Review: THE PORTSMOUTH MURDERS, Pauline Rowson

• 
  this edition an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09SV6G9QP
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense (February 17, 2022)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 194 pages 
• previously published as TIDE OF DEATH

Synopsis  (Amazon)

Meet Detective Inspector Andy Horton. It’s his second day back in Portsmouth’s CID and things aren’t going well.

Please note this was previously published as Tide of Death.

DI Andy Horton is on his morning run along an isolated stretch of beach when he stumbles across a dead man. Stark naked and bludgeoned to death.

Eight months ago, DI Horton’s life fell apart when he was suspended for misconduct. His wife kicked him out and stopped him seeing his daughter.

The young woman who’d accused him went missing and the charges were dropped, but his personal and professional life are still in a mess.

And now it doesn’t look good for a detective under suspicion to be the one to find a dead body. His colleagues don’t want him on the case.

But this murder will challenge Detective Horton in every single way. And when another body turns up with the same cause of death, Horton suspects he might be the next person in the killer’s sights.

My Take

It felt good to catch up with Andy Horton again (see below for titles I have read before). He is still a bit of a loose cannon that life has dealt some hard knocks to. Some of it he brings on himself.

This felt like a good book to start again on, so if you haven't read any of Pauline Rowson's novels and are looking for relatively quick reads, then this could be where you will start. Characters are well described and plots are well constructed.

I will certainly be trying the second title in this series.

My rating: 4.5  

THE DETECTIVE
DI Andy Horton’s mum walked out on him when he was a child and he grew up in children’s home. Now he lives onboard his yacht in Southsea Marina. He rides a Harley-Davidson and never wears a suit or tie — unless it’s to go to court. He’s an instinctive copper and a man of contrasts, which often lands him in trouble with his bosses. He has a desperate need to belong, and yet is always just on the outside. Self-contained, afraid to show his feelings, but he’s a risk-taker that seeks justice.

THE SETTING
Portsmouth boasts a vibrant waterfront, a diverse multicultural population, an international port, a historic dockyard, and is home of the Royal Navy. Portsmouth Harbour is one of the busiest in the world — and one of the best places to hide a body, it seems. Set against the backdrop of the sea, the Solent area of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight is every detective’s worst nightmare. The sea is ever-changing and often the best clues get swept away by the tide.

THE SOLENT MURDER MYSTERIES
Book 1: THE PORTSMOUTH MURDERS
Book 2: THE LANGSTONE HARBOUR MURDERS
Book 3: THE HORSEA MARINA MURDERS
Book 4: THE ROYAL HOTEL MURDERS
Book 5: THE ISLE OF WIGHT MURDERS
Book 6: THE PORTCHESTER CASTLE MURDERS
Book 7: THE CHALE BAY MURDERS
Book 8: THE FARLINGTON MARSH MURDERS
Book 9: THE OYSTER QUAYS MURDERS
Book 10: THE COWES WEEK MURDERS
Book 11: THE BOATHOUSE MURDERS
Book 12: THE THORNEY ISLAND MURDERS
Book 13: THE GUERNSEY FERRY MURDERS

I've also read

DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST
4.6, DEATH LIES BENEATH
4.5, DEATH SURGE
4.6, SHROUD OF EVIL
4.3, FATAL CATCH

Review: FATAL CATCH, Pauline Rowson

• format: Kindle (ARC from Net Galley)
  
• Series: A DI Andy Horton Mystery (Book 12)
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers; First World Publication edition (January 1, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727884972
• ISBN-13: 978-0727884978

Synopsis ( Net Galley)

Trust no one. Believe nothing . . .

DI Andy Horton is called out to examine a gruesome catch by two fishermen: a human hand. Is it that of missing violent criminal, Alfie Wright – or is he the killer? And where is the rest of the corpse?

