Have there already been 18 Inspector Skelgill books, set in English Cumbria? I must be enjoying them, because I keep coming back. Inspector Daniel Skelgill is definitely an example of the “curmudgeonly detective” trope, but he manages to remain a sympathetic character. In some ways he seems barely human – especially in relation to women, he seems entirely impassive. Some fun is had with that character trait in this book, Murder Unsolved.
Skelgill’s parents came from rather different families. He seems to favor his father’s side, hard-working, disciplined, stoic. But he’s a Graham on his mother’s side, and they are a different matter. The Grahams are a marginal clan in Cumbria (I remember them being mentioned in accounts of the days of the Border Reivers). They party hard and are inclined to cut corners with the law. But Skelgill has recently had some positive contact with some of his Graham cousins, and one of them, a young woman, asks for his help.
She has a friend, Jade, a beautiful young woman whose old boyfriend, Dale Spooner, a petty criminal, is serving time for a murder three years ago. Two local gangsters were found dead in a burned-out car, and forensic evidence put Dale at the scene. But Jade says Dale has an alibi, which he won’t talk about.
Skeptical at first, Skelgill and his team, DS Jones (female) and DS Leyton (male) look into the evidence (off the record) and find that the case was very shoddily investigated. The case was covered by a team led by Inspector Smart, a smarmy and sly detective none of them respect. They soon realize that a lot of criminal activity has been going on in this apparently quiet country area, and there are people with much greater motives for the murders than Dale Spooner had. And those people will not hesitate to eliminate nosey coppers.
Murder Unsolved was as enjoyable as the previous books in the series. One of the great strengths of author Bruce Beckham’s writing is his wonderful descriptions of the fell country. My only disappointment was that he confused “flout” with “flaunt” on two occasions.
The Skelgill books contain no profanity; sometimes the author openly explains that he’s employed a circumlocution.