Thread of Evidence [Hardcover]

Frank Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2001

In Smith's latest procedural, DCI Neil Paget and his motley crew of officers investigate the brutal murder of a leading real estate developer and the many players who may have benefited from his death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DCI Neil Paget returns for another smoothly executed British police procedural, Canadian writer Smith's fourth (following Candles for the Dead). Successful contractor James Bolen, after a public argument with his brother Harry over a new deal that's brewing, is found stabbed to death in a posh hotel room in Broadminster. Although the killer goes to some lengths to make it look like James had roughed up a prostitute who then turned on him with a knife, the police see through the clumsy scheme and bear down on the victim's family and business associates. Paget soon discovers that James had recently assaulted his wife and angered his brother by pushing a business deal that could have ruined the firm but satisfied James's thirst for vengeance on a fellow contractor and relative. A second murder, that of a prostitute who might have known someone involved in the case, complicates matters. Although it becomes more difficult to sort out the truth as Paget and his team continue to investigate, the murderer eventually overreaches himself. Fans of the traditional British police detective mystery will find much to enjoy here. Neil Paget is an engaging, sympathetic character, and the narrative's intricate twists make for a lively read. (Mar. 20)shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Having guided readers on behind-the-scenes tours of New York City's Ellis and Liberty Islands (Liberty Falling) and Mississippi's Natchez Trace Parkway (Deep South), Barr returns to the West in her ninth mystery. On a training assignment to study grizzly bears in the Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, near the Montana-Canada border, park ranger Anna Pigeon hikes into the mountains with researcher Joan Rand and an Earthwatch volunteer, Rory Van Slyke. But Anna's joy at returning to the wilderness quickly turns to terror when their camp is ravaged in the middle of the night by a grizzly. Rory disappears, and in the morning the faceless corpse of a female camper is discovered. Was the woman the victim of the same bear, or was there a more sinister human element involved? While Barr's love of nature and the outdoors shines through, her plot is rather formulaic and dull, lacking the intensity and excitement of her better novels (Blind Descent, A Superior Death). Still, her fans will want to read. [Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/00.]DWilda Williams, "Library Journal.
-DWilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312269471
• ISBN-13: 978-0312269470
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,881,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An afternoon delight...., February 27, 2001

By 

D. Kaplan "sleuth029" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thread of Evidence (Hardcover)

Although not the best or worst book I have ever read, "Thread of Evidence" is worth the time and effort that goes into writing a review. Why? Because it is a perfect example of how enjoyable a good old fashioned British police procedural can be.

Frank Smith's DCI Neil Paget is not an Inspector Morse or a DCI Lynley, but he does deliver the goods if you want to spend some time in the English countryside trying to solve a murder or two. Take a couple of corpses, a horde of suspects, clues, red herrings and a little romantic side story and you have the makings of an "afternoon delight."

When you have finished reading this book, you may not give it a second thought. In fact, it is very probable that you will have determined who the killer is long before the book is over. What you will do, however, is walk away feeling relaxed....as if you had just spent the day at a spa.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a very well crafted novel, April 5, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thread of Evidence (Hardcover)

This is my first DCI Paget mystery novel, and I will definitely be backtracking to read previous books in this series. What a tremendous find! Frank Smith has done an excellent job of mixing the exciting aspects of police work with the more back breaking and mundane ones, so that you really get a more complete picture of what police detecting is.

There are three subplots in "Threads of Evidence." This would have been unwieldily in someone else's hands, Frank Smith however capably fuses these subplots together so that they juxtapose seamlessly. At the heart of this mystery is the Bolen family, with all their secrets and private vendettas. Jim Bolen, a building contractor, is determined to bid for a particular job that could bankrupt him and his family, and all because he wants to destroy a rival contractor, Keith Lambert. His brother, Harry, and Jim's wife, Laura, have both tried to talk him out of this chancy act, but Jim stubbornly refuses to budge much to Harry's anger. The novel then cuts to the other subplot involving a very vulnerable teenage prostitute, Vicki Lane. A man hires her off the street to go to the hotel room that Jim Bolen is in. Vicki goes to the hotel room and is knocked out. And when she comes to, she finds that she has been badly beaten up, and that there is the dead body of a man next to her. Vicki has no idea what took place in the room, but afraid that she'll be accused of the murder, she takes to her heels.

And that's when Paget and his team come into the picture: to investigate the murder of Jim Bolen. The room looks as if a tornado hit it: obviously some kind of altercation took place -- there's blood everywhere, and some articles of woman's clothing are found around the bed. Could this be a case of a prostitute killing a violent client? But preliminary forensic evidence as well as interviews with a few witnesses seems to throw some doubt onto this scenario. And this leads to the third subplot -- the private thoughts of the murderer. Who cannot understand where all his careful planning went wrong, and why the prostitute he especially chose to take the fall has not been arrested. It doesn't take long for both Padget and the murderer to come to the conclusion that this girl must be identified and found, for she alone knows what happened that night in the hotel room. But who will find her first?

"Thread of Evidence" pays special care to forensic evidence, more so than most other police procedurals, but not in an overly technical way so that you can't really follow what the detectives are saying, and this adds to the interest quota in this mystery novel. The mystery unfolds at an orderly pace, and all the characters are very well developed, from DCI Padget, to the members of his investigative team and to the members of the Bolen family. But what I found especially brilliant was the manner in which Frank Smith was able to move from one subplot to the other without losing steam or confusing the reader. This is indeed a very well crafted and executed mystery novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good police procedural-British Style, February 14, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Thread of Evidence (Hardcover)

Upon immediately entering the crime scene, a hotel room in Broadminster, the amateur sleuth (apart from a cozy) would react by saying a hooker killed the victim. However, the police believe otherwise. They feel the killer hastily set the room up to appear as if a prostitute stabbed building contractor James Brolin to death during a rough sex exchange.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Paget heads up the investigation team looking into who had the motive to kill James. He starts with family members such as the victim's sibling who had a nasty public argument over a business deal. A second murder of a prostitute follows that complicates an already difficult case to solve as Neil and his team have found several other family members and professional colleagues with motives to murder James.

THREAD OF EVIDENCE provides undisputed proof that the Neil Paget British police procedurals are consistently some of the best sub-genre entries. The latest tale is a cleverly designed, very enjoyable story line starring a likable lead character that is the epitome of a British police officer. Anyone who relishes a well written, complex mystery with a solid cast will derive joy from this novel. For that matter, readers will also gain pleasure from the previous three Paget books (see CANDLES FOR THE DEAD) and Mr. Smith's other stories also.

Harriet Klausner