By: R. D. Wingfield Publisher: Paperjacks Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 356 Publication Date: 1987-11 Studio: Paperjacks
Product Description: Detective Inspector Frost, officially on duty, is nevertheless determined to sneak off to a colleague's leaving party. But first the corpse of a well-known local junkie is found blocking the drain of a Denton public lavatory and the nubile daughter of a wealthy businessman is reported missing.
A great British mystery series ^ This is my third Inspector Frost novel and it is a good one. DI "Jack" Frost is a curmudgeonly detective in the Denton police force and has his hands full investigating a variety of crimes. In each book, Frost usually has several different crimes he has to solve. This time it is a missing teenager, stolen coins, a hit and run murder, and a serial rapist. He has help from either a new detective sargent or detective constable. This character is different in each book it seems. These are not graphic, high action novels but rather a laid back mystery which is intriguing and suspenseful and requires using a little of the gray matter to enjoy. Highly recommended.
A Chilling Frost ^ Detective Inspector Jack Frost of Denton CID is an aging, scruffy, undisciplined, irreverent and intuitive sleuth who manages to solve all those nasty cases that baffle his more conventional colleagues. ýA Touch of Frostý, the first in a five-novel series by playwright and former comedy writer, R.D. Wingfield, is an engrossing whirlwind of rape victims, body bags and multiple suspects that drive Frost and Webster, his newly-demoted side-kick, over four sleepless days and nights.
Utilizing plain language, expert composition and the bawdy humour that is the seriesý hallmark, Wingfield deftly steers the plotýs interwoven complexities, such that the reader is immediately hooked by this irresistible page-turner. The entire cast of characters, from the odious Commander Mullett to the unwashed derelict, Wally Peters, is vividly and believably drawn. And, as befits the title, a chilling frost clings to the gruesome crime scenes and suitably shrouds the corpse-strewn town.
A word of caution, however: The relentless irreverence and grim humour that limns virtually every page of this novel are bound to offend some sensibilities and annoy others, especially those readers accustomed to drawing-room mysteries, or to the literary school of detective fiction. But for those of us with the wit and the grit, the Frost books are a refreshing and welcome throwback to an earlier style, when the protagonist was not a recovering alcoholic with dysfunctional offspring, but was simply an honest copper who went out and got the job done, with a minimum of fuss. Highly recommended.
My first Frost book won't be my last! ^ Having seen the tv show from the UK, I was intrigued (but not surprised) to learn there is a book series behind the program. The book keeps you guessing not only about "whodunit," but also about whether or not the crimes are inter-related. Frost's character is amusing, as is his co-workers' reactions to him. I think there is more than a little shock value in Wingfield's humor. All in all, an entertaining read! I can't wait to get started on the rest of the novels!
A caricature of the series ^ Another frost mystery. Not so well done. This series may develop into a caricature of itself if the author is not careful about exaggerating the faults and pettiness of the commanding officers. Frost is investigating a local junkie's death, unpopular Detective Inspector Jack Frost watches things go from bad to worse as he stalks a runaway teenager, a burglar, a hit-and-run driver, and a tabloid criminal known as the Hooded Terror.
Entertaining, but not gripping ^ Detective Inspector "Jack" Frost is the subject of a popular television series in the UK. The character was awarded a medal for bravery (due to a foolish mistake) and dominates the TV series. Although RD Wingfield has written only four books, the many plots contained in them have been cannibalised for many episodes of the TV series.
This is the first Frost book I have read. Beginning with Frost attempting to attend a retirement party and failing as he is required to attend a number of crime scenes, it sets up a number of interlinking (and sometimes not) plots (the investigation of the death of a tramp, the disappearance of a girl, a rape inquiry). The different plots give a misleading depth to the novel, though Wingfield handles the plots reasonably (although without the mastery of James Ellroy, Ian Rankin, or Reginald Hill). However, at times there is too much happening
Wingfield, as one would expect from a former script writer for British comedian Kenneth Williams, is also a funny writer, although sometimes the jokes teeter into offensiveness.
The novel is strong on the tedium of much police procedural work, and perceptive on police politics (similar to office politics in most jobs).
However, the novel is heavily dependent on the character of Frost. Other characters fit neat stereotypes, or are too poorly drawn to give credibility, and the depth given to Frost with some subtle nuances (notably in the conclusion) merely emphasise, how two dimensional other characters are.
This is an enjoyable novel, but not gripping. It is not, to this reviewer, in the first level of modern British genre fiction.
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