Babel: A Kathy and Brock Mystery (Kathy and Brock Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Barry Maitland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2003 | Series: Kathy and Brock Mysteries

Scotland Yard's brilliant crime-solving duo, Kathy Kolla and David Brock, take on an unsettling new case that touches on the timeliest of issues, Arab fundamentalism, genetic engineering, and murder. Scotland Yard's brilliant crime-solving duo, Kathy Kolla and David Brock, take on an unsettling new case that touches on the timeliest of issues, Arab fundamentalism, genetic engineering, and murder. Following her ordeal at the end of Silvermeadow, Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla is on leave at the start of Babel, so burned out she is tempted to quit the force for good. But nothing can keep her from the hunt in this puzzling new case. Professor Max Springer, one of Britain's leading academics, has been brutally murdered on the steps of a London university. Springer was notorious for his stand against Islamic extremism, but was that motive enough to kill him? While Kathy and Brock start looking for answers in London's Arab community, rivalries within the university point in another direction. Springer's colleague, a professor of medical genetics, becomes involved. Is he as dangerous and unethical as he seems? Meanwhile, why would someone leak information about this sensitive investigation to the media, risking an explosion in the streets? In this taut and satisfying mystery, Barry Maitland proves once again that he is one of the masters of the police procedural writing today.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Healed in body if not in spirit after the trauma of her last case (2002's Silvermeadow), Det. Sergeant Kathy Kolla is thinking of quitting Scotland Yard when murder intervenes in Maitland's assured fifth entry in this popular series. The shooting death of philosophy professor Max Springer on his London university campus in broad daylight is caught on security tape and witnessed by several bystanders. Since all the signs point to Islamic extremists, DCI David Brock fears his investigation will trigger accusations of police racism. He needs Kathy's particular style of interviewing, and she's unable to say no. As Kathy and Brock look into a longstanding enmity between Springer and Richard Haygill, director of a semi-autonomous unit at the university whose research on gene therapy is funded by Middle Eastern agents, they're led even deeper into the shadows of London's Muslim community. It will come as no surprise to the author's fans that the case is infinitely more complex than it first seems, and that serious questions of personal morality flow beneath the action. The issues the book raises are especially compelling given that it was written before 9/11, which makes its thoughtful presentation of simmering antagonism between Westerners and Middle Easterners, between Muslims and Christians, eerily prophetic and all the more moving.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

David Brock and Kathy Kolla return for their sixth outing. Published in Great Britain in 2002 (and written before the events of September 11), the novel opens with the murder of a university professor known for his outspoken opinions on extremists committing acts of violence in the name of Islam. But was it really his views that got him killed? Brock, a detective chief inspector in Scotland Yard's Serious Crimes Branch, takes the lead in the investigation; Kolla, his partner, is still on leave, recovering from events detailed in Silver Meadow (2002). Recent history certainly gives an added level of realism and immediacy to the series, but Maitland is in no way guilty of producing a stereotypical "ripped-from-the-headlines" novel; rather, he offers a subtle exploration of the differences between cultures, framed as a ripping good mystery. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1 edition (May 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559706686
• ISBN-13: 978-1559706681
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Racial tension and murder, December 1, 2003

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Babel: A Kathy and Brock Mystery (Kathy and Brock Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When Professor Springer, a well known and controversial philosopher is shot dead on the steps of the university where he teaches, all kinds of theories are put forward including racism, personal antagonism from other staff members and conspiracy theories regarding the kind of biogenetic programs being actively studied at this particular university. Detective Cheif Insspector Brock and his partner Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla are once again teamed to investigate this and subsequent linked crimes. It's a good, taut mystery thriller which makes me want to seek out previous books featuring this pair of detectives, to get a better overall picture of them.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder and Mayhem British Style, July 29, 2003

By 

A. Christie "bibliofiend508" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babel: A Kathy and Brock Mystery (Kathy and Brock Mysteries) (Hardcover)

For readers who miss the Detective Morse series from the retired Colin Dexter, Barry Maitland brings a stellar British police procedural. Maitland always comes up with plots that have a unique twist. For avid readers in the mystery/thriller genre, this is much appreciated in contrast to the standard recycled plots many authors offer.

In BABEL, Kathy Kolla is on a leave of absence and considering leaving the police force for good. Police work is more than a job to Kathy, it's her talent so she is slowly drawn back into the hunt for a killer of a college professor. Suspects abound with ties to Islamic extremism and another path with suspects tied to medical genetics. I leave the story for you to discover for yourself.

BABEL continues the excellent Brock and Kathy Kolla series. If you are a first time reader of this series, it would help to start at the beginning with THE MARX SISTERS, but not absolutely necessary. It is a stand alone book, but Maitland does not take a lot of time to go over what happened to his characters in previous books. An incident in SILVERMEADOW has a profound effect on Kathy's life, but is not really explained in this book. Whether you start with BABEL or an earlier work, you won't go wrong with this series.

4.0 out of 5 stars babek, September 5, 2010

By 

Barbara B. Williamson "teapotz" (Wilson,NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Babel: A Kathy and Brock Mystery (Kathy and Brock Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I only recently "discovered" Barry Maitland and am in love with Brock and Kethy. I ordered every book I could find by him on Amazon. Wonder if there are more coming? If you are someone who could not be happier than to be alone and read a good British mystery should be very happy with Maitland. Somewhat like Peter Robinson's Alan Bates books, never dull, always a treat.