Customer Reviews

Down Among The Dead Men

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I downloaded the eBook edition of Down Among the Dead Men after reading a post by author, Geraldine Evans on KindleBoards. I like Police Procedural mysteries, and this one was spot on (couldn't help myself, since this is set in England)!

In this second of the Rafferty & Llewellyn crime novels, the team investigates Barbara Longman's murder. Her body is found in a deserted field of wild flowers, and the woman is related to an influential family in the Essex community. Multiple suspects from within the family keep our two detectives taking interviews in Essex and London, and piecing together what could have happened.

Told from Rafferty's point of view (third person), we see the crime investigation and also get Rafferty's take on the family, his partner, and life in general. It's sometimes whimsical, and always presents a great picture of the characters. Rafferty knows he's considered the "Columbo" of his precinct, and he constantly chafes under Llewellyn's garrulous erudition about anything and everything.

I was quite take with the language and writing in this book, such as, "... swallowing statements whole generally caused investigatory indigestion. He chewed over what Henry had said..." Great phrasing throughout, which shows the thoughtful writing of this book. This type of writing doesn't occur with a dashed-off story.

The series originally was published more than a decade ago in hardback editions from Severn House. I hope more of Evans' titles end up on Kindle, and I will look for older editions at my Public Library.