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Contemporary Murder Mystery
By Gwyneth Bledsoe
Synopsis
Chief Inspector Jack Lawrence of Scotland Yard is legendary for his ability to solve murders that mystify the local police. He is joined by the young and enthusiastic Sergeant Rodney Wilson who’s Masters in Psychology is particularly suited to his chosen career in the Metropolitan police force.
The two detectives team up to apprehend a robbery suspect, Carl Springer, for the art theft at Winston Banks’ Yorkshire estate. They find more than they bargained for in a Victorian house in Notting Hill. Lawrence and Wilson’s subsequent quest to uncover the identity of a murder victim and his attacker take them on a train journey north to York and south, under the English Channel, to Paris. Wilson tries to keep up with his superior’s experience and intuitive policing methods as they unravel the threads of this whodunit mystery, encountering fine art, thoroughbred racehorses and icons of British history along the way.
Their questions include: Who is the “J” of an anonymous letter? Were the paintings forgeries? Did Springer act alone in the robbery? Did the victim know his attacker and was the murder premeditated?
The author invites you to sit in the unoccupied chair and contemplate the English landscape for a while, losing yourself in a story that will challenge your powers of detection and hopefully entertain and engage you.
Author’s Note:
Before you set out on this journey through England, you should know that I have written the story in British English to provide authenticity to the characters and to stay true to my own language. I tried to write in American English in deference to my American audience and to honour the land I have chosen to make my home. But, as you can see, my native affection for “u’s” in a word have coloured the way I write and affected my behaviour. As for the double “l”, I prefer dialling the telephone and travelling in style. It is the way I was brought up (we only “raise” animals), and I hope you will forgive the occasional lapse into Americanisms since the lines have become somewhat blurred for me after 16 years in the States. I could not have the Inspector descending in an elevator where there are only lifts to be found in London. Should you wish to hear my hybrid accent, you may consider the audio book that will be released within the year. Humour me for a while as the Inspector and Sergeant Wilson embark on their voyage of discovery, starting out in Notting Hill and ending…well, that’s for you to discover.
Acknowledgements:
This book is dedicated to my mother who taught me to delight in the peculiar quirks of the English language; to all the teachers who introduced me to my rich literary heritage; to Agatha Christie whose more than sixty books I read as a teenager inspired me to write a murder mystery in my later years; to my devoted husband, Rex, who encouraged me to develop my writing skills at the expense of the housework; to fellow writers, Christine and Renee, who gave me valuable editing insights; to the retired policeman from Scotland Yard who edited for authenticity; and to those dear friends who believed in me and encouraged me to publish. I believe that writing and any other art form is a gift from our Creator and so I hope this novel brings honor and glory to God in some small way.
