Ted Wood
Author of Iditarod Dream: Dusty and His Sled Dogs Compete in Alaska's Jr. Iditarod
About the Author
Image credit: Photo from publisher's "e-reads" author page
Series
Works by Ted Wood
Iditarod Dream: Dusty and His Sled Dogs Compete in Alaska's Jr. Iditarod (1996) 143 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wood, Ted
- Legal name
- Wood, Edward John
- Other names
- Barnao, Jack
- Birthdate
- 1931
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- police officer
freight porter
advertising
hotelier
writer - Organizations
- Crime Writers of Canada (president, 1987 - 1988)
- Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Shoreham, Sussex, England UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Worcestershire, England, UK
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Members
Reviews
Published in 1983, Dead In The Water begins the series featuring Chief of Police Reid Bennett. Ex-military, ex Toronto officer, this disgraced-- in the eyes of some—cop is the Chief of Police for Murphy’s Harbor located in the Muskoka cottage country. Roughly two hundred miles north of Toronto, Murphy’s Harbor is a resort town where nothing violent ever happens. The worst of it is dealing with drunk tourists, drunk residents, and those, adult and teen, that like to pick at the scab of show more what Bennett did one night in Toronto.
Bennett is “Chief” in name only as the police force is pretty much him. He does have some help answering phones and such by a grizzled WWII ex vet named Murphy. Then there is, Sam, a German shepherd that he relies on to help him as needed.
So, when the tourists are upset, Chief of Police Reid Bennett is the only one to call and it does not matter if Bennet has lady friend spending the Friday night or the fact that it is three in the morning. Not only does the phone call from Murphy make it clear that there are upset tourists involved, so is the son of a town councilor. Politics and tourism are always a deadly combination in a town that relies on tourists to survive.
Ken Sullivan’s son was out on a date with the daughter of a tourist. Lucy for the young man that she could handle herself as she pulled him back into the boat after he was run over and hit with the propeller. She saved his life. Once he gets her dad out of the way and calmed down a bit, he talks to Jane Bryant and learns the boat they were in hit something in the channel. Something was out there in the water and they never saw it before they hit it and the young man was ejected from the boat.
By just before dawn he finds the boat floating about a mile upstream from the marina dock Chief Bennet and his police dog, Sam, had left minutes earlier. He tows it back to the dock where he finds Murphy waiting for him. Murphy recognizes the boat and tells Chief Bennet that the boat belongs to a good friend, Ross Winslow. Why that boat was out there on the water, with no sign that the fishing rods had been deployed or that anyone one was or had been onboard, is strange.
After some much needed sleep, Bennett learns that Winslow, a punctual man in his routines, seems to be missing. If that is not enough, a biker gang Bennett tangled with back in Toronto may be headed their way and looking to settle some scores with Bennett.
Things escalate rapidly in Dead In The Water by Ted Wood. New York thugs, a damsel in distress, plenty of action with violent outcomes, and more make this police procedural a very good read. It is also the first book of the series I would not have gone looking for if not for the review work of Aubrey Hamilton. She recently reviewed Flashback which is the ninth book in the series. As I am compelled to read all series from the beginning, I started here. Dead In The Water by Ted Wood is a great start to a series.
Dead In The Water
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1983
ISBN# 0-684-17958-X
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
175 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
Bennett is “Chief” in name only as the police force is pretty much him. He does have some help answering phones and such by a grizzled WWII ex vet named Murphy. Then there is, Sam, a German shepherd that he relies on to help him as needed.
So, when the tourists are upset, Chief of Police Reid Bennett is the only one to call and it does not matter if Bennet has lady friend spending the Friday night or the fact that it is three in the morning. Not only does the phone call from Murphy make it clear that there are upset tourists involved, so is the son of a town councilor. Politics and tourism are always a deadly combination in a town that relies on tourists to survive.
Ken Sullivan’s son was out on a date with the daughter of a tourist. Lucy for the young man that she could handle herself as she pulled him back into the boat after he was run over and hit with the propeller. She saved his life. Once he gets her dad out of the way and calmed down a bit, he talks to Jane Bryant and learns the boat they were in hit something in the channel. Something was out there in the water and they never saw it before they hit it and the young man was ejected from the boat.
