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The Detective's Secret (2015)

by Lesley Thomson

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Detective's Daughter (3)

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693381,277 (3.25)1
Jack Harmon craves silence and a bird's eye view. From his new home in Palmyra Tower, he can raise binoculars to watch over west London. If he watches for long enough, he will learn who has secrets. He will learn who plans to kill. But Jack does not see everything. October 2013, the month of the great storm of St. Jude; a man dies beneath a late night Piccadilly line train, verdict suicide. Jack's friend Stella Darnell, the detective's daughter, suspects it could have been murder. Now Jack and Stella are stirring up the past with questions that no one wants answered; questions that lead to an unsolved case nearly 20 years old. This is the 3rd story in the Detective's Daughter series.… (more)
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The Detective’s Secret by Lesley Thomson is a very long drawn out novel. Stella and Jack have other jobs, but they have also had success in solving mysteries. William Frost wants to hire them to find out what really happened to his brother, Rick. Jack actually saw Rick run and jump in front of a train. Was it suicide or did someone make him do it? There is also the mystery of what happened to a man who was locked in a water tower back in the late 1980’s. The two mysteries are linked. Stella and Jack work to solve them.

I did not enjoy The Detective’s Secret. It is a very long and protracted novel with an extremely confusing beginning. I did not think it would ever end (and I was sorry I ever agreed to read it). I managed to finish the novel, but my heart was not in it. The main characters are not likable. Jack is creepy and likes to say these strange rhymes. Stella is a worry wart and I did not like her attitude towards Stanley, the dog. The only interesting thing in this book was the two mysteries (that were tied together). I give The Detective’s Secret 2 out of 5 stars (for the mysteries and how they were linked together). There are a lot of descriptive paragraphs that could have been eliminated (they were completely unnecessary).

I received a complimentary copy of The Detective’s Secret from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )
  Kris_Anderson | Sep 16, 2015 |
In 1987, a man and a woman are seen making love in a water tower in Chiswick. When the woman leaves, she slams the door closed trapping the man inside. A group of children had been playing soldier in the tower and witnessed the couple. This fact will become important as the story moves between 1987 as we learn more about the children and their relationships to the couple and to each other and forward to the present where Stella Darnell and her friend Jack work together both in her cleaning business and in solving crimes. Jack is also a train driver in the London Underground. Recently a man fell under a train (called a One Under by the drivers). The police are satisfied that it was a suicide but the man’s brother is convinced it was murder and hires Stella and Jack to investigate. Meanwhile, Stella’s mom finally returns from a long trip to Australia with a man she introduces as Stella’s brother and Jack moves into the water tower that is in the process of being converted into flats.

The Detective’s Secret by author Lesley Thomson is the third in The Detective’s Daughter series but it is the first I’ve read. This is an odd story made odder by references (I assume) to the other books which are never explained like Jack’s talk of True Hosts(?) which tended to break my willing suspension of disbelief at times. However, once it became clear that these things really had no bearing on this novel and I could just ignore them, I really began to enjoy the story. The main characters are likable if a bit neurotic and there is a quirkiness to both the characters and the tale that made it a lot of fun to read. Much of the plot is taken up with Stella’s and Jack’s private lives and the solution to the mystery seems to rest on some rather unlikely coincidences and luck rather than any real skill by the two main protagonists - in most mystery novels, this would have been unforgiveable; somehow though, here, it not only fit, it seems right. Since this is not your usual mystery, all the usual tropes and rules need not apply. So if you’re looking for something a little different in the mystery genre, I highly recommend The Detective’s Secret. ( )
  lostinalibrary | Sep 12, 2015 |
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Review will be added later.
  crisana | Jun 2, 2016 |
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lesley Thomsonprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bentinck, AnnaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Stare. It is the way to educate your eye and more.
Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.
From Walker Evans at Work, with an essay by Jerry L. Thompson
413 The Thames is a tunnel.
414 The river is a tunnel, it's civil infrastructure.
415 The river is a tunnel with an uncountable number of entrances.
416 When you go into the river you discover a new entrance -- and in yourself you uncover an exit, an unseen exit, your exit. (You brought it with you.)
From Another Water: The River Thames for Example
by Roni Horn
Dedication
For the Nelson sisters who have had a profound influence on my life: May Walker, June Goodwin and Agnes Wheeler.
And for Mel with my love.
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Prologue: Clouds streamed across the sky.
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Jack Harmon craves silence and a bird's eye view. From his new home in Palmyra Tower, he can raise binoculars to watch over west London. If he watches for long enough, he will learn who has secrets. He will learn who plans to kill. But Jack does not see everything. October 2013, the month of the great storm of St. Jude; a man dies beneath a late night Piccadilly line train, verdict suicide. Jack's friend Stella Darnell, the detective's daughter, suspects it could have been murder. Now Jack and Stella are stirring up the past with questions that no one wants answered; questions that lead to an unsolved case nearly 20 years old. This is the 3rd story in the Detective's Daughter series.

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