Inspector West kicks off

An enjoyable, if not very deep, crime novel by John Creasey. Inspector West investigates the death of a man and this leads him down a rabbit hole involving a mass conspiracy to steal food (when this book was released, 1949, food rationing was still going on in the UK so that probably resonated) and re-sell it on the black market.

The criminal gang use specially printed football programmes with codes embedded in them, to distribute at football grounds to the various members in the greater conspiracy. To be honest this seems a bit of a odd way to do this, though obviously this book was written a long time before WhatsApp!

West gets into plenty of action here, beaten up a few times and even shot, but he pulls through to brings down the whole criminal enterprise. The murder that took place at the start of the book is also solved, though it did seem to become a bit of an afterthought.

Not a bad story at all, not very challenging but very readable. A couple of the main characters who often are seen acting suspicious, end up being innocent so that is a nice little twist at the end.

A trip to Sheffield and the Hope Valley

At the weekend i headed up to Derbyshire to try out the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket, for unlimited rail travel in the county. However, the main hub for Derbyshire's lines is... Sheffield in South Yorkshire! Luckily, the ticket is valid there as well. I visited four stations along the Hope Valley Line in the Peak District, some very nice views indeed. I also had a quick walk around the village of Hathersage.

You can see my photos here.

The hand of death

This is a rather murky crime novel by Margaret Yorke. It details the antics of a depraved man who seeks to escape his dreary existence selling antiques seeking sex, however soon it is rape and murder he has committed and he wants to get into the pants of the schoolgirl who works at his shop...

The story is interesting in being told largely through the points of view of the criminal and the victims (including the poor innocent bloke who is the police's suspect). The female characters are very well written, the male characters - including the criminal - are a bit one dimensional.

It isn't a bad book, certainly reads well. However, the plot is a bit basic.

More for the shrubbery

I have added two more plants to the shrubbery, they are an Ilex Jenny and a Heuchera Buttered Rum, the latter does indeed look like it is butter rum coloured. The shrubbery is now fully stocked again, one of the existing plants is hanging on by it's withered twigs, though it is now surrounded by new plants so will hopefully benefit from the extra nutrients and watering.

A trip to Barnt Green and Alvechurch stations

Last Friday, i headed down to Barnt Green station to update my photography there, later moving on to Alvechurch. Both stations will be in my book on Hereford & Worcestershire railway stations. Unfortunately, i did have a fall at Barnt Green and hurt my knee. So, that did ruin the day a bit, though all objectives were achieved. Because of my injury, i then had a blank Saturday, which was quite novel though pretty boring!

You can see my photos here.

Payoff

"Payoff" by Hartley Howard is an unsubtle tale of a hard boiled private investigator who sweats a lot and takes a lot of taxis. 

The story is fairly enjoyable, if not that unique. The story never quite manages to reach top gear but a creditable fourth perhaps. There is a good mix of crime and spy drama.

The main problem with the story though is the predictability. It isn't a bad read and will certainly pass the time of day but you probably won't want to ever read it again.