By just before dawn he finds the boat floating about a mile upstream from the marina dock Chief Bennet and his police dog, Sam, had left minutes earlier. He tows it back to the dock where he finds Murphy waiting for him. Murphy recognizes the boat and tells Chief Bennet that the boat belongs to a good friend, Ross Winslow. Why that boat was out there on the water, with no sign that the fishing rods had been deployed or that anyone one was or had been onboard, is strange.
After some much needed sleep, Bennett learns that Winslow, a punctual man in his routines, seems to be missing. If that is not enough, a biker gang Bennett tangled with back in Toronto may be headed their way and looking to settle some scores with Bennett.
Things escalate rapidly in Dead In The Water by Ted Wood. New York thugs, a damsel in distress, plenty of action with violent outcomes, and more make this police procedural a very good read. It is also the first book of the series I would not have gone looking for if not for the review work of Aubrey Hamilton. She recently reviewed Flashback which is the ninth book in the series. As I am compelled to read all series from the beginning, I started here. Dead In The Water by Ted Wood is a great start to a series.
Dead In The Water
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1983
ISBN# 0-684-17958-X
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
175 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
It is January as Murder On Ice by Ted Wood begins. Murphy Harbor is cold and snowy as befits the area 200 miles north of Toronto. This second book in the series finds police Chief Reid Bennett still dealing with some of the repercussions from events in Dead In The Water.
Long known for their summer tourism, one of the local business men has created a new event, the winter carnival. While this is the second annual event, for Chief Bennett this is his first though he is not that concerned. show more While there have been a few strangers around, it, the event is not anywhere big enough to have garnered much attention beyond the locals. Most are just treating it as another excuse to get drunk so the local bar is doing a brisk business. The highlight, over at the local Legion Hall, will be to select a queen of the winter carnival. Chief Bennett along with his police dog, Sam, are present to see a non-local resident and clearly the most attractive young woman around, Nancy Carmichael, crowned queen. Seconds later the lights go out, and Nancy is abducted and vanishes into the snowy night.
Chief Bennett and Sam plunge out into the night in pursuit. The kidnappers might have been able to get away with it if not for the heavy snowstorm that made travel in the area nearly impossible. Those conditions also created a trail in the snow that Bennett and Sam could follow. A trail that vanishes a little more every minute as the snow comes down.
The result is a harrowing search and investigation that results in more violence and death than clues. What at first seems to be a staged abduction by a feminist group for publicity purposes clearly has serious undertones as the bodies begin to stack up while the storm rages.
Second in the series, Murder On Ice is just as good as the first book. Fact, it might be a slightly better book. In a sense, this is a locked room mystery set outside as the weather keeps everyone bottled up and Chief Bennett can’t receive assistance from outside law enforcement. While little is done to further flesh out the Bennet character, the focus is on plenty of action and the occasional references to how combat experiences in the steamy jungles of Vietnam, help him stay alive in a nighttime frozen wilderness half a world away. A mystery full of twists, Murder On Ice by Ted Wood is strongly recommended.
Murder On Ice
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1984
ISBN# 0-684-18134-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
175 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
Long known for their summer tourism, one of the local business men has created a new event, the winter carnival. While this is the second annual event, for Chief Bennett this is his first though he is not that concerned. show more While there have been a few strangers around, it, the event is not anywhere big enough to have garnered much attention beyond the locals. Most are just treating it as another excuse to get drunk so the local bar is doing a brisk business. The highlight, over at the local Legion Hall, will be to select a queen of the winter carnival. Chief Bennett along with his police dog, Sam, are present to see a non-local resident and clearly the most attractive young woman around, Nancy Carmichael, crowned queen. Seconds later the lights go out, and Nancy is abducted and vanishes into the snowy night.
