A Coffin for Charley [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Gwendoline Butler (Author), Michael Tudor Barnes (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

A series of strange murders, the disappearance of his niece, and a troubling threat to his new wife Stella become the ingredients to a new suspenseful mystery for London's Commander John Coffin.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crime in Butler's (Cracking Open a Coffin) fictional Second City of London continues to leave its mark on the unsettled life of high-ranking copper John Coffin, who's newly married to his thespian lover, Stella. Three young woman, all with bitten fingernails, are murdered, seemingly without a struggle. Beside the body of one lies a cassette tape that seems to name her killer, which strikes Coffin as suspiciously easy. That victim is the sister of Annie Briggs, whom Coffin met 20 years ago when Annie, as a child, witnessed a crime perpetrated by members of the neighboring Creeley family. Meanwhile, Stella is being followed and Coffin's sister vanishes with stolen money. These twisting narrative paths lead to a transvestite club; the clues lead to Eddie, youngest of the Creeleys, who was dating Annie's sister when she was murdered. Butler excels at suspending such disjointed fragments in an uneasy urban atmosphere where wealth and squalor are tightly juxtaposed and in letting the narrative sparks fly. It's an admirable technique that, capably handled, can render subtle gems like this one.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Butler's John Coffin stories are somber, dark, and oddly disturbing, but there are few better authors in the police-procedural genre. Copper Coffin's latest case involves his new wife, actress Stella Pinero, who senses she's being followed by a mysterious watcher who could be harmless--or extremely dangerous. Then Annie Briggs, a disturbed young woman who's an admirer of Stella's, also reports being watched. When a young woman is found brutally strangled nearby, and when shortly afterward one of the apprentice actresses in Stella's repertoire company is also found dead, Coffin is fearful that the killer may be the same mysterious watcher who has been frightening Stella and Annie. As if Coffin doesn't already have a difficult-enough life, his niece is kidnapped, his sister disappears, and things are suddenly out of control. But trust the ever-steady, always-professional Coffin to keep his head and solve the multiple mysteries despite his personal involvement. In short, another successful police procedural from Butler for readers who enjoy literate, intelligent, thoughtful writing and the challenge of a bizarre and twisted plot. Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Soundings Ltd (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842833464
• ISBN-13: 978-1842833469

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