Soon Horton finds himself immersed in a complex case where everyone has a reason to lie and no one is who they seem. Assailed by doubts both in his personal and professional life, Horton desperately tries to keep his emotional feelings under control and his focus on his work. His instincts tell him to trust no one and believe nothing; he’s not sure, though, whether this time he’ll succeed . . .

My take

Andy Horton is still very much pre-occupied with what happened to his mother Jennifer when she disappeared twenty years earlier. This theme alone would make it difficult to read these novels as stand alones although considerable detail is repeated from one novel to the next. Andy is gradually piecing his mother's story together and now he is contacted by a woman who says she is conducting university research into missing persons who choose not to resurface. Jennifer Horton is one of the people she is interested in.

Each novel is based around a current case, this time a severed hand which some fishermen haul in. The hand is identified from its fingerprints, and then Andy's team is told to back off - the man is purported to be a police informant, but Andy thinks this is most unlikely and out of character.

Meanwhile one of the fishermen who found the hand goes missing and then turns up dead.

This is #12 in the Andy Horton series and I would like Andy to hurry up and solve the mystery about his mother. While I have been enjoying the ride, and there is no doubt that each novel is well written, I am ready for something else to occupy Andy's attention. Surely the end of this plot line is in sight?

My rating:

I've also reviewed
DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST
4.6, DEATH LIES BENEATH
4.5, DEATH SURGE
4.6, SHROUD OF EVIL

Review: SHROUD OF EVIL, Pauline Rowson

• source: review copy from Net Galley per Severn House
  
• published 2014
• available from Amazon
• File Size: 1029 KB
• Print Length: 235 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Digital (August 1, 2014)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00L37DKS8
• #11 in the Andy Horton series

Synopsis (Net Galley)

Rugged Detective Inspector Horton investigates a missing person in a case that has personal ramifications which could end his career...When a private investigator goes missing, Detective Inspector Horton of Portsmouth CID believes he's probably run off with a woman. But when the man's car turns up, and a shocking discovery is made, things turn serious, and Horton himself embroiled in an investigation that has major personal ramifications, and could potentially end his career.

from Amazon (extra detail)
Detective Inspector Horton of Portsmouth CID is assigned the case of a missing person: Jasper Kenton, a private investigator. Eunice Swallows, Kenton’s partner, seems reluctant to help them, and Horton concludes that she is probably relieved to be rid of him. He instructs Sergeant Cantelli and DC Walters to put out the usual alerts, believing Kenton has probably run off with another woman.

But when Kenton’s car turns up, and a shocking discovery is made, things turn serious. Immediately, Horton finds himself embroiled in an investigation that has major personal ramifications and one in which he has no choice but to withhold vital information. As he struggles to crack the case, he knows it is only a question of time before someone discovers he’s kept silent and when that’s revealed, his part in hindering a major investigation will end his career . . .

My Take

I have been a fan of Pauline Rowson's Andy Horton series for some time now and this one did not disappoint. The book will really work best if you have read earlier titles in the series, but even so, there are plenty of hints about details from earlier novels.

The story follows the pattern of earlier ones: a police investigation into a local case, in this case a missing person involving Portsmouth CID and progress in Andy Horton's personal investigation into what happened to his mother nearly three decades earlier.

Once again it is meticulously plotted and the central characters are well drawn. Horton is a maverick, and the tensions between himself and his superiors puts his actions on a knife edge. By the end of the book, you can't help feeling that knowledge of what happened to Andy's mother is just around the corner.

My rating 4.6

I have also reviewed
DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST
4.6, DEATH LIES BENEATH
4.5, DEATH SURGE

Review: DEATH SURGE, Pauline Rowson

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
  
• File Size: 554 KB
• Print Length: 224 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Digital; First World Publication edition (December 20, 2013)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00H9DOLE2
• #10 in the Andy Horton series

Synopsis (author site)

A telephone call from a frantic Sergeant Cantelli to say that his nephew, Johnnie Oslow, is missing cuts short Detective Inspector Horton’s sailing trip to France. Summoned back to the Isle of Wight, Horton learns that Johnnie has not shown up for racing during Cowes Week, as previously arranged.

