Book: The
Case of the Hidden Flame
(Book 2
in The Inspector David Graham Series)
Author:
Alison Golden
Genre:
Cozy Mystery
Number of
pages: 130 pages
Publication
date: 12 December 2015
ASIN: B019AO3EQ8
Synopsis:
A new cop. A murdered lover. An eccentric
community.
Detective Inspector David Graham has just
arrived on the island of Jersey, taking over a rag tag team of questionable
commitment and skill at the Gorey Constabulary, a team that he is supposed to
lead and develop into a cohesive investigative unit.
Within minutes, his first challenge
presents itself when ex-soldier, Colonel Graves, finds a dead body on the
beach. As the military man kneels down, he discovers it is his soon-to-be fiancé
half buried in the sand…
In a small resort like Gorey, this event is
monumental, and almost unheard of. The rumors swirl yet it is the new Detective
Inspector’s job, with a bag still packed and travel dust on his shoes, to
ferret out the clues and solve the case…while bringing his team along to
assist.
With a Sherlock
soul, The Case of the Hidden Flame packs humor and intrigue onto a small island
of eccentric characters, roiling sea undercurrents, and deceptive coincidences
– all accompanied by a fine cup of tea.
Book Review by Nadaness In Motion
"You
know I've been here five minutes, right?"
"And
you know we haven't had a murder here since the Newall Brothers axed their
parents for their inheritance money, back when you were in college?"
The Case of the
Hidden Flame
by Alison Golden is the second book in the Inspector David Graham Series.
The book brings back a few of the characters from The Case of the Screaming
Beauty, along with new people. It can be read as a standalone.
I loved the charismatic –
for me – Inspector Graham, who loves his morning tea, and who
literally grows on you as you read these books (I read 3 books in the series
consecutively!)
Graham leaves the
busy London with its dark memories and settles in the small island town of
Gorey. There he is to head the small police department, known as a
constabulary, and three police misfits: Harding (the serious one) and Roach and
Barnwell (the funny ones), "a rag tag team of
questionable commitment."
Graham has to turn
the three into mystery-solving and crime-fighting officers, which paves the way
for lots of humor.
As soon as he
arrives on Gorey, Graham is confronted with mystery after the other. In The
Case of the Hidden Flame, Graham has to deal with a nearly-crippled doctor
who is found dead and buried on the shore of the White House Inn, where he is
to stay.
"Mrs.
Taylor worked to find balance between helping the police and carrying out
much-needed rumor control, lest her guests suddenly decide to check out en
masse in a fit of panic and ruin the Inn's precious summer."
Graham and his team
interview many people at the Inn, while some appear to have harbored ill
intentions towards the late doctor, some don't seem to be related to the case
at all. Graham and his team struggle to find the culprit in an Inn, known to be
a home for the elderly and retirees.
In The Case of
the Hidden Flame, it takes some time to determine whether the
"case" is a murder or accidental death. Still, I enjoyed the story.
It was a bit slow at first but picked up.
"The least welcome category of deaths for a detective [was] victims who were found alone, with little forensic evidence, no witnesses, and no immediate suspects or motives."
To the police
officers, known as constables in the novel, Detective Graham acts oddly. But he
plans to teach each one of them how to handle things and make them rise from
merely taking tickets and processing mini-burglaries to solving crimes.
Having read
subsequent books, I've noticed that Graham is an excellent leader, knowing how
to utilize and develop each of his team's skills.
Unlike The Case of the Screaming Beauty which was a bit grim, The Case of the Hidden Flame has lots more humor, making it a fun read.
"[Mrs.
Taylor] was proving to be quite the store of gossip, which made her an ideal
source of information in a case like this."
The Case of the
Hidden Flame
is a different kind of cozy mystery in the sense that it's the police who are
looking into the murder, as opposed to the norm where there is an amateur
sleuth.
In terms of
character development, Graham is already a developed character but the sergeant
and two constables are the ones who see significant growth throughout the
books.
The book was
divided into only seven chapters, which made the chapters quite long.
I like how Golden
uses Graham and pathologist Dr. Marcus Tomlison as tools to educate both
readers and the police trio.
"Unlike
most police officers, or even members of the general public, Graham was aware
that asphyxia was a mode of dying, not ta cause."
Overall
rating for Alison Golden's The Case of the Hidden Flame: 4.5-5 stars.
Other
book reviews in this series:
The
Case of the Screaming Beauty (Book 1)
The Case of the Broken Doll (Book 4)
The
Case of the Missing Letter
The Case of Sampson's Leap (Book 8)
Reviews for Alison Golden's Reverend
Annabelle Dixon Mystery Series
Death
at the Café (Book 1)
Horror
in the Highlands (Book 5)
Killer
at the Cult (Book 6)
Witches at the Wedding (Book 8)
Start reading the
first book in this series, The Case of the Screaming Beauty when you
subscribe to Alison Golden's newsletter. I downloaded The Case of the Hidden
Flame when the author made it free for a week as part of her
#StayHomeReadBooks series.
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