Payback: A Mystery

By Alan Dunn

Book Overview

It is early February and security consultant, ex-cop and some-time detective Billy Oliphant is suffering from more than just winter blues. His girlfriend is on a year's sabbatical in North America. His ex-wife is on honeymoon with her new husband - and Billy's left babysitting his 16-year-old daughter. Billy's friend, Sly, thinks that a free luxury weekend at the Forestcrag Moorland Holiday Village will be just the thing to cheer Billy up. But, having battled the worsening weather to get to Forestcrag, they discover that things are far from idyllic. David Morland, the manager of the park, believes someone is poisoning his staff. And though Billy is reluctant to get involved, he soon has little choice when the Village is snowed in and the body of Eric Salkeld, the Payroll Manager, is discovered. It looks like a straightforward suicide. There's even a note, left on a computer disk, containing Salkeld's confession of embezzlement. Left nominally in charge of the investigation by police unable to get to the crime scene, Billy can't help but feel that the suicide looks a little too perfectly staged. Amongst the guests trapped at the Village, there could be a killer. And, if the police are right about the recently escaped prisoner --- a man Billy put behind bars --- is heading for Forestcrag, perhaps more than one...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312310994
• ISBN13: 9780312310998
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.1" x 5.7"

Customer Reviews

suspense laden investigation thriller

Sly Rogers invites his friend private investigator Billy Oliphant and daughter Kirsty to spend a pleasant wintry weekend at Forestcrag Moorland Holiday Village. The trek to the remote North England resort is not fun, but Bill expects a luxurious relaxing few days spent with his daughter. However, director David Morland wants to hire Billy to quietly investigate the recent poisoning of employees. Billy says no wanting to just R & R with Kirsty and not impact his work waiting for his return home.A nasty storm strands the occupants of Forestcrag. When the corpse of payroll manager Eric Salkeld is found hanging, Billy calls the local police, who cannot easily get to the death scene. Though it appears a simple suicide, the locals ask Billy as a former cop to conduct a preliminary investigation and to contain the scene until they arrive. He also receives a warning from the police that someone he once arrested has escaped and is in the area. Meanwhile Billy notices marks on the body making him conclude the so-called suicide is a cover up of a murder.Fans of suspense laden investigation thrillers will feel they gained much PAYBACK from Alan Dunn's novel that reads somewhat like a police procedural once the first of several murders occur. The story line is very exciting so much so that the well-written climax seems weak by comparison. Still, Billy is a delightful lead character and those close to him accentuate the audience's ability to understand the hero's preference of non-involvement. When all is said and done, readers will appreciate PAYBACK and look for more novels from this British author.Harriet Klausner