The investigation is ranked low priority by Horton’s boss, Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Bliss, who like others believes Johnnie has probably gone off with a woman. But events take a very different turn when the charred remains of a body are discovered in one of the disused tunnels at the Hilsea Lines in Portsmouth.

With the arrival of Detective Chief Superintendent Sawyer of the Intelligence Directorate and Agent Harriet Eames of Europol, what began as the hunt for a missing man becomes the search for a ruthless killer . . .

My take

One strand of this novel, as always in this series, is the continuing story of Detective Inspector Andy Horton's life, and his ongoing search for the truth about his mother Jennifer, who vanished when he was 10 years old. In each novel he collects more clues to what happened to her, but can't quite get there.

The other strand of the novel, as always, is the current case, a local event, a murder, a disappearance, a mystery. This time the nephew of Horton's sergeant, Barney Cantelli, has gone missing at the beginning of Cowes Week. It seems he may have disappeared en route from London to Cowes. Johnnie Oslow, an experienced sailor, has been missing for 3 days.

I haven't read all of this series but I have enjoyed those I have. Rowson does a good job with all aspects of the novels: the plots are engaging, the setting feels authentic, and character development is excellent.

My rating: 4.5

I've also reviewed
DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST
4.6, DEATH LIES BENEATH

Review: DEATH LIES BENEATH, Pauline Rowson

• Format: Kindle - from an e-book ARC kindly suppled by the author
• published November 2012
• #8 in the DI Andy Horton series
• File Size: 396 KB
• Print Length: 224 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Digital (November 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B009G6R0G6

Synopsis (Amazon)

When ex-con Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour, the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is linked to big-time crook Marty Stapleton, currently serving time in prison.

Detective Inspector Horton is not so sure, and is thrown into a complex and frustrating investigation when a body is found on a rotting boat being salvaged in Portsmouth Harbour.

As the pressure to solve the case increases, Horton receives a chilling personal message; time, it seems, is also running out for him . . .

My Take

If you've not met this British police procedural series based around Portsmouth Harbour and the Isle of Wight, allow me to recommend them. DEATH LIES BENEATH is #8 in the series and probably not a good place to start, simply because sequential character and setting development connects all the novels in a sort of linear fashion.

The sequence (from Fantastic Fiction) is
1. Tide of Death (2006)
2. Deadly Waters (2007)
3. The Suffocating Sea (2008)
4. Dead Man's Wharf (2009)
5. Blood on the Sand (2010)
6. Footsteps on the Shore (2011)
7. A Killing Coast (2012)
8. Death Lies Beneath (2012)
9. Undercurrent (2013)
and so by #8 we've come quite a long way in Andy Horton's story.

Horton's personal story includes a failed marriage, the fight for access to his young daughter, and a search for the truth about why his own mother disappeared when he was very young. In each novel the author balances these factors against a mystery, and usually at least one murder.

Pauline Rowson is an excellent constructor of false trails and DEATH LIES BENEATH is no exception. Ex-con Darryl Woodley's death results in a funeral which Horton and a photographer attend just to see who else turns up, in an effort to solve the crime of Woodley's murder. A woman whom Horton can't identify appears at the funeral but before 24 hours have passed, her body is found at Portsmouth Harbour. The diving team looking for her handbag finds another body that has been on one of the wrecks for a number of years. Three bodies seems a huge coincidence and Horton doesn't believe in them, but are the three murders connected?

At the same time a bit more evidence seems connected to Horton's missing mother, Jennifer, but it doesn't seem he is much closer to knowing what happened to her.

