Who killed the Seagull? (Death of a Cave Dweller - Sally Spencer)

Member Name: CPTDANIELS

Product:	Death of a Cave Dweller - Sally Spencer
Date:	03/10/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent characters and interesting story

Disadvantages: A bit dated? Spelling mistakes

== Background ==

I was round a friend's house the other day and while once upon a time I would have been checking out their CD collection, these days I find it's the bookshelves I check. Anyway I was surprised to find several novels by Sally Spencer and after showing an interest in them she asked me if I wanted to borrow any of them. After pondering for what seemed an eternity I plumbed for this one.

== About the Author ==

Sally Spencer was a teacher before she moved into writing Detective thrillers full time for her living. She was born in Cheshire in England; this is where many of her highly acclaimed novels are set. She writes under two Pseudonyms Alan Rustage and James Garcia Woods. So far this prolific writer has written 28 novels in 14 years.

== Synopsis of the book ==

When the lead Guitarist of the highly rated Rock & Roll band 'The Seagulls' Eddie Barnes is electrocuted on stage the local Police force are immediately called. With 300 witnesses in the Cellar Club, which mainly are 1960's teenagers enjoying this new kind of music. The local Police pass the case onto Scotland Yard as they expect them to be unable to solve the case and so with their local knowledge they solve it and gain all the quodos.

Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend and his Sergeant Bob Rutter are therefore despatched up to Liverpool to investigate. Initially Woodend struggles to understand why these teenagers should like this music and as a result he has problems relating to this generation. He sets out to interview the dead boys band members, other local bands, staff from the Club and other friends and family associated with him.

Quickly Woodend learns about other threats to the band that over the past few weeks have been escalating. The latest being a letter threat telling them to leave Liverpool or else. While Woodend discovers unknown to his band members that Barnes was preparing to leave them. The band must now interview for a new guitarist as they have an audition for a record deal in London in two weeks time. Woodend must try and fathom out why this popular, quiet young man was killed and whether the other band members are now at risk.

== My thoughts on the book ==

I was amazed and annoyed with myself when I started this book as I remembered that I had read this book only three years ago. The only good thing was I couldn't remember the guilty party was, so I still had that to enjoy. And I must admit despite this I really enjoyed reading this Classic Detective novel as it was extremely well written and a book I really got hooked on, even for a second time!

The DI Woodend series of books are the author's most successful series of books. So far the author has written 20 of them of which this is the third in series and written back in 2000. In total I have read four of these and although she is writing about the 1960's I found it was a very interesting subject matter and I could relate to this dramatic and changing time.

I was always found Sally Spencer's writing style simple but very effective. I particularly think she is skilful and describing both the scene and the individuals within it. She really does this well, when dealing with the Club and through her words I could vividly picture the scenes and I felt I was there with Woodend on the investigation.

What drew me to this book initially was its unusual title. At this point I could not remember reading it. The 1960's I have always considered to be a very exciting time and I liked the concept of this new sound and the new youth that were shaping society. I found the summary on the front inside cover of the book really good and it intrigued me and reminded me of something but I couldn't remember what.(later I realised exactly what it was!)

I also sussed out very quickly what a challenge this would be for Charlie Woodend. He is in the novel approaching his 50th Birthday and this new revolution in music in Liverpool I knew he would find it difficult to relate to. I liked the way he struggled with the young band member's ideals and the way they perceived him, this seemed very understandable and logical to me.

This as I have already have said is the third book in the series and I still haven't read the first two. But this is not important and you can read any one in this series and pick up both the story and what is important that has happened previously. All you miss is some background and private life of the Detectives, which if they are relevant to the story you will be given a brief outline off.

The story itself was fundamentally a straightforward one. However as soon as the investigation begins you realise there is a more complex story here than just a murder. As you learn about the other incidents that have happened and that are affecting the band and you wonder what is behind all this. It is a very enjoyable story because it is easy to relate to Woodend situation and try and find the killer of this popular man.

I liked the Band Members apathy to him and that only over time could they start to open up to him and tell him their histories. Plus the way the Local Police force although seeming helpful were very keen for him to fail and where ever they could they neglected to help him. While at the same time they frowned upon his methods of working seeing his way of working as outdated and ineffective. Yes in some ways he is outdated you can certainly argue but he is very effective because he uses initiative and common sense approach to solve a crime.

The story had a real purpose about it and I enjoyed its fast pace, as Woodend set about solving this mystery as quickly as he could. I liked the unexpected direction the story took and the fact there were other occurrences that could or couldn't be related to the murder and only by delving deeper would the answers be found.

I enjoyed the last few chapters of the book as it built up excitement leading to the conclusion and the dramatic scene and the truth behind it. The only thing that bothered me although it was all logical there was little concrete evidence to support it. No physical evidence just Woodend figuring about the truth and confronting the guilty party, more evidence would have been nice, to back that up.

The author was very good at building up suspense and intrigue throughout the story. She did this by giving only so much away about the main suspects in the murder enquiry. Making Woodend and Rutter really have to work hard to discover what really happened. This suspense involved most of the characters, as they would give little away about themselves and what had happened previously.

While at the same time there were scenes involving other characters that added mystery to the plot. You wondered exactly where they fitted in and why they were part of the story at all. What the author did to increase this mystery was to hold back certain important information from you and create suspicion about practical all the characters in the story.

Charlie Woodend is the main character is the novel so it understandably centres on his work. He is a very likable 'old fashioned Detective' The only thing that annoys me is the way the author keeps referring to his hairy sports jacket, I'm sure I don't know what one of these is and is it relevant? I find his character easy to identity with, as he is a good honest man just trying to solve crime. In this novel I particularly liked how he felt out of his depth dealing with teenagers and their new culture.

I also admire the way this man's mind works and his intelligence in weighing up all the possibilities before coming to the right solution. I like the relationship and the way he works with Rutter, who does a lot of the legwork for him. Rutter you immediately empathise with as he tries to come to terms with his wife being blind and trying not to ruin the marriage with his over protectiveness of her. It is a good angle on him and also takes you away from the murder as he has conversations with both Woodend and his wife about this and his insecurities about it.

The novels support characters are all excellent, because they are very well thought out, well described and all very different from one another, but all with a motive for murder. I enjoyed learning all about them and the secrets they kept, plus their aspirations and their interaction with each other. The author made these characters come to life with well thought out characters that had depth as well as fascinating personalities.

I must admit both the story and the characters within it so much enthralled me so I didn't want the story to end. It took me only two evenings to read as I found it very easy to read but still a challenge. And while an epilogue is always welcome it focused on Woodend and Rutter not the angle I was hoping it would and the future of some of the other characters within the book.

My only real complaint about the book is an unusual one. There were well over 20 either spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, making some sentences not make sense. I know it's quite odd for someone with dyslexia to complain about this I just found it so surprising. Surely many different people check the book before it is published, I highlighted this to my friend and she agreed with me.

The length of the book was on the short side by neither the less effective. With several unexpected twists and turns which added to development of the plot. There was time enough to tell an enthralling story and Woodend to investigate it.

== Conclusion ==

I recommend this as a first class Detective novel. It was consistently well written, but for me the best part of the book was the interesting story and the excellent characters the author created within it. The author for me does write a good consistent thriller, that maybe a little dated but regardless it is an enjoyable read.

==Other Information:==

Pages: 218
Publisher: Severn House
Price: £1.87 Amazon
ISBN: 0727855423
About the author: www.sallyspencer.com
Year: 2000

Thank you for reading my review.

This review is published on both Dooyoo and Ciao under my user name.

@CPTDANIELS October 2009

Summary: First class novel