Silent Intruder [Hardcover]

Gerald Hammond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

Who’d break in and leave the house untouched?- When Michael and Hilda return from holiday to find two police officers awaiting them, a chaotic series of events ensues. The police have had an anonymous tip-off about child pornography being stored on Michael‘s computer. It’s easy to prove his innocence, but who would do such a thing and why? At the same time it becomes clear that someone was living in the cottage while they were away, and may still be returning. Soon, they decide to take action of their own, with devastating consequences . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On returning from a Swiss holiday, Michael McGinnis and Hilda Gilmour are surprised to find a police sergeant and a constable waiting for them at their East Lothian cottage in this pedestrian effort from Scottish veteran Hammond. The sergeant explains that the police received an anonymous tip about child pornography on Michael's computer the day before. The charge proves false, but Michael and Hilda soon discover signs that their house has been occupied in their absence. Appearing in a cameo, Det. Chief Insp. Honoria Potterton-Phipps, the protagonist of one of the author's series (Loving Memory, etc.), is interested in their unknown guest, as are local thugs who make their own unannounced visit. The couple find themselves drawn into a world of illegal gambling, computer fraud, violence, and deceit. An extended joke perpetrated on Hilda's snobbish, prudish older sister adds a welcome dash of humor. (May)
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From Booklist

When Michael McGinnis and Hilda Gilmour arrive home in Scotland from a trip abroad, they find the police at their door, responding to a complaint that Michael has child pornography on his computer. It turns out that someone was living in Michael and Hilda’s house while they were away. Then, when a thug comes looking for the couple’s neighbor, Michael is assaulted, prompting him, with Hilda’s help, to become involved in the police investigation of the neighbor’s disappearance. Suspense, plot twists, well-developed characters, and the Scottish setting combine for an engaging story from genre veteran Hammond. --Sue O'Brien

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727868640
• ISBN-13: 978-0727868640
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better Hammond Books Out There, February 28, 2010

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Silent Intruder (Hardcover)

Silent Intruder starts off well. Then it just gets bogged down when the couple return home in a mundane slow unexciting plot. Also ridiculous occurrences like a police woman telling off the main female character because while playing fetch with her dog she doesn't make it wait until the ball has stopped moving as when you take the dog duck shooting you need it to wait until the corpse can't get up and run away in terror from the dog. Like everyone who has a dog goes on a duck killing spree, ridiculous assumption that wouldn't happen in the real world. Probably good advice if you are training your dog to bring back your animal victim's corpses and Hammond may well have expertise to share in this field, but doesn't make sense in the modern world where the percentage of people who partake in this sort of thing is pretty small.

Basic plot is Michael and Hilda a couple who run an IT business in rural Scotland specialising in private eye type backgrounding use a meeting with a client to take a holiday trip to Europe. There Michael mistakes another woman for his wife who responds in brutal violent manner delaying their return home. Luckily this delay actually clears them from a frame up as they can prove they weren't home when pornography was loaded up onto their computer. It seems someone broke into their house and was living there for a few days while they put the frame in motion.

Hammond books do vary drastically in quality from sensational to give it a miss. This one's readable but there are way better Hammond books such as On the Warpath, The Dirty Dollar, Snatch and A Running Jump which you should try first.