Chief Bennett and Sam plunge out into the night in pursuit. The kidnappers might have been able to get away with it if not for the heavy snowstorm that made travel in the area nearly impossible. Those conditions also created a trail in the snow that Bennett and Sam could follow. A trail that vanishes a little more every minute as the snow comes down.
The result is a harrowing search and investigation that results in more violence and death than clues. What at first seems to be a staged abduction by a feminist group for publicity purposes clearly has serious undertones as the bodies begin to stack up while the storm rages.
Second in the series, Murder On Ice is just as good as the first book. Fact, it might be a slightly better book. In a sense, this is a locked room mystery set outside as the weather keeps everyone bottled up and Chief Bennett can’t receive assistance from outside law enforcement. While little is done to further flesh out the Bennet character, the focus is on plenty of action and the occasional references to how combat experiences in the steamy jungles of Vietnam, help him stay alive in a nighttime frozen wilderness half a world away. A mystery full of twists, Murder On Ice by Ted Wood is strongly recommended.
Murder On Ice
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1984
ISBN# 0-684-18134-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
175 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
As Live Bait by Ted Wood begins, the summer tourist rush in Murphy’s Harbor is over and Chief Bennett is on vacation. Bennet is a bit bored. Not much is going on for him other than he has to figure out what to with the surplus of tomatoes from his garden. That is until Fullwell pulls up and gets out of his cal.
Fullwell works for Bonded Security and did not making the 200 mile drive up from Toronto on a social call. The company he works for has had some incidents at some of their show more construction sites during the night hours. The latest incident included a security guard badly beaten who wound up in the hospital. He is going to be okay, but has a long road of healing in front of him.
Something has to be done. Fullwell would have done the normal thing and would have contacted the Toronto Police, but the new VP of Marketing shut that down hard. The VP of Marketing is all worried about the publicity angle. He is the golden child to those in power, so if Fullwell ignored him and went to the police anyway, Fullwell would lose his job in a heartbeat. Since that is not an option, he has convinced the VP they could use Bennett as bait to see if the goons come by and try the same thing again. Fullwell is sure that Bennett with his skills, ex-military after doing a stint with the Marines in Vietnam and ex Toronto Police officer, can more than hold his own against a couple of thugs.
Bennett is bored and is intrigued. The money would also be pretty good as the amount he would make for a night or two of work down in Toronto is the same as a full week of work back in Murphy’s Harbor. Not to mention the fact he can see his sister and her family while he is in Toronto
He agrees and goes undercover on the job site of the most recent attack. At first, things work exactly as plan. Until they don’t. Once they start heading in the wrong direction, things quickly go downhill. Bennett in danger is one thing and he signed on for that. But, things get very personal as Bennett’s sister and her family is suddenly at risk in a case that involves organized crime from Canada and Asia, enemies on the Toronto Police force, and numerous other characters many of which pose a significant threat.
Third in the series behind Dead in the Water and Murder on Ice, Live Bait is primarily an action-oriented mystery read. There is some further character development regarding Bennett’s past in Vietnam and memories that still haunt him. But, the main focus is on action as he careens from violent incident to violent incident as he attempts to put the pieces together.
This read also comes across as bit dated in spots as “the triads” are explained as if they are new phenomena. Of course, back in the early 80’s they were new to the mainstream audience, though the concept and practices had gone on for centuries. All in all, Live Bait is another very good read in a very good series. While one could read this one without losing very much of the previous two books, it is recommended to read them in order.
Live Bait
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1985
ISBN# 0-684-18330-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
212 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
Fullwell works for Bonded Security and did not making the 200 mile drive up from Toronto on a social call. The company he works for has had some incidents at some of their show more construction sites during the night hours. The latest incident included a security guard badly beaten who wound up in the hospital. He is going to be okay, but has a long road of healing in front of him.
Something has to be done. Fullwell would have done the normal thing and would have contacted the Toronto Police, but the new VP of Marketing shut that down hard. The VP of Marketing is all worried about the publicity angle. He is the golden child to those in power, so if Fullwell ignored him and went to the police anyway, Fullwell would lose his job in a heartbeat. Since that is not an option, he has convinced the VP they could use Bennett as bait to see if the goons come by and try the same thing again. Fullwell is sure that Bennett with his skills, ex-military after doing a stint with the Marines in Vietnam and ex Toronto Police officer, can more than hold his own against a couple of thugs.
