Cold Hands [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Clare Curzon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

With her customary understated style and her keen ability to delve into the human psyche, Clare Curzon returns readers to Thames Valley and Superintendent Mike Yeadings. This time a case that at first glance looks to be open and shut proves more difficult and Yeadings will have to use his entire team to help solve the mystery.

Off to an early morning meeting in Scotland Yard, Superintendent Mike Yeadings boards a commuter train and prepares for the trip. The train, however, doesn't get too far before coming to a screeching halt: there is a body on the tracks. What at first looks like a suicide is soon revealed to be a vicious crime-the victim has been garroted and his hands mutilated. His pockets are also empty which makes them wonder if robbery was the motive or if the killer was trying to hide the identity of the victim to protect himself.

Yeadings soon discovers that the victim was a customs officer and that he had been investigating a possible counterfeit operation at Fraylings Court-a family estate that has recently started hosting theme holidays and offering many classes in order to pay off their mounting debt. Along with the guests requiring art lessons, dance classes, and a dog-training course, some shady characters have emerged and started their own nightly poker school. Among those regularly dealt a hand is Detective Sergeant Rosemary Zyczynski of the Thames Valley Police who is working undercover to solve the murder. Will she be able to reveal the killer and the counterfeit operation while maintaining a poker face?

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those who enjoy traditional British police procedurals need look no further than veteran Curzon's charming tale featuring Superintendent Mike Yeadings of the Thames Valley Police in a case involving one of the rarest crimes found in detective fiction: counterfeiting. After the discovery of a corpse on a rail line (which is at first unidentified but then, thanks to good police work, shown to be a customs officer's), the scene shifts to Fraylings Court, where the owners are engaged in turning the venerable country house into a holiday destination U offering riding, dancing, swimming and a host of other recreational activities. The police soon deduce that counterfeit British currency may be passing through Fraylings Court from its origins abroad. So Yeadings has DS Rosemary Zyczynski pose as one of the guests. The problem is that there are quite a few residents and guests. Who is the contact person for the strange Dutchman Nederhuis, and how will the police find out where and when the rendezvous will take place? A guest named "Smith" arrives later than the others. The husband of one guest, Smith has a puzzling relationship with another female guest. Who is this mystery man? Using her skills at the poker table to probe the English "good ole boys," Rosemary does her best to find out the answers. Curzon (All Unwary) enlivens the sleuthing with conversations about the personal lives of the police. An exciting, if slightly rushed, denouement will leave most readers satisfied. (Mar. 19)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When a debt-ridden British aristocrat opens his stately home to host theme holiday weekends, enterprising house guests start up a ruinous poker school. Thames Valley Police and Superintendent Mike Yeadings keep tabs, however, as they investigate a related murder involving forged currency. A dependable procedural by the author of Guilty Knowledge.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708943292
• ISBN-13: 978-0708943298
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,922,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not her best, February 14, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Hands (Hardcover)

The suicide victim turns out to be Customs Agent Oliver Webb, who apparently decided to allow a train to kill him. However, the police think that thanks to a sharp doctor's observation, someone deliberately spread Oliver across the tracks to cover up a homicide by making it seem more like a suicide. Thames Valley Detective Superintendent Mike Yeadings learns that Oliver was working on a massive amount of counterfeit Sterlings bills coming in from Amsterdam when he was killed. The police also find out that Fraylings Court, home to the ailing Sir James Siddons and his financially strapped family, is the next major drop-off point.

Since the Siddons run a schooling-hotel for paying guests, Detective Sergeant Rosemary Zycyznski enrolls as a "student" to obtain insider information. Mike wonders if a family ember or two, a guest or two or three, etc., or both are involved in counterfeiting and homicide? Though he knows the importance of a mole, he worries about the safety of his undercover officer when the truth surfaces.

COLD HANDS, the latest Mike Yeadings police procedural, is a fine who- done-it that from the start with the murder of Oliver moves forward rather quickly. However, though entertaining and well written, the secondary cast, key to keeping an ongoing series fresh, never grips the audience as they lack depth. Mike remains a strong lead figure and Z is a wonderful "poker" player, however Clare Curzon's newest entry is very good, just not great, like some of her previous yields.

Harriet Klausner