Coffin Knows the Answer ( Worldwide Mystery Series) FROM THE PUBLISHER
"With his wife, the acclaimed actress Stella Pinero, away on a movie shoot in Scotland, Chief Commander John Coffin is at a bit of a loose end with just the cat and dog for company. But one morning, as he checks through the mail for his wife, he gets a rather unpleasant surprise: horrific pictures of badly abused children sent anonymously to Stella. Rather than worry his wife, he vows to track down the culprit and calls in a trusted colleague, DCI Phoebe Astley, to assist him in his inquiries." As they investigate Stella's stalker, another serious problem faces the detectives of the Second City of London. Several young girls have been murdered in Spinnergate with distinct and brutal similarities between the cases. Is there a serial killer on the loose? What is the connection to Stella Pinero, or is it all coincidence? As the investigations get closer to each other in focus, Coffin starts to feel that there are very personal motives at play as his wife's tormentor racks up the tension. When excavations near St. Luke's unearth a chilling secret buried in the grounds of Stella's theater, John feels the net closing around those nearest to him and must act quickly or risk losing all that he holds dear.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
CWA Silver Dagger winner Gwendoline Butler offers dark entertainment in her latest police procedural to feature Sir John Coffin, "Chief Commander of Police in the Second City of London," in Coffin Knows the Answer. Two cases, one involving a stalker, the other a serial killer, touch almost too close to home for Coffin. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Chief Commander of Police John Coffin (Coffin's Ghost) has been investigating a serial murderer in London, ultimately finding tie-ins to the "stalker with a paedophile slant" who sent pictures to Coffin's wife. Fascinating British procedural intricacies from a talented hand. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
John Coffin (Coffinﾽs Ghost, 2001, etc.) has been knighted for his services as Chief Commander of Police in Londonﾽs fictitious Second City, but whatever public attention heﾽs drawn has only made his job harder. The case in point this time is two cases. One involves a pedophile stalker who, not content with amassing a disquietingly extensive collection of pornographic photographs of children, has taken to writing boasting letters, with photos enclosed, to the Second City force. The other, even more alarming, features a serial killer who leaves his victims, raped and murdered, strewn throughout the borough of Spinnergate with a distressing lack of forensic evidence. Both perps seem irresistibly drawn to the even higher public profile of Coffinﾽs wife, actress Stella Pinero. The pedophile sends photos and letters directly to her; the killer threatens and kidnaps her. When she escapes, itﾽs with a photo that may well indicate that the two perps are the same. As the taunting messages continue and the body count rises, Coffin—with help from Paul Masters, his lead administrator; Phoebe Astley, the Chief Inspector whoﾽs still carrying a torch for him; and a dozen other assistants, eventually including Stella herself—strains to find the pattern underlying the wave of violence. The answer, when it comes, will be plausible and powerful, though naggingly inconclusive. Mid-range Coffin, with a sobering series of crimes efficiently set forth but disappointingly wound up. Still, every procedural detail, from the workings of the Second City force to the personnelﾽs inevitable personal problems, rings as true as ever.
Art & Photography
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