A Whiff of Cyanide

‘A Whiff of Cyanide’ is the third in the Hampstead Murders series by Guy Fraser-Sampson.

Ann Durham is the head of the Crime Writer’s Association and has been for years. But now a challenge is being mounted, and she may be set to lose everything she has worked for.

So when Ann is poisoned with cyanide at the association’s dinner at their big convention in Hampstead, is it suicide…or murder?

The team from Hampstead nick have to find out.

As per the other books, this one is a lovely mix of crime and character stories. Those who have read the previous books will get a hell of a shock at what happens next in the Peter Collins/Karen Willis/Bob Metcalfe storyline. It packed a punch not unlike one from Mohammed Ali!

Sprinkled with the quirky observations and one-liners, ‘A Whiff of Cyanide’ is a delicious addition to the series.

I have the fourth book at home. I am hoarding it. Because once I’ve read it, they’re all gone!

Guy Fraser-Sampson is the finest addition to the UK’s crime writing fraternity in years.

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Miss Christie Regrets

The crime team from Hampstead nick are back with a second interesting adventure in Guy Fraser-Sampson’s “Miss Christie Regrets”.

There is a murder in Burgh House in Hampstead, and around the same time a body is found stuffed in a cabin trunk in a walled off room in a nearby block of flats. This body however, isn’t fresh, but from prior to WW2. There can be no connection between the two cases. Can there?

Of course there can!

And off goes a wonderful romp through one of my favourite parts of London.

The plot is deliciously intricate, with a gorgeous woven seam of Cold War paranoia wound in that would delight John le Carre. Letters from Dame Agatha Christie herself add a touch of old world glamour to the plot.

“Miss Christie Regrets” is an excellent read, and builds nicely onto the foundations that the first book, “Death in Profile” erected.

Guy Fraser-Sampson writes wonderful stories that manage to meld the Golden Age of detective fiction with modern world police procedurals. If you haven’t read the series, do yourself a favour and track the books down.

Superb.

Death in Profile

I find it very hard to resist a crime novel set in London, and when it’s set in one of my favourite parts of London, it’s doubly irresistible.

“Death in Profile” is the first of the Hampstead Murders series by Guy Fraser-Sampson.

There is a serial killer stalking London and the case team are working out of Hampstead nick.When Detective Chief Inspector Tom Allen is stood down and Detective Superintendent Simon Collison is put in his place, the scene is set for a complex and interesting story.  Especially as the most recent killing just doesn’t seem quite right.  Profiler Peter Collins is brought in to assist and things get interesting.

Guy seamlessly blends a modern police procedural with the Golden Age of detective fiction.

“Death in Profile” is an absorbing and entertaining read.  The characters are all well rounded and believable.  I hope we see more of Collison in future books.

Highly recommended.