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Inspector Kentworthy #9
Focus on Crime
An eminent Lutheran pastor comes to England to take part in an investigative TV documentary called Crucible and is caught shop-lifting in the West End. He tries to demand that his case be handled by Superintendent Kenworthy, but Kenworthy has retired and it is decided not to bother him - until Pastor Pagendarm is found murdered on the edge of a Hertfordshire wood. Kenworthy is puzzled, until a meeting with the pastor's widow brings back memories of his days in wartime Intelligence.
But this is not a spy story, nor does it repeat the usual clich�s about Nazi Germany. It is a patient and sensitive search for the long tap-roots of evil. The scenes in the ruins of immediate post-war Berlin are among the most atmospheric that John Buxton Hilton wrote and, as expected with this author, there are characters to remember: the foolish, honourable British brigadier, his shrewd and down-to-earth servant - and the charming, intelligent, ruthlessly amoral Anna-Maria.
In the tense denouement, Kenworthy uses the shooting script of Crucible to break the case, and after all the surprises there is another one still to come . . .
But this is not a spy story, nor does it repeat the usual clich�s about Nazi Germany. It is a patient and sensitive search for the long tap-roots of evil. The scenes in the ruins of immediate post-war Berlin are among the most atmospheric that John Buxton Hilton wrote and, as expected with this author, there are characters to remember: the foolish, honourable British brigadier, his shrewd and down-to-earth servant - and the charming, intelligent, ruthlessly amoral Anna-Maria.
In the tense denouement, Kenworthy uses the shooting script of Crucible to break the case, and after all the surprises there is another one still to come . . .
- GenresMystery
184 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1982
About the author
John Buxton Hilton
57 books4 followersJohn Buxton Hilton was a British crime writer. After his war service in the army he became an Inspector of schools, before retiring in 1970 to take up full-time writing.
He wrote the Superintendent Simon Kenworthy series and the Inspector Thomas Brunt series, as well as the Inspector Mosley series under the pseudonym John Greenwood. Hilton died in Norwich.
He wrote the Superintendent Simon Kenworthy series and the Inspector Thomas Brunt series, as well as the Inspector Mosley series under the pseudonym John Greenwood. Hilton died in Norwich.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 23, 2019
"When a pastor is caught breaking the Eighth Commandment, he asks that Kenworthy be put in charge. But it's only when the clergyman's corpse is found -- and the shop-lifting case becomes a murder case -- that the inspector steps in ... discovering a chain of deception and evildoing that goes all the way back to wartime. The war may be long over, but Kenworthy will have no peace until he finds the truth ...
~~back cover
This was a difficult book for me: not only is the plot written with the usual hints and allegations, but a good deal of it took place in occupied Germany after the Nazis were defeated -- a historical period that I know little about. And when the scene shifted to England 30 years on, I understood it all even less.
~~back cover
This was a difficult book for me: not only is the plot written with the usual hints and allegations, but a good deal of it took place in occupied Germany after the Nazis were defeated -- a historical period that I know little about. And when the scene shifted to England 30 years on, I understood it all even less.
July 13, 2011
This was hard to follow as the characters were not well defined. This is a series of books so maybe if I read somehting which was written earlier.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews