WARNING: CONTAINS REFERENCES TO INDECENT ACTS AGAINST MINORS.
Winter 1990
Why was Alex Carnegie – heir to a corporate fortune – living rough on the streets of Ashbeck when he was murdered? DI Lyle and his team soon discover that Carnegie was the keeper of a sordid secret which, if exposed, could topple pillars of Ashbeck society.
The murderer’s identity is clear early on but there is no definite evidence. As the investigation continues, two more murders challenge the status quo. As Lyle digs deeper, he finds that all is not what it seems but the truth is even darker and more sordid than he could ever have imagined.
And who is the traitor in the ranks at Ashbeck CID?
In some ways Heir to Misfortune is a pretty controversial story in that it deals with indecent sexual assault and statutory rape of minors. The paedophile murderer Ashbeck City Councillor Robert “Bob” Kenyon was a hard character to create. I try to get insight into a killer’s mind but inside a paedophile’s mind is not a place many people would want to be and indeed writing some of the scenes featuring Kenyon did actually make me feel physically sick.
There is a lot of action In Heir to Misfortune and not just owing to the three murders. There is also tension in Ashbeck CID as someone has betrayed them and it is left to DI Lyle to find out the identity of the traitor.
The story is continued in Best Served Cold which is set two years later in the winter of 1992 because I knew that Bob Kenyon’s story did and could not end with his conviction. Kenyon has elicited virtually no sympathy from my readers and it is not hard to see why. Other than his illegal sordid activities he is also arrogant and has no redeeming qualities.
Heir to Misfortune also introduces us to Police Constable Thomas Fox, who later becomes James Lyle’s first boyfriend. Thomas’ uncle is the District Coroner, Dr Barry Fox, and later in the series we gain some insight into Thomas’ relationship with his family. The DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series is about more than just the crimes investigated by Ashbeck CID, it’s about the people who commit them as well as those who investigate and bring them to book,
Heir to Misfortune is about illicit relationships, loyalty, treachery and murder. There are a lot of dirty secrets to be discovered.
Heir to Misfortune also features a cameo role by my good friend John Holt, author of the Tom Kendall private Detective series as well as The Kammersee Affair and The Thackery Journal.
You can pick up your own copy of Heir to Misfortune from Amazon