I really enjoy these books. They are carefully plotted and Andy Horton is a likeable if flawed character.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST

About the author

Pauline Rowson is the author of the DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery series of crime novels and thrillers.
Visit http://www.rowmark.co.uk for more information.
Follow Pauline Rowson on Twitter http://twitter.com/PaulineRowson
Or visit the Marine Mysteries Face Book Page
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Marine-Mystery-Crime-Novels/24228588099
Member of the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain, and The Society of Authors

Review: A KILLING COAST, Pauline Rowson

• Published 2012 by Severn House
• ISBN 978-0-7278-8144-1
• 215 pages
• #7 in the Andy Horton series
• source: my local library

Synopsis (from author site)

When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death.

Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement.

With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.

My Take

Several things are happening at once at the beginning of this novel: Andy Horton is interviewing a retiree who was the young PC investigating Jennifer Horton's disappearance thirty years before, a local reports seeing lights out at sea at night, and the body of a woman is washed up on the coastline. DCI Bliss's pet Project Neptune, aimed at detecting terrorism attempts, means any unusual lights have to be investigated, and while drownings are not uncommon, each needs careful scrutiny.

The plot rapidly becomes more complex as Andy Horton is put under pressure by senior officers and colleagues and more events compete for his time. The complexity is intensified by the number of red herrings floating about. These are largely generated by Horton and his offsider Cantelli who constantly come up with possible explanations for the cases they are involved in, only to discard those that don't accommodate all the facts.

By the end of the novel I felt that there had been far too many of these possible solutions and the effect was almost like wading through pea soup. Finally it is with some relief to see Horton charging his way to the final answer.

Nevertheless a satisfying read. Andy Horton's own story, which runs like a thread through all the novels is just a little furthered, and most of the loose ends are tidied away.

My rating: 4.3

Other reviews to check

• Kirkus Reviews
• Publishers Weekly

I feel Pauline Rowson's books don't come up often enough on people's reading lists. If you like police procedurals with a twist, plenty of red herrings, and a strong sense of location, you'll like these.

See the list of books in this series (author site) 

I've also reviewed
DEADLY WATERS  (#2)
THE SUFFOCATING SEA  (#3)
DEAD MAN'S WHARF  (#4)

Review: DEAD MAN'S WHARF, Pauline Rowson

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 486 KB
• Publisher: Fathom (October 27, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004EEP7CO
• Source: I bought it

Publisher's Blurb (from author's site)

DI Andy Horton and Sergeant Barney Cantelli are called to a nursing home where an elderly resident, suffering from dementia, claims she's been attacked by an intruder. Horton is ready to dismiss it as senile ramblings until he discovers that her room-mate has died, the dead woman's belongings are missing and her son, convicted for armed robbery, has been found dead in his cell.
As if this isn't enough, Horton also has to deal with a series of threatening telephone calls to a television personality, and a mother's conviction that her son's death on Christmas Eve was no accident.
Soon, to his surprise, Horton finds he is caught up in a complex investigation that has far-reaching international implications.
With the pressure on to find a killer, and hampered by his belief that his bosses are lying to him, Horton discovers that he's stepped into a web of intrigue, deception and corruption that stretches back into the past.

My take

This is #4 in Rowson's Andy Horton series and the third I have read. Rowson is a clever writer able to develop a complex plot from seemingly simple roots. The plot keeps branching, element upon element being added, and Rowson does a good job of keeping tabs on them all.

Early in his investigation of the threatening phone calls case, Horton's immediate superior DCI Bliss is seconded to the Performance and Review team. Horton will be in charge with a new DC, Harriet Lee, assigned to help him. Horton is suspicious that Lee is not what she seems.

Running through the background are two themes: Andy Horton's desire to have some access to his daughter, and his need to know what happened to his own mother who disappeared when he was young. It turns out that the dead woman in the nursing home is a familiar name, someone who knew his mother.

Pauline Rowson has the ability to make you want to keep reading, to find out the answers to the growing pile of questions. Those who enjoy British crime fiction will enjoy this series. The Portsmouth setting gives it a unique flavour.

