One Man and His Bomb - Hardcover

Keating, H. R. F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312349882 ISBN 13: 9780312349882

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2006

Synopsis

Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens takes great pride in her twin sons, who decided to follow in her footsteps by joining the police force in London. She is devastated one night when she learns that one of her sons has been killed by a terrorist bomb and that the other is in the hospital, gravely injured.

In the wake of the bomb outrage, every available police officer is occupied with antiterrorist precautions. Harriet, on the other hand, finds herself investigating the theft of a herbicide specimen from a Birchester research station. The stolen sample is capable of causing more destruction than any single bomb.

Harriet must work in secrecy, all the while fighting off her overwhelming grief and unceasing fears. All but alone in a deceptive world where people aren't quite what they seem, she has to become, once again, the Hard Detective.
H.R.F. Keating, a living legend in the crime fiction world, delivers another stellar mystery featuring this fascinating and unstoppable sleuth.
 

About this title

About the Author

H.R.F. Keating was the reviewer for the London Times for fifteen years and served as chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and the Society of Authors. He has been the longest-serving president of the Detection Club, next only to Agatha Christie. He twice won the CWA Gold Dagger, and in 1996, he was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger. He lives in London with his wife, actress Sheila Mitchell, who regularly reads his titles as audio books.

 

Reviews

British veteran Keating's less than riveting sixth Det. Supt. Harriet Martens procedural (after 2005's A Detective at Death's Door) opens, literally, with a bang, but the plot remains tepid and the characters' mostly stoic response to personal tragedy feels bloodless. Martens and her husband are stunned when they learn that their twin sons, both constables for the Birchester police, have fallen victim to a terrorist's bomb—one is killed, the other is in critical condition. The super's boss, deciding that work will help her cope, gives Martens a sensitive solo assignment—to probe the theft of a genetically modified herbicide that could decimate Europe's agricultural crops. The fairly straightforward search for the thief will leave Keating's many fans hoping for a return to form in his next book. (Aug.)
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The post-9/11 atmosphere has finally seeped into the world of Detective Inspector Harriet Martens. Her twin sons, newly minted constables in London, are victims of what appears to be a terrorist booby-trap; one of the boys is killed, the other seriously injured. Meanwhile, Harriet is assigned a new case: recover a stolen bioweapon that could, in terrorist hands, cause widespread panic and death. This new Martens novel retains the grace and charm of the previous books but adds a layer of hard-edged drama and raw emotion. Keating, an accomplished storyteller, explores the post-9/11 environment gracefully, preferring to ask questions rather than offering easy answers. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312349882
• ISBN 13: 9780312349882
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224