PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Harry Flashman meets Basil Fawlty in a rip-roaring crime comedy of ships and the sea. The caddish anti-hero, Lieutenant Martin Jerrold, makes his debut in what is to become a series of capers in the villainous world of 19th-century England. Here we find him rather the worse for drink, but not quite worse enough for his own liking. He would prefer to have been blotto rather than merely drunk - because in a legless state he would never have been accused of murder. Martin has returned from Trafalgar without an ounce of glory. He believes that Nelson's famous signal, 'England expects that every man on this day will do his duty', applied to everyone but himself. Martin has a simple philosophy - look after number one, bed the ladies and swill as much booze as possible. He may not sound charming but he is, at least in a bounderish, hapless way. His scheming rarely turns out as intended, especially when it comes to turning sleuth in order to save his own neck, not to mention his inheritance. The setting for this first story is Dover, a town full of scoundrels ready to take advantage of a man down on his luck. Only the lovely Isobel appears ready to help Martin in whatever way she can, both inside and outside the bedchamber. They have just two weeks to find out who really dunnit and so preserve Martin's life if not his reputation. Thomas's story won the runner-up prize in the 2001 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award for unpublished writers of crime fiction. He has spun a rollicking yarn with razor-sharp dialogue, and introduced a protagonist who will be with us for quite a while yet. (Kirkus UK)
