Some Foul Play -OSI

Rudolf Steiner, Author, Anne Quinton, Author, Ann Quinton, Author Severn House Publishers $26 (0p) ISBN 978-0-7278-4942-7
War games become fatal for a British solicitor in the sixth low-key police procedural featuring Petly village Detective Inspector James Roland and Sergeant Patrick Mansfield (A Little Grave). When Michael Benton is shot with a composite bullet instead of a paintball during a weekend game, Roland and Mansfield quickly determine that the culprit couldn't have been a chance passer-by. As they investigate, they discover more than a few blots on the dead man's apparently perfect life: his wife, as well as the wives of two other players, are having affairs with Benton's business partner; the surly warden of the adjoining parkland actively resents the war-gamers romping through the forest; and Benton's neighbor has discovered Roman coins on a piece of land the dead man refused to sell. When the neighbor's wife dies in an apparent suicide, the police suspect a link. But it isn't until they follow the trail of some silver trinkets and Patrick's wife has a secret meeting with one of the suspects that they can successfully solve the case. With little lively interplay between Roland and Mansfield, and with a roster of suspects typical in their small-minded grievances, Quinton serves up a thoroughly average procedural. (Jan.)
Reviewed on: 12/30/1996
Release date: 01/01/1997
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