The Inspector Thanet Mysteries Volume Two: Close Her Eyes, Last Seen Alive, and Dead on Arrival

Dorothy Simpson

Apr 2018 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

The second trio of mysteries in the “beautifully crafted,” Silver Dagger Award–winning police procedural series set in Kent, England (The Washington Post).
 
Det.Inspector Luke Thanet may be a family man with a soft heart and bad back, but he also has a bloodhound’s nose for murder. With Sgt. Mike Lineham at his side, no case is too tough, in these mysteries from the “dependably pleasing” Dorothy Simpson (Boston Globe).
 
Close Her Eyes: When a teenage girl from a strict fundamentalist religious order goes missing, her parents insist that the investigation of her disappearance be left in the hands of God. But when Charity Pritchard is found murdered, Inspector Thanet and Sergeant Lineham vow to tear off the church’s veil of secrecy to reveal her killer.
 
“A well-crafted [and] compelling mystery novel.” —The Armchair Detective
 
Last Seen Alive: When Luke Thanet was a young man, Alicia Parnell was one of the most popular girls in Sturrenden—until her perfect life was shattered by her teenage boyfriend’s suicide. Alicia’s family left town soon after. But now, two decades later, Alicia has returned to the country village where she was born—only to die there the day after she arrives . . . To find the killer, Inspector Thanet will have to dig deep into their shared past, in this CWA Silver Dagger winner.
 
“A classic detective story . . . complex and ingenious.” —Literary Review
 
Dead on Arrival: Inspector Thanet is brought in when a dead man is found in bed, apparently killed by a single blow with a blunt object. When the corpse is identified as Steven Long, the question is no longer who wanted to kill him, but who didn’t? Long was loathed by everyone in town, from his long-suffering ex-wife to the man whose family he killed in a driving accident. To find the culprit, Thanet will have to get to the bottom of a lifetime of hate.
 
“An intriguing tale not to be missed.” —Yorkshire Post

About the author

Dorothy Simpson (b. 1933) was born and raised in South Wales, and went to Bristol University, where she studied modern languages before moving to Kent, the setting for her Inspector Thanet Mysteries. After spending several years at home with her three children, she trained as a marriage guidance counselor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years before writing her first novel. Says Simpson, “You may think that marriage guidance counselor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realize it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong, and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counseling.”