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Charlie Salter #1-3
A Charlie Salter Omnibus
Eric Wright's popular detective, Charlie Salter, is introduced in this collection of the first three books in the well-loved mystery series. The Night the Gods Smiled, Smoke Detector, and Death in the Old Country.
Self-righteous and outspoken, Salter has gotten himself shunted to routine duties at the Toronto Police Department from what he considers the "real" police work of investigation. However, circumstances give him the chance to redeem himself, and his intelligence and sensitivity guide him through the cases that follow. Interwoven in the detective work is Charlie's wry humour, perception and his personal relationships and family life - certain to add extra dividends add enjoyment for the reader.
Librarian's note: all the characters, settings, description updates, etc. have been done for the Charlie Salter 11 volume + one novella series: 1. The Night the Gods Smiled, 1983; 2. Smoke Detector, 1984; 3. Death in the Old Country, 1985; 4. A Single Death, 1986; 5. A Body Surrounded by Water, 1987; 6. A Question of Murder, 1988; 7. A Sensitive Case, 1990; 8. Final Cut, 1991; 9. A Fine Italian Hand, 1992; 10. Death by Degrees, 1993; 11. The Last Hand, 2001; and 11.A. My Brother's Keeper, a novella with Howard Engel featuring both Salter and Benny Cooperman, 2001.
Librarian's note #2: the characters, etc. can be found under each of the individual tiles.
Self-righteous and outspoken, Salter has gotten himself shunted to routine duties at the Toronto Police Department from what he considers the "real" police work of investigation. However, circumstances give him the chance to redeem himself, and his intelligence and sensitivity guide him through the cases that follow. Interwoven in the detective work is Charlie's wry humour, perception and his personal relationships and family life - certain to add extra dividends add enjoyment for the reader.
Librarian's note: all the characters, settings, description updates, etc. have been done for the Charlie Salter 11 volume + one novella series: 1. The Night the Gods Smiled, 1983; 2. Smoke Detector, 1984; 3. Death in the Old Country, 1985; 4. A Single Death, 1986; 5. A Body Surrounded by Water, 1987; 6. A Question of Murder, 1988; 7. A Sensitive Case, 1990; 8. Final Cut, 1991; 9. A Fine Italian Hand, 1992; 10. Death by Degrees, 1993; 11. The Last Hand, 2001; and 11.A. My Brother's Keeper, a novella with Howard Engel featuring both Salter and Benny Cooperman, 2001.
Librarian's note #2: the characters, etc. can be found under each of the individual tiles.
600 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
8 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Eric Wright
90 books11 followersThere is more than one author with this name in the database. Not all books on this profile belong to the same author.
Eric Wright was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is the award-winning author of seventeen crime novels, including his first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the Crime Writer's Association's John Creasey Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award. His memoir, Always Give a Penny to a Blind Man, about growing up poor in working-class London, was published in 1999.
Eric Wright was born in London, England and immigrated to Canada in 1951. He is the award-winning author of seventeen crime novels, including his first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the Crime Writer's Association's John Creasey Award, and the City of Toronto Book Award. His memoir, Always Give a Penny to a Blind Man, about growing up poor in working-class London, was published in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 2, 2025
4 Stars. I found all three great. Salter is a terrific find - we follow the Toronto police detective through his first 3 entries. The first, The Night the Gods Smiled, finds him chained to the office doing paper work when a case from Montreal lands on his desk. A Toronto professor has been found murdered in a Montreal hotel - can Charlie liaise with the visiting Montreal detective and help to develop background? Sounds simple. Far from it. Smoke Detector sees Charlie investigating a fire on Bloor Street in Toronto that, because of the smoke, killed the owner of an antique store. He is soon learning about valuable Japanese wood carvings. Note that I had to use Kobo for a portion of the book as there was a 30 page misprint in the middle of Smoke Detector. The third, Death in the Old Country, finds Charlie and his wife Annie on a four week driving holiday around England. They locate a nice little hotel but it seems to be plagued by a Peeping Tom. And then a murder. Charlie reluctantly joins forces with the local constabulary and finds success. I review each of the stories at greater length under their individual titles - with character descriptions and settings. Enjoy. (May2025/De2025)
August 14, 2010
In 1984, Eric Wright published the first of eleven Inspector Charlie Salter novels, about a Toronto cop in mid-life whose career has been sidelined. When a Toronto University professor turns up dead in Montreal, the local police ask for assistance (they are too busy) and Salter gets the job because no one else is interested. As Salter continues to investigate, his joy in police work returns, and he redeems himself, personally and professionally, from the dead-end he thought he was destined for. The Night the Gods Smiled won the Arthur Ellis Award for best novel from the Crime Writers Association of Canada. This is light fiction, with some wry humour, and a few quirky characters.
Available from Kobobooks.
Available from Kobobooks.
July 30, 2012
I stumbled across an Eric Wright crime novel in the library, liked it, and found this three-fer on Amazon for a pittance.
Charlie Salter is a Toronto cop, more or less on the outs as the result of backing the wrong horse in departmental politics, and shunted off to a two-man unit that's supposed to provide additional assistance. Luckily, there's a sympathetic superior who drops Charlie in unsolved murders without being obvious about it.
Charlie's married, two sons, and he's a bit stodgy in his outlook.
These are solid procedurals that kind of sneak up on the reader. Wright is an excellent and unobtrusive writer. Well worth a shot.
Charlie Salter is a Toronto cop, more or less on the outs as the result of backing the wrong horse in departmental politics, and shunted off to a two-man unit that's supposed to provide additional assistance. Luckily, there's a sympathetic superior who drops Charlie in unsolved murders without being obvious about it.
Charlie's married, two sons, and he's a bit stodgy in his outlook.
These are solid procedurals that kind of sneak up on the reader. Wright is an excellent and unobtrusive writer. Well worth a shot.
Want to Read
December 11, 2016mystery series set in Canada
The night the Gods Smiled 1983
Smoke Detector
Death in the Old Country
A single Death
A Body Surrounded by Water
A Question of Murder
A Sensitive Case
Final Cut
A Fine Italian Hand
Death by Degrees
The night the Gods Smiled 1983
Smoke Detector
Death in the Old Country
A single Death
A Body Surrounded by Water
A Question of Murder
A Sensitive Case
Final Cut
A Fine Italian Hand
Death by Degrees
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews