A young man is dead, shot down outside a nightclub. All the evidence points to his girlfriend, his murder the result of a lovers' quarrel.  But D.I. David Russell is uncomfortable with this conclusion. As he delves into the man's background, and the circumstances surrounding his death, he is led into a shady world of drugs and prostitution, until the ripples of a seemingly simple crime overlap with those of a covert international operation. But the answer, when it comes, is surprisingly close to home...

The third of Geoffrey Lewis's D.I. David Russell novels follows a rather different course from that of his first two stories. In Winter's Tale, we find something much closer to an Agatha Christie style 'who-dun-it'; the obvious suspect, while faced with overwhelming weight of evidence against her, does not satisfy Russell's sense of truth or justice. Tiny anomalies in the evidence and his assessment of her character lead him to to keep digging into the case, despite the lack of any other possible suspect; slowly the investigation uncovers not one but two separate criminal operations, until the man behind a local small-time crime empire is taken down and an international drugs ring is revealed. But at last, when the motive for the man's murder is uncovered, it takes everyone, especially D.S. Doug Rimmer, by surprise.

As always in Geoffrey Lewis's writing, the tension builds gradually, in this case as the reader follows David Russell's frustrating efforts to avoid a miscarriage of justice and the separation of a mother from her nine-year-old daughter. The children, including Russell's own family, again play a part in the background of the story, providing some of the most emotive moments of the narrative. Tensions within his family, revolving around his now teenage son, form a running sub-plot which serves to distract him from time to time and affect his concentration on his job - this too reaches a dramatic conclusion in the book's closing chapters. Once more, in traditional Geoffrey Lewis fashion, the ending is comfortingly up-beat

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WINTER'S TALE sample chapter:

She raised her head again, to look herself in the eye through the mirror. So - if it was all over? You're not a bad-looking gal, even if you are getting on! She tossed her head, watching her long, wavy auburn hair bounce, looked again into her dark green eyes: You'll do, kiddo! And twenty-six isn't that old, after all.. But even as she thought it, she knew the bravado was hollow, that she would take a long time to get over Roddie - they'd been so close, seemed so right for each other... How could it all be finished?

As she stood contemplating the collapse of her life, she became aware of background kerfuffling. A few loud thumps - then the sound of voices in the corridor beyond her temporary world, voices raised in... what? Anger? No, shock, distress - what was going on? She roused herself, quickly towelled her face, shook her hair into place and opened the door.

Emerging into the corridor, she was confronted with a scene of confusion to match that which reigned in her head. Suddenly, one of the other hostesses grabbed her, pinned her by both arms against the wall:
"Stay here, Luce! Don't go out there!"
"What? What is it, Elsa, what's going on?! The other girl held her firmly, gazing into her eyes, shocked blue looking into her puzzled green:
"I don't know, not really, but... It's Rod, Lucy; he's been hurt."
"What! Let me go, I must go and help him! Elsa! Let go of me!" But the blond girl held on, shook her head, the shock in her face turning to pain:
"You can't help, Luce - I... I think he's dead." Her voice was no more than a whisper. Lucy stared at her for a moment, shaking her head, her mouth forming a silent "No!"; then she broke loose, fought her way through the crowd of bodies blocking her way, out into the alley, to fall on her knees beside the prone figure of her lover, sliding one arm beneath his head, feeling the limp unresponsiveness of him, taking in as if in a trance the blood-stained shirt.

"Roddie, Roddie, Roddie..." His murmured name became a dirge as she held him to her chest, her tears falling unheeded on his upturned face.'
 

Availability:

‘Winter’s Tale’ was published in September 2004.  Copies can be ordered through any good bookshop by quoting the title and author or ISBN 0-9545624-2-9, or direct from this website.

Trade orders may be placed through any wholesaler via Bookdata, or contact the publishers at sales@sgmpublishing.co.uk

From reviews of the previous David Russell books:

‘Northamptonshire’s own answer to Inspector Morse’

          Image Magazine

‘Impossible to put down’

     Graham Sherwood, Choice Magazine

‘Plots brimming with unexpected twists’

         What’s On Magazine

WINTER'S TALE by Geoffrey Lewis

WINTER'S TALE

by Geoffrey Lewis

paperback

£6.99

ISBN 0-9545624-2-9

published by
SGM Publishing