Inspector Ryga is investigating in Devon

It's a cold wet night in January 1951, the body of a man stabbed through the heart is found tangled up in fishing nets in Brixham Harbour, Devon. Scotland Yard's Inspector Ryga is on the case in DEATH IN THE NETS no. 3 in the Inspector Ryga Mysteries.

Ryga is a former German prisoner-of-war. His ship was seized by a German Raider in 1941 as a result of which he spent the rest of the war incarcerated in MILAG, (Marine Internierten Lager). Here he had to learn how to cope with the uncertainty, fear and deprivations of forced incarceration with no option but to wait, hope and pray that the war would soon be over and the Nazis would be defeated.

His experience has made him observant, analytical and reflective. It has also given him insights into his fellow man. He’s witnessed compassion, cruelty, cowardice and heroism, mental breakdown and despair. He’s made a promise to himself that whatever happens after the war he’ll keep an open mind and never judge.

In DEATH IN THE NETS, he once again teams up with former war photographer Eva Paisley who summons him to Devon. She's been staying with a friend, a refugee from Belgium who has settled down in England with her nine year old son, Jean- Claude.  Jean-Claude is convinced he saw a body on the shore ‘all bashed up’ and claims a mermaid took it away. It’s all he’s been talking about for a week!

Intrigued, Ryga asks Jean-Claude to take him and Eva to the harbour. And sure enough a man’s body is there, wrapped in nets, with a stab wound to the heart.

Jean-Claude was right. But had can the body have been there for a week?  Who is the victim? And what prompted the little boy to come up with the idea of a mermaid?

Ryga begins to investigate, but the discovery of another body throws him into turmoil.  Someone is killing to keep their secrets hidden. And with Ryga needs to find out who before more murders are committed.

I enjoyed writing this Inspector Ryga mystery as I do the whole series. 

Number five in the Inspector Ryga mystery series DEATH ON BOARD will be published on 4 June 2024. 

May 1951.  Unseasonably cold and dank. Scotland Yard's Inspector Alun Ryga alights from the Paddington to Penzance night train to investigate the death of an eminent Harley Street skin specialist found on his yacht off the small harbour of Mousehole.

On Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and paperback.

"As usual Pauline Rowson keeps you guessing until the very end of Death in the Nets with many twists and turns." A. Porter Amazon

"Another brilliant story. You can almost feel you're there with the characters. Looking forward to the next book." Kindle Customer

Other books in the Inspector Ryga series:

DEATH IN THE COVE

DEATH IN THE HARBOUR

DEATH IN THE NETS

DEATH IN THE DUNES

DEATH ON BOARD