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Dan Mallett #5
Death in the Rain
Bound in the publisher's original black quarter cloth and purple boards, spine stamped in white. Review copy with publisher's review materials laid in.
- GenresMystery
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Frank Parrish
26 books2 followersThis is a pseudonym of Roger Erskine Longrigg
Roger Longrigg was a British author of unusual versatility who wrote both novels and non-fiction, along with plays and screenplays for television, under both his own name and eight other pseudonyms.
Born in Edinburgh into a military family, he was at first schooled in the Middle East, but returned to England as a youth and later read history at Magdalen College, Oxford. His early career took him into advertising, but after the publication of two comic novels took up writing full time in 1959.
He completed fifty five books, many under his own name, but also Scottish historical fiction as Laura Black; thrillers as Ivor Drummond (for which his chief character, Lady Jennifer Norrington was named by HRF Keating in The Times as ‘The true heir of James Bond’); black comedies as Domini Taylor; Frank Parish (which titles feature the adventures of Dan Mallett, a poacher who lives on the edges of legality) - and famously Rosalind Erskine – a name with which he hoaxed all for several years, and who appeared to write a disguised biography of what life was like in a girls boarding school where the classmates ran a brothel for boys from a nearby school. Erskine’s ‘The Passion Flower Hotel' became a bestseller and was later filmed.
Roger Longrigg’s work in television included ‘Mother Love’, a BBC mini-series starring Diana Rigg and David McCallum, and episodes of ‘Crown Court’ and ‘Dial M for Murder’.
He died in 2000, aged 70 and was survived by his wife, the novelist Jane Chichester, and three daughters.
Roger Longrigg was a British author of unusual versatility who wrote both novels and non-fiction, along with plays and screenplays for television, under both his own name and eight other pseudonyms.
Born in Edinburgh into a military family, he was at first schooled in the Middle East, but returned to England as a youth and later read history at Magdalen College, Oxford. His early career took him into advertising, but after the publication of two comic novels took up writing full time in 1959.
He completed fifty five books, many under his own name, but also Scottish historical fiction as Laura Black; thrillers as Ivor Drummond (for which his chief character, Lady Jennifer Norrington was named by HRF Keating in The Times as ‘The true heir of James Bond’); black comedies as Domini Taylor; Frank Parish (which titles feature the adventures of Dan Mallett, a poacher who lives on the edges of legality) - and famously Rosalind Erskine – a name with which he hoaxed all for several years, and who appeared to write a disguised biography of what life was like in a girls boarding school where the classmates ran a brothel for boys from a nearby school. Erskine’s ‘The Passion Flower Hotel' became a bestseller and was later filmed.
Roger Longrigg’s work in television included ‘Mother Love’, a BBC mini-series starring Diana Rigg and David McCallum, and episodes of ‘Crown Court’ and ‘Dial M for Murder’.
He died in 2000, aged 70 and was survived by his wife, the novelist Jane Chichester, and three daughters.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 11, 2021
Dan Mallett is back on another criminal investigation, using all his poaching skills to dodge being nicked for a theft from the flat of an ancient drunken aristocratic lady, but unable to offer a plausible alibi, since he had been out stealing a horse at the time. Such situations are part and parcel of Dan’s chaotic life, past banker, present poacher with all the skills of both and an ability to switch accents from suave to rural Hardyesque. Soon there is a body to explain away and a tangle of complications involve angry and antipathetic police officers, enemy gamekeepers and (some) farmers balanced by very sympathetic and helpful girls, to whom he administers all his undoubted charms. This time it is the young and lively owner of the horse who, by complicated means, becomes his assistance. The face at the window, however, has seen more than Dan can accept, knowing he was not where the watcher said he was. Whether he wants to be or not, Dan is forced to let his curiosity take over in order to save his skin.
One delight of these books is the descriptions of nature, which balance an otherwise helter-skelter plot of crazy twists, both of which elements keep the reader entertained. The writer also has a gift for sensitive character descriptions to draw the reader into a relationship with each of them, whether positive or negative. It is through the interactions between these that most of the comedy arises, making the books excellent light entertainment. A murder series without too much noire and an inherent tolerance of human foibles is a welcome change from the current trend, however lightly Dan skates on basic morality.
One delight of these books is the descriptions of nature, which balance an otherwise helter-skelter plot of crazy twists, both of which elements keep the reader entertained. The writer also has a gift for sensitive character descriptions to draw the reader into a relationship with each of them, whether positive or negative. It is through the interactions between these that most of the comedy arises, making the books excellent light entertainment. A murder series without too much noire and an inherent tolerance of human foibles is a welcome change from the current trend, however lightly Dan skates on basic morality.
Displaying 1 of 1 review