Stone Cold Stone Dead
Stone Cold, Stone Dead A mystery set in Somerset and London by Margaret Duffy
Severn House Publishers
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 01 Oct 2018
Review
Rarely has there been such a complementary pair as Patrick and Ingrid - intellectually and physically. Patrick Gillard, formerly of MI5, now working for the National Crime Agency, has a long list of enemies, some hopefully dead, but others who have apparently cheated the grave and now have plans to finish what they started.
The Patrick and Ingrid Gillard thrillers are twisty but believable tales, which have a strong human component. Patrick is disabled, but it doesn’t slow him down. (He has two artificial legs). Just as there are evil and weak characters, there are ones who are kind and funny. It varies, and the foibles of individuals impact the plot a great deal. One of the subplots of Stone Cold, Stone Dead, involve a pair of supposed lay readers attempting to intimidate Patrick’s mother into leaving her home. Through promise of funds and manipulation, various townspeople are convinced of the couple’s right to move in - despite their lack of references. Deception plays a major role throughout Stone Cold Stone Dead.
As always there is murder, action, and plenty of deception, as well as a healthy dose of familial support and love. Stone Cold Stone Dead is a good novel, but somehow it lacks the punch of Margaret Duffy’s other works. As Patrick takes on a new job as an insurance investigator, it seems clear that Duffy feels that she, as well as Patrick and Ingrid need some time to refresh.
4 / 5
I received a copy of Stone Cold, Stone Dead from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
-- Crittermom
Description
An unwelcome blast from the past puts Patrick and Ingrid back in harm’s way . . . Nicholas Haldane was dead, but he wouldn’t lie down. And now Julian Hardy, the man who hired him in a bid to destroy Richard Daws, a top official in the National Crime Agency, is out of prison and has changed his surname to Mannering. Patrick Gillard, working for the agency but within the Avon and Somerset force with his wife Ingrid Langley, receives a request from MI5, for whom he used to work, to investigate Mannering. They are then called in when his cleaner makes a shocking discovery. Meanwhile, an enigmatic couple calling themselves Simon and Natasha Graves turn up in the village, intent on pestering Patrick’s recently widowed mother. Could there be a connection to Mannering? Patrick and Ingrid are soon embroiled in a deeply personal and disturbing case.
