Carriage of Justice [Hardcover]

Gerald Hammond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

A new mystery in the popular Keith Calder series, this time narrated by Calder's brother Ronnie and his niece Deborah, starts when Deborah and Ronnie trail a poacher in the Scottish Highlands and find a notorious murderer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a departure from the dour Scots hunting tales narrated by taciturn gun expert Keith Calder, this newest adventure is recalled by Calder's more earthy brother, Ronnie, whose ribald prose is then edited, sanitized and italically interrupted by Calder's daughter, Deborah. Ronnie tends to the estates of a local laird and is clearly a master of all the associated trades?hunting, fishing and drinking scotch. The nominal crime at the heart of the novel is the supposed suicide of a crooked car dealer, one that left an impoverished widow and gobs of missing loot. Ronnie happens upon a former employee of the dead man and, with the aid of Deborah's copper husband, the case is conveniently reopened. Keith is relegated to the background, which is too bad. Deborah is incessantly schoolmarmish, and her uncle is little more than a one-note blowhard, who is allotted more good sex, good whisky and easy clues than he deserves. Although Ronnie's narrative does have moments of undeniably effective lowbrow wit, Hammond (Sting in the Tail, etc.) doesn't quite master the thin line between dull and droll.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

As Scottish as the Highland fling, Hammond's latest is a bonny story, full of dry wit, appealing idiosyncrasies, and fascinating characters. Deborah Fellowes and her uncle Ronnie are peas in a pod--outdoorsy, loyal, tough, and lovably bristly. The two are fox hunting one night when a ghostly figure startles them by rising out of the heather and careening off over the moor. Deborah and Ronnie are intrigued--maybe this mysterious "ghost" is responsible for the small burglaries that have taken place in the area recently, with a few vegetables here, a bottle of milk there, a car rug, and even a tank of cooking gas walking off. All in all, the two surmise, someone's been "living rough," staying hidden from the local citizenry--and the local law. As more puzzling clues turn up, Ronnie and Deborah decide the mystery person may be linked to a long-unsolved case involving a car-theft ring, a stash of cash, and two baffling deaths. A witty, slightly bawdy, pleasantly entertaining mystery. Emily Melton

Product Details

• Hardcover: 185 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st Us Edition edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312139411
• ISBN-13: 978-0312139414
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,734,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Point of View, May 10, 1998

By 

John Phillips (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carriage of Justice (Hardcover)

This mystery was related from a unique point of view...as a Scot gamekeeper's journal being transcribed by his neice (a pregnant gunsmith married to a policeman)....nothing to jarring, but a delightful interweaving of enjoyable characters in a rural community. The editorial notes by the neice enhanced her uncle's account of the events, giving a delightful twist to his perspective. This was the first time I had run across a Gerald Hammond mystery and I was pleased to discover there are several of these treasures out there for me to explore. I will be acquiring more for summer reading.