Death Line [Paperback]

Geraldine Evans (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan 1995 (1995)
• ASIN: B000MCEX7M
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Hi, Welcome!

I've had eighteen novels published - sixteen crime, one historical and one romance. I've been plucked from slush piles twice: once by Robert Hale, and once by Macmillan, who took my very first mystery novel, Dead Before Morning, and published it in 1993. They sold it in turn to St Martin's Press in the US and thence on to Worldwide for softcover publication. Not bad for a writer who had endured six long years of rejections for her first six novels. Admittedly, they had been romances: clearly not my metier!

My eighteenth novel, Deadly Reunion, came out in the UK in February 2011, it'll be out on 1st June in the States. In this one, Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty is barely back from his honeymoon before he has two unpleasant surprises. Not only has he another murder investigation - a poisoning courtesy of a school reunion, he also has four new lodgers, courtesy of his Ma, Kitty Rafferty. Ma is organising her own reunion and since getting on the internet, the number of Rafferty and Kelly family attendees has grown, like Topsy. In his murder investigation, Rafferty has to go back in time to learn of all the likely motives of the victim's fellow reunees. But it is only when he is reconciled to his unwanted lodgers, that Rafferty finds the answers to his most important questions. Deadly Reunion is the fourteenth in my Rafferty & Llewellyn humorous crime series.

I've also a new ebook out, Death Line, the third ebook,in my Rafferty series, available from amaxon's kindle, iPad, iPhone, iBookstore, nook, kobo, android, and God knows where else. Price 99c for a limited period only. In this one, Jasper Moon, internationally renowned 'seer to the stars', had signally failed to foresee his own future. He is found dead on his consulting-room floor, his skull crushed with a crystal ball and, all, around him, his office in chaos.

Meanwhile, Ma Rafferty goes in for a bit of star gazing herself. She sees a good Catholic girl with child-bearing hips in Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty's future. Rafferty hopes a cunning plan will help him avoid her machinations. During their murder investigations, Inspector Rafferty and Sergeant Llewellyn gradually discover connections between Moon and others in the small Essex town of Elmhurst. But why is it that all of Rafferty's suspects have seemingly unbreakable alibis?

I've just started to prepare The Hanging Tree, the fourth in my Rafferty series, for epublication. I hope to have it available in the usual places by the middle of April.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Getaway or Rainy NIght Read!, March 29, 2011

By 

Charlie Courtland "Bitsy Bling Books" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Death Line (Crime Case) (Hardcover)

The detective team of Rafferty and Llewellyn is an entertaining English lineup that works because they brilliantly compliment and oppose each other. Mystery detective pairings often work on a push and pull system operating to either sway the balance or draw a reader towards a direction or clue. Evans has created a tandem that jells together, neither overshadowing nor undermining the other. For those who love Sherlock Holmes style mysteries, you'll likely adore Evans style, humor and method of detection. All players in the plot are revealed in moment, action and speech making it a wonderful cozy, rainy-night read rich with interesting characters that all appear guilty and innocent. At every turn you'll think you know who the killer is, but the true identity and motive won't come until the end. The reveal is not far-fetched or deceptive -- it was there all along and it works perfectly.

What sets Evans mysteries apart is the notion of how prejudice can play a role in the line to justice. How culture, belief, assumptions, gender and job can all affect how a case is perceived, delayed, detoured or in some cases, unsolved. Thankfully, Rafferty and Llewellyn catch their own flaws and rethink to avoid mistakes. However, by including this thematic element Evans shines a light on the unavoidable flaw in crime and the pursuit of justice, humanity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever and entertaining mystery, August 23, 2011

By 

Shelleyrae (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Line (Third in the critically acclaimed Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series) (Kindle Edition)

Geraldine Evans has recently re-released her Rafferty and Llewellyn Mystery series in ebook format after it has enjoyed a fourteen book publication run with Macmillan and Severn House in the UK in the early 2000's.
Death Line is the third in the British police procedural series that teams the dynamic DI Joe Rafferty with the straight laced Sergeant Dafyd Llewellyn who are investigating the murder of Jasper Moon, a celebrity 'seer to the stars'. Found dead in his office with a crushed skull, the flamboyant man has his share of admirers and enemies and the pair must determine who is responsible for his violent death.
This is a skillfully plotted mystery with no shortage of suspects. Evans creates a cast of authentic characters whose flaws put them each in the frame as suspects. Rafferty and Llewellyn investigate the leads methodically, but even as they eliminate a suspect doubt lingers, and it is not until the very end that the murderer is identified. There are surprising twists that keep the reader guessing every step of the way.
Rafferty is a likeable character, intelligent and committed to his job he has an irreverent sense of humour and enjoys sparring lightly with the sedate Llewellyn. Their partnership works well, though in this book at least, Rafferty is definitely in control.
There is an added depth to the story as prejudice is explored and confronted. Rafferty has to reconsider his preconceived notions of Moon as an egocentric, eccentric homosexual as he investigates the man's past. He is very nearly diverted by his bias and it's satisfying to have Rafferty recognise his flaws.
From the first page I found Evan's writing style comfortable and engaging. Death Line is a clever and entertaining police procedural mystery that I really enjoyed. A quick search of my local library revealed several of the Rafferty and Llewellyn mysteries on the shelves and I plan to pick up a few on my next visit.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand Mystery, May 27, 2011

By 

leigh beresford (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Line (Third in the critically acclaimed Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series) (Kindle Edition)

Another case for Rafferty and Llewellyn the well matched pair of Celtic detectives from Geraldine Evans. This is my second adventure with this twosome and I have to admit a distinctly pleasurable one. This time they are investigating the murder of an astrologist of note; one Jasper Moon whose head has been caved in with his own crystal ball.
Geraldine asks all the right questions constantly keeping her readers on their toes in trying to discover the perpetrator. Each time the case seems to be solved something comes along to make you say `ah, of course, why did I not think of that?'
The whole is a work of planning genius keeping each suspect in separate cubicles while the detectives go back and forth, and at times back again, along their merry way. A highly satisfying read, one which Agatha Christie herself would have been proud of. Highly recommended to all lovers of the mystery genre.