Past Mischief: A Thames Valley Mystery - Hardcover

Curzon, Clare

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312143885 ISBN 13: 9780312143886

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1996

Synopsis

Superintendent Mike Yeadings and his team of Thames Valley police officers work to solve the murder of a stranger, who turns up in the office of Miranda Gregory, who herself is in the local hospital, the victim of a mysterious hit-and-run "accident."

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Thames Valley CID Superintendent Mike Yeadings (Nice People, 1995, etc.) has an almost peripheral share of this new case in which Detective Rosemary Zyczynski plays a major role. A man, shot to death and stripped of identification, has been found, after hours, in the office of Miranda Gregory, a sleek, ambitious executive with Matherson and Corby, a special-events planning company. The next day Miranda is found unconscious, seemingly the victim of a hit-and-run driver. While she remains in a deep coma, a search of her apartment turns up the fact that her real name is Annie Lodd, legally changed, and it appears she'd been adopted twice. Further investigation reveals the intriguing fact that Miranda's predecessor in her job was her second adoptive mother, Gwen Lodd, now retired. The office victim is finally identified as a private detective, mission unknown. A second corpse surfaces when Yeadings's men trace Miranda's adoptive father Peter and find him dead--a suicide by overdose. Then there's TV producer Rodney Fairburn, a half-brother, who shows up at the hospital; a bloody knife found in Peter Lodd's flat; and rumors of Miranda's shadowy connection to parliamentary junior minister Feaist-Rivers. With its hints of byzantine plots, an overextended cast of characters, and the harrowing flashbacks suffered by a comatose Miranda, the windup is a tad under-climactic. Still, Curzon does the British procedural better than most, and her 16th novel is no exception. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Miranda Gregory is a successful London businesswoman with few friends, a very private private life, and a past that's shrouded in secrecy. When she turns up critically injured in a hit-and-run accident, the police are mystified, especially since Miranda is in a coma and can't be questioned about what happened. Then they receive a call from a hysterical office worker who's made a grisly discovery--a dead body with half of the face shot away. And guess where the body was found? Miranda's office, of course. Bad things come in threes, so it's no surprise when Miranda's adoptive father is found dead, an apparent suicide victim. The talented, persistent coppers of the Thames Valley CID dig away at bits and pieces until they finally unravel the horrifying secret of Miranda's past. Curzon's competent writing and keen understanding of the human psyche--plus an ingenious plot and a cast of fascinating characters--add up to a story that's sure to be a favorite among procedural fans. Emily Melton

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0312143885
• ISBN 13: 9780312143886
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 218