The Salton Killings [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Sally Spencer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

The strangled body of teenager Diane Thorburn is found buried in the salt store in a Cheshire village and Diane's best friend, Margie Poole, knows more than she is prepared to tell. Chief Inspector Woodend (a mixture of Rumpole and Morse) is drafted in from London to investigate. His inquiry turns up the death of another young girl and the similarities in the two cases begin to look more than just a coincidence. Is there a serial killer on the loose and, if so, where and at whom will he strike next?

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

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Cheshire in the 50s, before English villages succumbed to the same murder mania as Manhattan, was still a dangerous place for blond schoolgirls. Diane Thorburn, strangled on her way home to the hamlet of Salton from Maltham Secondary, turns out to be only the latest in a string of suspicious deaths stretching back all the way to the War, when Yank flier Gary Ripley presumably strangled Mary Wilson, the local lass he was sweet on, and got off scot-free because nobody could find any evidence. This time, though, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend, banished to the provinces by higher-ups who are waiting for him to make a hash of things, is convinced that there's evidence to be found, and his unlikely plan to pursue his favorite techniquesettling down in Harry Poole's pub and listening to village gossipgets two big boosts. First, he finds a young police cadet, Phil Black, who's lived in Salton all his life, and may know even more than he knows about the case; and second, the killer's determined return to the latest crime scene--the salt pile Diane Thorburn's body had been buried inbroadly hints at some incriminating evidence left behind. But what telltale clue does the daunting pile of salt conceal? Despite a few impolitic coincidencesSalton turns out to be even more hazardous to young ladies than it seemedSpencer's US debut provides sturdy mystery-mongering, reliably quaint suspects, and an unusually detailed list of clues. Looks like Woodend was right after all. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

After a young girl is drowned in the English village of Salton in the late 1950s, the village police realize they have a serial killer in their midst. The police chief in this Cheshire town calls in Scotland Yard and gets Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend, a middle-aged iconoclast (a mix of Rumpole and Morse), and his rookie partner, Detective Sergeant Rutter. Through grueling police work and the ability of Woodend and Rutter to immerse themselves in the life of the village, the murderer is unmasked after a surprising, frightening confrontation. This fine mystery succeeds both as a nuts-and-bolts procedural and as a portrayal of an English village moving from the quiet rhythms of rural life to the contemporary beat of rock 'n' roll. Spencer conjures a great sense of menace in the troubled village, and her epilogue is a real stunner, promising more from a very talented writer. -- Booklist, August 19,1998

Cheshire in the '50s, before English villages succumbed to the same murder mania as Manhattan, was still a dangerous place for blond schoolgirls. Diane Thorburn, strangled on her way home from Maltham Secondary, turns out to be only the latest in a string of suspicious deaths stretching back to the war. Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend, banished to the provinces by higher-ups, is convinced that there's evidence to be found and his unlikely plan to pursue his favorite technique - settling down in Harry Poole's pub and listening to village gossip - gets two big boosts. First, he finds a young police cadet, Phil Black, who's lived in Salton all his life, and may know even more than he knows about the case; and second, the killer's determined return to the latest crime scene - the salt pile Diane Thorburn's body had been buried in - broadly hints at some incriminating evidence left behind. But what telltale clue does the daunting pile of salt conceal?

Spencer's US debut provides sturdy mystery-mongering, reliably quaint suspects, and an unusually detailed list of clues. -- Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 1998 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Dales Large Print (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853899240
• ISBN-13: 978-1853899249
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,804,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the series, November 14, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Salton Killings (A&B Crime) (Paperback)

This is the first Chief Inspector Woodend/Sgt Bob Rutter mystery and it is definitely the best of the series. This dark and intriguing novel is set in the early 1960s and makes for very compelling reading.

When the strangled body of teenager Diane Thorburn is found, the local police force decide to ask for 'outside' help -- just in-case things go horribly pear shaped, the people from Scotland Yard will get the blame and not the local force of Salton. Chief Inspector Woodend, also known as Cloggin'-it Charlie, is sent to handle things. Woodend is not exactly the flavor of the month at Scotland Yard; in fact more than one of his superiors hope that he will really fail at his task, so that they will be able to justify getting rid of him altogether. To this end, they have provided him with a new sergeant, Bob Rutter. Rutter is part of the new guard: a young man of good education, who believes that investigating crime is a matter of employing the various scientific skills of observation, evidence and criminal profiling. He is appalled at being teamed up with Woodend who prefers using old fashioned investigating skills, local knowledge/gossip and Charles Dickens's novels as a guide.

But as the investigation takes flight Rutter begins to see why Woodend's ways garner results. Because this unfortunate murder seems not to be the first of its kind. Before long, they discover that over the years there have been a spate of unfortunate 'deaths' -- all of teenage girls and going all the way back to 1942. Woodend and Rutter seem to have a serial killer on their hands! There seems to be no dearth of suspects; and the people of the town with their own secrets to protect are reluctant to come forward with useful information. And Woodend and Rutter begin to fear that they may run out of time before the killer strikes again.

This was an engrossing mystery that maintained its grip on me till the very last page. The later mysteries in this series are good too, however "The Salton Killings" is definitely the best of the lot and is a treat that should not be missed.