Death and the Dutch Uncle

Book excerpt: A classic mystery “bubbling with humor, bursting with clues, and switching from petty misdemeanors on the home shores to intrigue and adventure abroad.” —Sheffield Morning Telegraph As “Pudge” Coombe-Peters proved, Moyes had a gift for the kind of dreadful nicknames the British are so good at. This time around it’s “Flutter” Byers, a small-time hood who gets himself killed in a seedy Soho pub (was there, ever, any other kind?). Byers consorted with criminals and owed money all over town; his death should have been little more than a footnote in the history of London gangs. But for some reason, Inspector Tibbett of Scotland Yard believes it’s connected to PIFL, a backwater do-good outfit, currently trying to referee a murderous squabble between two small African nations. And these dark suspicions begin to look more likely when Henry gets word of another assassin’s bullet—headed, this time, for one of PIFL’s earnest, tweedy justice warriors. Praise for Patricia Moyes “The author who put the ‘who’ back in whodunit.” —Chicago Daily News “A new queen of crime . . . her name can be mentioned in the same breath as Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh.” —Daily Herald “An excellent detective novel in the best British tradition. Superbly handled.” —Columbus Dispatch “Intricate plots, ingenious murders, and skillfully drawn, often hilarious, characters distinguish Patricia Moyes’ writing.” —Mystery Scene