"Looking Good Dead" by Stephen Puleston

Detective Inspector Ian Drake of the North Wales Police Service is back from his honeymoon in Tenerife. And his first day in the office, he gets a murder case tossed in his lap. 

A well-heeled local businesswoman is found hanged in her clothing shop, one of the many businesses she operates. She’s dressed in 1930s clothes; she and her husband were known for hosting charitable fundraisers with 1930s themes. As Drake and team soon discover, they were also known for histing “spinoff parties,” also known as mate-swapping or swinger parties. 

 

Drake discovers a long list of suspects. The husband has a motive, as does at least two now-divorced participants in the spinoff parties. And the killer seems to be relishing the attention to the case and helps it along by sending photographs of the dead woman to news media. A second murder occurs, and this time the killer takes photographs of the police at the crime scene, sending them to the personal attention of DI Drake.

 

Stephen Puleston

Looking Good Dead is the 12^th novel in the DI Ian Drake mystery series by Welsh author Stephen Puleston. It’s a well-plotted story about a police detective with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Drake has progressed since the first novel, when his OCD was threatening his marriage to a doctor (and would eventually lead to his divorce). He’s being helped greatly by the woman who’s become his new wife.

 

What I hadn’t previously noticed was that Puleston has written the Drake stories in such a way that the OCD is literally part of the narrative. Descriptions of characters are very detailed and precise, as are the descriptions of how Drake and his team travel to different locations, with precise highway designations, speeds, roadway obstacles, bridges, and tunnels. It’s as if Drake himself is overseeing the writing to make sure it meets his expectations.

 

Puleston publishes two series of Welsh police detective stories. Detective Inspector Ian Drake is with the North Wales Police Service, and Detective Inspector John Marco is with the South Wales Police Service. The author originally trained and practiced as a; solicitor/lawyer. He also attended the University of London. He lives in Wales, very close to where his fictional hero lives and works.

 

Related:

 

My review of Written in Blood.

 

My review of A Time to Kill.

 

My review of Another Good Killing.

 

My review of Brass in Pocket.

 

My review of Worse than Dead.

 

My review of Against the Tide.

 

My review of Devil’s Kitchen.

 

My review of Dead Smart.

 

My review of Speechless.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of Dead and Gone by Stephen Puleston.

 

My review of Time to Die by Stephen Puleston.

 

My review of Stone Cold Dead by Stephen Puleston.

 

Some Thursday Readings

 

The Heyday of Pulp Fiction – Keith Roysdon at CrimeReads.

 

Rejected by a Robot: You Aren’t the Writer These Droids Are Looking For – David Murray at Writing Boots.

 

Tradition and the Truth That Anchors Us – Michael De Sapio at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

Looking Back at the End of Blue & Gray – Sean Michael Chick at Emerging Civil War.

"Stone Cold Dead" by Stephen Puleston

For some time, freelance journalist Jack Holt has been investigating the Peel Foundation, supposedly devoted to well-being and personal wellness but more resembling a religious cult. Once you enroll in their program, it isn’t long before you’ve signed over your entire net worth. He has arranged to meet with someone at a park with inside information late one evening. The next morning, a park attendant finds Holt’s body. He was hit from behind several times with a rock, and his body was pinioned to the ground with croquet wickets. 

Detective Inspector Ian Drake and his team are called in to investigate. The people at the Peel Foundation deny any involvement and have alibis. The man’s partner has an alibi. The police team is frustrated at every point, finding blind alleys and considerable stonewalling from just about everyone. But then a second murder happens, much like the first with the same signature croquet wickets. And what looked like cast-iron alibis begin to unravel for all the suspects.

 

Stephen Puleston

Stone Cold Dead is the eleventh in the DI Ian Drake series by Welsh author Stephen Puleston. It’s a good story with a solid premise (and something of a relief that it’s not a religious cult that’s involved). There’s a bit too much detail in the scenes (“He got up from his desk, he walked out of the building, he walked to the car park, he got in his car, he turned on the ignition” kind of descriptions), which is something I hadn’t noticed in the previous 10 Ian Drake novels. It’s almost as if the way some scenes are written reflect the main character’s obsessive-compulsive disorder). This isn’t a major issue, but I noticed it several times.

 

Puleston publishes two series of Welsh police detective stories. Detective Inspector Ian Drake is with the North Wales Police Service, and Detective Inspector John Marco is with the South Wales Police Service. The author originally trained and practiced as a; solicitor/lawyer. He also attended the University of London. He lives in Wales, very close to where his fictional hero lives and works.

 

I like the Ian Drake novels. Puleston has brought his detective inspector a long way from where his OCD had him in the first book. And Stone Cold Dead is a solid story of how intense police procedure is critical to solving crimes.  

 

Related:

 

My review of Written in Blood.

 

My review of A Time to Kill.

 

My review of Another Good Killing.

 

My review of Brass in Pocket.

 

My review of Worse than Dead.

 

My review of Against the Tide.

 

My review of Devil’s Kitchen.

 

My review of Dead Smart.

 

My review of Speechless.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of Dead and Gone by Stephen Puleston.

 

My review of Time to Die by Stephen Puleston.

 

Some Thursday Readings

 

Murders for November – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

The Anti-Semites Scream. And I Stiffen My Spine – Batya Ungar-Sargon at The Free Press.

 

Poet Laura: Trees, Seasons, and Plantings – Michelle Rinaldi Ortega at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

Civil War Art: Drummer Boys – Sarah Kay Bierle at Emerging Civil War.

“Time to Die” by Stephen Puleston

A man is found dead on the beach. The reader knows what the police don’t – that two men had bound and gagged him and tossed him over the cliff to the beach below. At first, the likely killers seem obvious – the victim was scheduled to testify against the two Haddock brothers, charged with a number of crimes related to theft and fraud. 

Detective Inspector Ian Drake of the North Wales Police sees the obvious connection, but he’s not convinced. Too many of the people Drake and his team interview seem to be lying, including the victim’s wife. As the police team investigates, the connections grow murkier – convoluted relationships and other agendas seem to be playing a role. And then a second person scheduled to testify is found murdered, strangled in her home. It’s either the Haddock brothers, or someone trying to make it look like it’s the Haddock brothers. And most of the police, including Drake’s boss, think it’s slam-dun obvious.

 

But not Drake.

 

Stephen Puleston

Time to Die is the 10^th DI Ian Drake mystery by Welsh author Stephen Puleston. As he usually does in the DI Drake mysteries, Puleston adds a personal complication. In this case, Drake’s mother has decided to remarry, and Drake supports his mother while his sister has objections. And the wedding may come before Drake and his team solve the case, which threatens him missing the ceremony. The story also builds tension with the young couple who actually see what might have happened the night of the first murder, but who are too scared to go to the police.

 

Puleston publishes two series of Welsh police detective stories. Detective Inspector Ian Drake is with the North Wales Police Service, and Detective Inspector John Marco is with the South Wales Police Service. The author originally trained and practiced as a; solicitor/lawyer. He also attended the University of London. He lives in Wales, very close to where his fictional hero lives and works.

 

Time to Die keeps the reader guessing to the end. And it’s a thrill ride of an ending.

 

Related:

 

My review of Written in Blood.

 

My review of A Time to Kill.

 

My review of Another Good Killing.

 

My review of Brass in Pocket.

 

My review of Worse than Dead.

 

My review of Against the Tide.

 

My review of Devil’s Kitchen.

 

My review of Dead Smart.

 

My review of Speechless.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of Dead and Gone by Stephen Puleston.