My rating: 4.4

• Read an extract from Chapter One of Dead Man's Wharf
• Download Chapter One of Dead Man's Wharf

Visit Pauline Rowson's website
Follow Pauline's blog

Other reviews on MiP of titles in Pauline Rowson's Andy Horton series
DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA

The Andy Horton series (courtesy Fantastic Fiction)
1. Tide of Death (2006)
2. Deadly Waters (2007)
3. The Suffocating Sea (2008)
4. Dead Man's Wharf (2009)
5. Blood on the Sand (2010)
6. Footsteps on the Shore (2011)
7. Killing Coast (2012)

Review: THE SUFFOCATING SEA, Pauline Rowson

Published in 2008, 3rd in Pauline Rowson's Andy Horton series, set in Portsmouth (UK).

I listened to this as an audio book downloaded from Audible.com.
Read by Gordon Griffin, whom I have already met reading RED BONES by Ann Cleeves.

The investigation of a suspicious death in Horsea Marina leads DI Andy Horton to wonder why the victim had come to Portsmouth. When a priest whom the victim visited suddenly dies, and then his lawyer disappears, Andy Horton's gut instincts tell him that these incidents are all connected even if there is no obvious proof.

There's a satisfying complexity added to the plot when Andy becomes aware of a connection between the dead priest and his own mother who disappeared when he was 10 years old.  Other strands to the plot such as Andy's own problems with access to his daughter, the poor health of his sergeant's father, Andy's relationship with his Super, and then an attempt on Andy's life, all mean that there is never a dull moment for the reader. The characters are strongly drawn, and the plot moves quickly.

I enjoyed this title more than I did DEADLY WATERS which I read last year and felt I was missing too much of the back story.

My rating: 4.6

On Pauline Rowson's site: well worth exploring.

Selected as the "Best of British Crime Fiction" by The Book Depository.

Read the first chapter (pdf format) 

Read an extract online

The Andy Horton series

1. Tide of Death (2006)
2. Deadly Waters (2007)
3. The Suffocating Sea (2008)
4. Dead Man's Wharf (2009)

Review: DEADLY WATERS, Pauline Rowson

Severn House, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7278-6555-7, 214 pages

The body of the head teacher of a local school is found in Langston Harbour, Portsmouth, along with a wad of money wrapped up in a five pound note and smothered with honey. The head teacher's car is missing, and her body is actually found out on the mulberry in the harbour, so it had to have been taken there by boat. As the investigation proceeds other nursery rhyme clues crop up, and there is another murder. The investigation team is led by DI Andy Horton about to be supplanted because of recent indiscretions.

DEADLY WATERS has a complex plot but I struggled to keep the threads together in my mind despite the relative shortness of the book. A certain amount of tension is generated by the fact that Andy Horton is given just a week to solve the case by his superior, Superintendent Uckfield. Horton is fighting a personal battle to gain access to his daughter and to sort his own life out. The investigation is hampered by people providing false alibis

This is the fourth title in Pauline Rowson's "marine" mysteries (but only the second in the Andy Horton titles). The problems I had in focussing on the plot of this book may perhaps be attributable to the fact that I have not read earlier titles. According to Pauline Rowson's own website DEADLY WATERS, which I read in hardback, will be available in paperback in April 2009.

My rating 4.2

The Andy Horton series

1. Tide of Death (2006)

2. Deadly Waters (2007)
3. The Suffocating Sea (2008)
4. Dead Man's Wharf (2009)

Coincidentally today I got a promotional email from Pauline Rowson's marketing agent, titled Crime Writer's Unsolved Family Murder Mystery. On the website the same information is available under the title Fiftieth Anniversary of Crime Writer's Unsolved Family Murder.

It continues
Not every crime writer has personal experience of murder in their family but on the fiftieth anniversary of her great aunt’s brutal killing, Pauline Rowson, author of the popular series of marine mysteries featuring the flawed and rugged Inspector Horton, takes time to remember Martha Giles’s unlawful killing on 12 February 1959, and one mystery that it appears she will never be able to solve. Read more