From Publishers Weekly
Archaeologist Arnold Landon returns for his 13th suspenseful mystery from prolific British author Lewis (An Assumption of Death, etc.). The marshy peat bogs of Northumberland's Wolfcleugh Woods preserve dead bodies remarkably well. They also disgorge these bodies at an alarming rate. The latest grisly finding is dubbed the "Wolf Man" and draws journalists and historians to the woods at a time when building crews are also in attendance, poised to clear the area for a vacation complex. With the blessing of local landowner Steven Brand-Ruckley, New Age protesters led by the charismatic Nick Semmens take up lodging in the woods, causing trouble and halting construction. Meanwhile, more bodies surface. Landon, working for the department of museums and antiquities, makes the most disturbing fatal discovery the remains of Sally Burt, a relative of Brand-Ruckley's, a conquest for Semmens and a protester. Landon soon finds himself smack in the center of a romantic triangle, caught between affection for his attractive if distant boss, Karen, and his more lusty leanings toward his coworker Portia. This novel isn't exactly swimming in suspects, and keeping track of the provenance of the catalogue of pristine body parts fished from the peaty swampland is a full-time job. Nonetheless, the pacing is constant, and the revelations are placed with the kind of quiet precision this well-regarded author is known for. (June Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
What appears to be a simple land dispute turns deadly in this smart new mystery that takes archaeologist Arnold Landon to the ancient Pentire Woods in rural Northumberland and calls upon all his considerable intelligence and abundant knowledge of history before a baffling case of murder yields its solution. The announcement that the long unsullied and unpolluted Pentire Woods have been designated as the site for a highway bypass has already set a series of disturbing events in motion by the time Landon arrives. Two people adamantly opposed to a plan that will destroy the wood are the landowner himself and an archaeologist eager to explore the peat bog where the ancient, perfectly preserved body of the "Wolf Man" has been discovered. Summoned to assess the archaeological value of the site, Landon and his colleague, Portia, find themselves walking a tightrope between the developers, the politicians, the owner, and the inevitable protesters against ecological damage. When one of the protesters is found dead, Landon and Portia also find themselves dealing with murder. Their investigation ratchets up, as does the suspense, and much more is at stake in this adroitly crafted tale than the fate of the Pentire Woods.
Dead Secret FROM THE PUBLISHER
"There are two people who are very keen that the ancient woodland known as Pentire Woods should not he destroyed by a planned bypass. One is an archaeologist anxious to explore the wood's peat bog after the discovery of the perfectly preserved and ancient body of the 'Wolf Man'. The other is the landowner who is interested in neither progress nor heritage: he just wants his woods left alone." "Brought in to assess the archaeological worth of the site, Arnold Landon and his colleague Portia have to walk a tightrope between the developers, the politicians and the inevitable eco protestors. But when one of the protestors is found dead, Arnold finds himself dealing not with a land dispute, but with murder."--BOOK JACKET.
FROM THE CRITICS
Kirkus Reviews
Archaeologist Arnold Landon (Cock of the Walk, 1996, etc.) is once again exploring a promising site, this time in Northumberland's ancient Pentire Woods. The late Maggie Cleugh, an Irishwoman seeking her roots, has left a bequest funding a university team that's been investigating the peat bog edging into Wolfcleugh Woods. The last thing they expected to find was a desiccated body as dead as their patron. Shortly after the Cleugh team is joined by another one from Arnold's Department of Museums and Antiquities, headed by Karen Stannard and her assistant Portia Tyrrel, the two teams find themselves in the middle of a dispute over the plans of Ken Stafford's Shangri-La development company to put in a new road and build houses in the Wolfcleugh Woods, much of it owned by loner Steven Brand-Ruckley. An environmental group whose leader, activist Nick Semmens, has been camping in the woods, determined to fight those plans, becomes a target for some of Stafford's roughnecks, who arrive with bulldozers but fail to vanquish the protesters. More trouble looms, however, after Arnold comes upon the body of Sally Burt, a young student from New Zealand with remote family ties to Brand-Ruckley. It takes some intense delving into the past and yet another death before motives and methods become clear. Interesting background and convoluted plot, though not quite enough of likable, curmudgeonly Detective Chief Inspector Culpeper—and a bit too much of nebbishy Arnold.
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