In WEDDING TREASURE Treasure is accompanied by his wife, Molly, a successful actress who is "resting" often enough to accompany her husband on many of his adventures.
The central story in WEDDING TREASURE centres around a bride's estranged father who is found dead on the golf course. (Williams was keen on golf and lived close to the famous Wentworth club in a house named "Blandings" in homage to his literary hero P.G. Wodehouse.)
WEDDING TREASURE was apparently far from Williams' best:
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Banker-sleuth Mark Treasure, at his humorous best in the recent Advertise for Treasure, now makes a disappointing foray into upper-class English society--as he and wife Molly attend the festivities leading up to the wedding of Fleur Jarvas and Jonas Grimaldi. Right from the start, it's clear that these nuptials are awash in family/fiscal complications: Fleur's long-divorced, ne'er-do-well father Kitson has a complex business arrangement with her stepfather Jack Figgle--which will guarantee Kitson's presence at the wedding, save Jack's business, and insure Fleur's supply of trust money. But all these schemings fall apart before the ceremony when Kitson is found dead, apparently killed by a golf ball. Whodunit? Well, the solution involves the polite rehashing of lots of long-bygone relationships, mostly illicit. Meanwhile, Jonas turns out (no surprise) to be a fortune-hunter--though his American uncle Silvano exhibits some charm. And Treasure works hard at timetables, motives, and weapons, finally confronting the hapless killer. The hapless reader, however, may have long departed--since this is Treasure and Williams at lowest ebb, with a boring, bloodless story and (aside from the above-mentioned Silvano) a thoroughly unengaging cast.
It seems that Williams built up quite a following with the Treasure series and he followed it up with a new one.
Inspector Parry
1. Last Seen Breathing (1994)
2. Death of a Prodigal (1995)
3. Dead in the Market (1996)
4. A Terminal Case (1997)
5. Suicide Intended (1998)
6. Practise to Deceive (2003)
Of these it seems that A TERMINAL CASE might have been the best.
Obituary.
Kerrie - Thanks for this reminder of this series. I have to admit I haven't read this one, but I always enjoy being reminded of authors like this who have disappeared from the proverbial radar screen. I often wonder how that happens, even to talented authors..
ReplyDeleteThanks for an interesting read Kerrie :)
ReplyDeleteUsually I at least have heard of the author or series, but this is completely new to me.
ReplyDeleteI love this series, and I doubt I've read them all. Thanks so much for mentioning. Something to look forward to... not that I don't have enough to read.These were charming, and I think David Williams may have written something for Mystery Readers Journal. I'll check
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the Emma Lathen series about a banker who solves mysteries so these David Williams novels have instant appeal. Thanks for bringing them to our attention!
ReplyDeleteWas he trying at all to emulate the Wodehouse style?
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