Rough Justice: (2 Jack Carston Mysteries)

A killing in an antique, bric-a-brac shop. The weapon? A crystal decanter. The body found under the steps of a nightclub with a beer glass stuck in its face. Another body in an auctioneer's showroom rolled up in a carpet. The links between them? Antiques, obviously, but also the fact that both of the dead individuals are connected with a prominent local businessman, David Burchill, with a record of violence, especially towards women, and a known predilection for financial and commercial activities which are at the edges of legitimacy. The first body was that of Floyd Donnelly, a squatter in a property owned by Burchill and the second is a local thug who was on Burchill's payroll and part of an extortion racket. DCI Jack Carston is aware of Burchill's record and frustrated by the fact that he has always, with the help of lawyers, managed to avoid conviction for any of his many transgressions. At first, an incident with two young girls in a hotel, in the course of which both girls were beaten and sexually abused, seems to open the possibility of a conviction, but pressure is put on the girls and their accusations are retracted. He's also reponsible for the brutal date rape of an antiques dealer who's working for him. And yet he emerges from all this with his reputation, officially at least, intact. As the crimes are solved, Jack Carston, right to the end, despairs of ever catching him. But then comes the twist.

About the Author :
Bill Kirton has been a university lecturer, actor, director, TV presenter, RLF Writing Fellow and visiting artist at the University of Rhode Island. His radio and stage plays have been produced in the UK, Australia, and the USA and he wrote a prize-winning verse translation of Molière's Sganarelle. He's published 5 Jack Carston novels, 2 historical crime/romances, a spoof crime/spy novel, a satire about real and virtual worlds in an online role-playing game, and a children's novel. Two of the novels have won 3 awards between them and one was long-listed for the Rubery

Review :
There is a brutal rape in Rough Justice by Bill Kirton. It isn't there to titillate, but to carry the story forward and ultimately bring about the climax to a thoughtful and thought-provoking book. The detective leading the hunt for the killer of a young thug from a local squat is also after a local self-made man he believes to be behind various rackets and who is protected by fellow masons in the senior ranks of the police force. The book involves some very human, intelligent Scottish coppers and ought to bring Bill Kirton the attention he deserves. (Susanna Yager. Sunday Telegraph.) You know you're good. Others know you're good. The books are right up there with the best. Get them republished and make us happy. (Paula Daniels)