at the bottom of a dry dock at the Portsmouth dockyards. Spaulding, who had given a public lecture earlier in the evening, evidently fell from a great height. Horton and Sgt. Cantelli, his competent sidekick, are mystified when their irascible superiors dismiss the case as a suicide. They’re further perplexed when their bosses claim that a marine archeologist, whose body turns up on a private yacht, died of natural causes. A third fatality, the bludgeoning of the last person to see Spaulding alive, is dismissed as a random mugging. Horton suspects a conspiracy, and though warned off the cases, surreptitiously pries on his own. Rowson successfully pilots the complex storyline, filled with wild speculations and a slew of suspects, to a fitting conclusion.

May 1, 2013
DI Andy Horton (Death Lies Beneath, 2012, etc.) waxes increasingly frustrated when his superiors just can't seem to connect the dots. The death of naval historian Douglas Spalding was bad enough. Spalding was found floating in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard shortly after his lecture in the adjacent National Museum of the Royal Navy. Career-minded DCI Lorraine Bliss decides that the quickest way to dispose of the case is to label it a suicide. Horton can't shake her, even when Daniel Redsall, who came all the way from Ulster to attend Spalding's talk, turns up dead on Carl Ashton's yacht in Oyster Quays. Horton interviews museum staff, university staff and Redsall's Aunt Beatrice trying to find the tie between the two men. But he can't even get a coherent account of Spalding's research program. Retired naval officer Ivor Meadows thinks he was writing about women in the Royal Navy. Colleague Erica Leyton says that he was looking into HMS Challenger. Another says he was looking into prostitution. The subject of Spalding's research is hard to ascertain since his briefcase, laptop and memory stick are all missing. The more Horton digs, the more he feels thwarted by the very people who should be helping him--it's the same with his search for information about his mother, Jennifer, who disappeared when he was 10. It takes still another murder to get the attention of members of his own team, DCI Bliss and DS Uckfield. And Andy's frustration may just be reaching the tipping point. Another solid procedural from Rowson, with a little kick of spy stuff for the adventurous.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2013

Shortly after naval historian Douglas Spalding gives a lecture, his corpse is found in the dry docks of Portsmouth. While his colleagues seem awfully quick to label the death a suicide, DI Andy Horton can't shake the feeling that this is a homicide. Spalding had been lying about his whereabouts, and then a second death with a similar MO reinforces an Irish connection that puzzles Horton. While finally catching on that something larger is at work (think Interpol), Horton realizes that he can't let go. Concurrently, he's absorbed with his ongoing personal investigation into his mother's disappearance during his childhood. VERDICT Those seeking an outstanding British police procedural will devour the ninth entry in Rowson's sea-oriented series (after Death Lies Beneath). Rowson's plotting is deftly layered, and she successfully captures the mood of her protagonist's tortured journey while creating abundant tension for the main plot of political intrigue.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2013
Although he's officially on vacation, DI Andy Horton can't help stopping when he sees several police cars near Portsmouth's historic dockyard. But when he approaches, he's almost sorry he didthe ruined, bloodied body of noted Portsmouth naval historian Dr. Douglas Spalding lies at the bottom of a dry dock. Although Andy's fellow cops are certain that Spalding's death is suicide, Andy isn't so sure. Already in hot water with his bosses, he figures he'll investigate the case despite their warning to leave it alone. When another body is found in mysterious circumstances, Andy is sure he's onto something. But what? When his own life is threatened, Andy is at first angry, but then he begins to see possible links to the long-ago disappearance of his mother. Is he imagining things, or are the two deaths in Portsmouth really related to what happened to his mother? As usual, Rowson offers up a thorny, multifaceted plot; a profusion of unusual twists; a likable yet complex hero; and plenty of fast-paced, knuckle-biting action.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)