Product Description

A corpse in his new house leads Scotland Yard detective John Coffin on the trail of a murderer that leads him into the world of high fashion and into the arms of a gorgeous designer. Reprint. AB. PW.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1284026 in Books
• Published on: 1989-12-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Butler ( Coffin on the Water ) here recalls the 1960s, when Scotland Yard's eminent Detective John Coffin was a mere sergeant. Anticipating a promotion, he now buys a house that needs repairs and proves a catalyst to dire events. Workmen find the body of an adolescent boy under the floor--and Coffin, though it's not his case, keeps up with an investigation that comes to center on his own neighbors. Attracted to Rose Hilaire, the sergeant learns that her son was a friend of the murder victim and of other missing boys. Rose's troubles multiply as she fights to protect her son and her dress factory, hard-won after years of poverty. The business is threatened not only by scandal but by Rose's designer, Gaby Glass, who schemes to take off with her creations. Darting into odd corners, this mystery is a corker, filled with richly atmospheric scenes of London in the "age of Aquarius" as experienced by Coffin and the rest of Butler's well-realized characters.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
An early episode in the life and times of the author's sensitive policeman John Coffin (Coffin Underground). It's now the Sixties, Coffin is unmarried, a sergeant, and has just bought a house in Mouncy Street - an unfancy area of South London presently abuzz with the disappearance of schoolboy Ephriam Humphreys. Ephraim's body and two others are found as workmen hired by Coffin start to make repairs to the house, unlived in for two years. Its last tenant was eccentric old Edward Mosse, and it seems to have been a center for some strange goings-on - as well as a hangout for alienated teen-agers like Steven, son of dress manufacturer Rose Hilaire. Belmodes, her factory, is near Mouncy St. Attached to it is the studio of flaky fashion-photographer Charley Moon, where Gabriel Glass, Rose's designer, is putting together a collection of her own, sub rosa. It's not Coffin's case, but, with his house involved and finding himself attracted to both Rose and Gabriel, he keeps close tabs on the police investigation and does his best to solve the puzzle on his own. The solution, when it comes, is nasty but hardly surprising. Butler's quirky, offbeat style and vivid way with places and people rescue a story that tends to lurch and ramble. Slightly lesser Butler, then, but fresh and atmospheric entertainment. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

Customer Reviews

A mystery for all whodunnit fans
For all you Coffin series lovers this book is a must read. It gives the
reader insight to the coffin mystique . One of Ms Butler 'best