Exit Stage Left

I have so enjoyed the other mystery series but found this first of a new series totally different.

I have read and enjoyed Adam Croft's Knight & Culverhouse books -

This was the first Adam Croft book I had read but it will not be the last,I tend to read UK based books I seem to be able to relate to them better than American based books. I like mystery books that are not entirley dominated by the police and the main man, Hardwick is like an up to date male Miss Marple and very methodical. A nice read I just could not put down I am now reading The second book in the series The Westerlea House Mystery.

So we meet Hardwick who just happens to be in the pub that the famous Charlie Sparks is at before he dies. He is there to witness his death and automatically jumps to the conclusion that this is a murder. In steps his sidekick from the pub Ellis, who then team up to investigate whats gone on and solve the mystery.Some bits were not belivable, like these two being able to leave the pub whilst everyone stayed at the crime scene and them passing as police officers without showing any identification. Besides this, the book is well written and leads us across several different people until the culprit is found. It is a very clever book, in terms of how the murder happened, but the justification for the murderer being the murderer I couldn't fully see.I also found it a little frustrating that nothin of Hardwick came across in the book, making him seem very much like a mystery in and of himself - I guess this is the authors way of getting you to keep reading which will be successful on me as I'm just plain nosy!! I also couldn't help seeing similarities between this and the recent Sherlock series on the TV, especially with his analysis of Ellis who we also know nothing about but who Hardwick can sum up in a paragraph.Despite this, I would recommend this book simply because it is a good read, has an unusual means of murder and has the potential to be a great series.

The pub cheers when the stand up comedian enters the main room of the local pub. Unfortunately, he stumbles to the floor. Time stands still for a few minutes when the crowd realises he is not moving.D C Kempston Hardwick takes control advising everyone to remain in the pub as everyone needs to give a witness statement. He grabs a man next to him to help with the investigation.This is where the story begins.Its easy to read and offers something different.