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Monday 7 May 1951 and Inspector Ryga is sent to Cornwall to investigate the death of retired, eminent Harley Street skin specialist, Sir Bernard Crompton, who has been found dead on his new gentleman's motor cruiser, drifting off Mousehole.
The doctor on the scene has declared that Crompton died of natural causes, but a break in at his Harley Street premises, while he was away, and the fact that Crompton has friends in high places has deemed that Ryga must investigate, much to the chagrin of the local Chief Constable.
In Sir Bernard's pocket are five pieces of rock. His sea charts, logbook, ration book and cheque book are missing. Then another body is found in a nearby cove. Like Sir Bernard he too is wearing a dinner suit and has five pieces of rock in his pocket. He’s been shot in the face. The ID card and ration book reveal the murdered man to be Ralph Ackland, a Mine Inspector from the Ministry of Fuel and Power who visited the area frequently during the war and is still engaged with the department.
Ryga’s enquiries quickly reveal no one wants the killer found.. And as more disturbing facts come to light, Ryga comes to feel the same way. What’s more the nightmare memories of his captivity during the war in a German prisoner-of-war camp return to haunt him as he forms a strong intuitive bond with one of the principle suspects, the mine licensee, Jory Logan, a former Japanese POW.
As Ryga peels back layers of the investigation, with help from the Penzance CID man, Sergeant Pascoe, and from Sergeant Jacobs at the Yard in London, he discovers a shocking and deeply disturbing secret, and the reason why so many people don’t want the killer found.
Pauline Rowson lives on the South Coast of England and is the best selling author of many crime novels, published by Joffe Books. Her popular crime novels include the DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series, the Art Marvik mystery thrillers and the 1950s set Inspector Ryga mysteries. Subscribe to her newsletter for all the latest books news.
