Commander John Coffin Mysteries (Paperback)
4 total works
A man from John Coffin's past is looking for his identical twin brother - a dangerous man, capable of murder. But are their identities one and the same? From one of the most appraised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.
Sad, savage and bitter is what Stella Pinero says to her husband John Coffin, Commander of London's Second City, of the murder case which cuts into both their lives.
Coffin is at the height of his powers when he is surprised by a visit from the past: Inspector Harry Trent, with whom Coffin had worked years ago, is looking for his identical twin brother- a dangerous man; a man who might already have killed a woman; a man Trent fears might threaten violence to the Macintoshes, the couple who fostered the twins as children.
When Joe and Josie Macintosh are found stabbed to death, Coffin has to discover not only their killer, but their true identities. And even more important is the question hanging over all of them: who is this man called Harry Trent and what is he capable of? The answer lies in the past- bizarre, terrifyingly and horribly real...
'[Gwendoline Butler's] inventiveness never seems to flag; and the singular atmosphere of her books, compounded of jauntiness and menace, remains undiminished' Patricia Craig, TLS
In the aftermath of a terrorist explosion in London's Second City, a woman's battered corpse is found in a damaged building. But it is soon evident that this is no bomb victim. A sadistic killer has mutilated the remains, removing the fingertips and leaving the face unrecognizable. The only clue to the dead person's identity is a handbag found on the scene. Its owner: Stella Pinero, actress wife of Chief Commander John Coffin.
The investigation which follows is complicated by Coffin's refusal to believe that the remains could be Stella's, and Chief Superintendent Archie Young faces the unenviable task of questioning a superior officer as to the sort of men his wife was in the habit of associating with. Meanwhile, the secretive Inspector Lodge of the Terrorist Investigation Squad harbours fears of his own.
When a second body is discovered, Coffin finds himself drawn into a nightmarish game. The murder inquiry reveals terrible truths as it unfolds, bringing pain and bitterness to John Coffin as he is forced to confront death and treachery in his own backyard.
A young girl's body is discovered in an alleyway in London's Docklands, brutally murdered. Police chief commander John Coffin investigates. From one of the most universally praised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.
A young girl's body is discovered in an alleyway in London's Docklands. The brutal murder polarizes the inhabitants of the newly gentrified neighbourhood under the jurisdiction of police chief commander John Coffin.
Coffin receives a series of notes from 'the Paper Man' promising more bodies if the young girl's killer isn't caught. As the case goes unsolved, more bodies turn up, and now Coffin must deal with escalating neighbourhood turmoil, while unravelling a complex sequence of events to find two killers...