Bennett is bored and is intrigued. The money would also be pretty good as the amount he would make for a night or two of work down in Toronto is the same as a full week of work back in Murphy’s Harbor. Not to mention the fact he can see his sister and her family while he is in Toronto
He agrees and goes undercover on the job site of the most recent attack. At first, things work exactly as plan. Until they don’t. Once they start heading in the wrong direction, things quickly go downhill. Bennett in danger is one thing and he signed on for that. But, things get very personal as Bennett’s sister and her family is suddenly at risk in a case that involves organized crime from Canada and Asia, enemies on the Toronto Police force, and numerous other characters many of which pose a significant threat.
Third in the series behind Dead in the Water and Murder on Ice, Live Bait is primarily an action-oriented mystery read. There is some further character development regarding Bennett’s past in Vietnam and memories that still haunt him. But, the main focus is on action as he careens from violent incident to violent incident as he attempts to put the pieces together.
This read also comes across as bit dated in spots as “the triads” are explained as if they are new phenomena. Of course, back in the early 80’s they were new to the mainstream audience, though the concept and practices had gone on for centuries. All in all, Live Bait is another very good read in a very good series. While one could read this one without losing very much of the previous two books, it is recommended to read them in order.
Live Bait
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1985
ISBN# 0-684-18330-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
212 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 show less
Reid Bennett has been police chief of Murphy’s Harbour in Canada for three years now. That means he knows the locals pretty well and is very much aware of all the young people in the area. He knows that the kids he sees down Main Street are not local. They also seem to be the kind of kids waiting for trouble to happen.
They are and they will be more than once. The bigger issue is the body in the lake. More accurately, the body in the trunk of the car that was found submerged out in the show more lake. The car was recovered and towed to a nearby garage where the body was later found in the trunk. Moira Waites is the deceased and she had just left her husband, quite possibly for good, the day before.
Whatever future she had has now been destroyed with her death. The spouse is always a suspect and husband, John Waites, is definitely a suspect. Not only because he is the spouse and part of the argument they were having before she supposedly left, his behavior now is a bit off as he seems far more worried about the status of the car, his wife’s friends, and a host of other issues instead of the shocking loss of his wife.
That isn’t all that is going on either in Murphy’s Harbour as a bank robber who promised to get even with Bennett is on the way, and more. The tale is complicated and this installment is a good one. Flashback is part of a series that should be read in order starting with Dead In The Water. People come and go in this series and the books interconnect making reading in order a good idea. As always, multiple mysteries are at work and there is plenty of action keeping things moving and the pages turning.
Flashback
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1992
ISBN# 0-684-19414-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
224 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/ show less
They are and they will be more than once. The bigger issue is the body in the lake. More accurately, the body in the trunk of the car that was found submerged out in the show more lake. The car was recovered and towed to a nearby garage where the body was later found in the trunk. Moira Waites is the deceased and she had just left her husband, quite possibly for good, the day before.
Whatever future she had has now been destroyed with her death. The spouse is always a suspect and husband, John Waites, is definitely a suspect. Not only because he is the spouse and part of the argument they were having before she supposedly left, his behavior now is a bit off as he seems far more worried about the status of the car, his wife’s friends, and a host of other issues instead of the shocking loss of his wife.
That isn’t all that is going on either in Murphy’s Harbour as a bank robber who promised to get even with Bennett is on the way, and more. The tale is complicated and this installment is a good one. Flashback is part of a series that should be read in order starting with Dead In The Water. People come and go in this series and the books interconnect making reading in order a good idea. As always, multiple mysteries are at work and there is plenty of action keeping things moving and the pages turning.
Flashback
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1992
ISBN# 0-684-19414-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
224 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/ show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 22
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 652
- Popularity
- #38,720
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 14
- ISBNs
- 135
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