Night Frost

I love this series of police procedurals that will be familiar to those who have seen the TV series of the same name. In this one, Detective Inspector Jack Frost —great name, what? — is scrambling to deal with a new Detective Sergeant Gilmore, anxious to move up in the ranks, stiff, obsequious toward Mullett, the divisional superintendent. Gilmore’s wife is unhappy with the move to Denton, where she fears she will have nothing to do. Frost is uncouth, sloppy, on the surface unprofessional, and always trying to avoid paperwork and his nemesis, the superintendent. The Denton CID has been particularly hard hit by a flu epidemic at just the worst time, with someone killing old ladies just for the fun of it. Then a young girl has show more disappeared only to have her body surface in a cemetery crypt beset by vandals, and to make things worse, someone has been sending poison pen letters to people in town threatening to reveal some very dark secrets, indeed. Things are so busy with everyone working double and triple shifts that Frost is cutting more corners than usual relying more than he should on his intuition. In the meantime, Mullett continues to look for any excuse to fire Frost. Some of the scenes and repartee are wonderful. Frost backs up a police constable who had arrested a Councilor, who also happens to be on the Police Committee, for being “pissed as a newt.” In the process, of course, Frost had been more than a little rude to the man, and Mullett, anxious not to antagonize the powers-that-be, orders Frost to apologize. “ ‘Very good, Super,’ replied Frost, with an expression of such sweet reasonableness that Mullett was instantly uneasy.” Frost, “looking very contrite,” enters the room where the Knowles, the councilor, awaits. “ ‘I’d like to apologize,’ said Frost, ‘for calling you a big, fat, ugly bastard.’ “Knowles frowned and looked puzzled. ‘I didn’t hear you say that.’ “ ‘Oh, sorry,’ said Frost innocently, sounding genuinely apologetic.’ ‘It must have been what I was thinking. ‘ “ show less

Night Frost was my first experience reading R D Wingfield, and what a remarkable and pleasant surprise it was! I'm an avid reader of crime fiction, and had never even come across Wingfield's name before reading this excellent police procedural.

Wingfield's cranky, rebellious Inspector Frost is an immediately memorable and sympathetic protagonist, and his foils -- an ambitious new sergeant, and his supremely comic supervisor, Mr Mullet -- are equally well-drawn. The story -- stories, really -- revolve around two major crimes, the murder of a teenage girl, and a series of murders with elderly victims. Other sordid and often funny crimes and situations pop up throughout the book, but the whole complicated mess is held together beautifully show more by frequent visits back to police headquarters, where the mood is manic because of a flu epidemic.

I can't recommend this one highly enough, and I'm extremely eager to read the other books in the series. show less

I discovered the Inspector Frost book series after watching the excellent TV adaptation. This particular story is a bit chaotic, with Frost struggling to juggle multiple murder cases amidst a flu outbreak, but it is an entertaining read.

A crackerjack story that follows Inspector Jack Frost as he tries to solve several murders all occurring while a flu bug is decimating the staff in the Denton police department. The descriptions of the murder scenes are graphic but every time the story seems to become too gloomy, the reader can be sure Inspector Frost will say something funny or he will upset his superior, Mr. Mullet which in turn is usually humourous I could not put this down.

All hell has broken loose within the Denton Police Department as a flu epidemic rips through the staff. A few dedicated employees, who at this point would much rather be sick, are stuck working double and sometimes triple shifts! As that old cliche goes, "Crime Never Sleeps" and Detective Frost, coupled with his colleques, are stretched to their limits.

Partnered with Gilmore, a recently transferred detective, Frost is charged with the task of solving various crimes involving suicide, porno tapes, poisen pen letters and robberies. Not only that, but he has the always watchful Super Intendant Mullet keeping track of his every move.

At this point, I have no idea how Mullet and Frost can work together. I can only imagine that Mullet is show more hoping for a screw up on the part of Frost that is so monumental, he can finally fire him. I'm sure the only reason they tolerate each other is due in part to Frost's impeccable skills seeing as he's a massive pain in the ass.

Frost's sidekick of the week, Gilmore, isn't harping as much on Frost like the last one - well, at least not right away anyway. Unfortunately for Gilmore, his attention is focused on his deterorating marriage. Prior to moving to Denton, he had promised his wife a far less hectic work schedule which would in turn open up some personal time together. He did not expect a skeleton staff created by illness or a partner like Frost who lives for his job, rarely spending any time away from the station.

I enjoyed this entry in the Frost series but not as much as the first two. I think the crimes perpetrated in the pervious books were a little more interesting than what was presented here. The writing was up to par but I found myself more or less bored throughout and that knocked a few stars off. I guess that was why it took me over a month to finish it! show less

I liked this gritty police procedural featuring Detective Inspector Jack Frost and his new partner Frank Gilmore who's often appalled by Frost's unorthodox and often slovenly behavior. Despite reduced staff and persistent bad luck, Frost and Gilmore somehow manage to find the answers they seek. I look forward to reading the first two books in the series, Frost at Christmas and A Touch of Frost.

I found the TV series quite interesting, but I feel that is a case where the TV show has worked out better than the books. I think the actor who played Frost comes created the character better than the books by Mr. Wingfield. I don't think I'll read any more of them.