A Penny for the Old Guy A Mitch Roberts Crime Novel - St. Martin’s Press

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A Penny For The Old Guy


All Roberts knew about Jonathan’s death he had learned from a short note Amanda had written to America.  There had been a funeral and the boy had been buried beside his stepfather in the Soldier’s Cemetery across the Vauxhall Bridge in Battersea, a peaceful white necropolis towered over by copper beaches and tended by the Fusiliers, who had done service in the colonies.  Now, sitting there on the sofa watching the rain, he felt only a weariness, a heartsickness at the death of his godchild, whose life had barely begun to be lived.

An exciting blend of American detective story and English thriller:

When American detective Mitch Roberts travels to London for the twelfth reunion of his World War II battalion, he hopes to enjoy the warmth and good cheer of England in wintertime, and perhaps rekindle an old flame for Amanda Smith, the widow of his wartime friend.  But when Mitch arrives he learns that Amanda’s son, Jonathan, has been found dead, drowned in the river Cam.  It seems an accidental death, except that Jono could swim “like a porpoise.”  At Amanda’s appeal, Mitch investigates Jono’s death, beginning with Wim van Euwe, Jono’s Dutch roomamate, and seems to end there when Wim falls to his own death!  Outrage sends Mitch on a search that eventually leads him to a hidden world of intrigue and government corruption.

 

Dold tells his suspenseful story in a prose rich with sensory detail.  The sights, sounds, and smells of London, Cambridge, and Amsterdam are vividly evoked.  From youngsters to patriarchs, each character is a believably rendered individual.  Best of all, Christmas itself is woven into the story’s fabric.

The Wall Street Journal

This seventh novel featuring Mitch Roberts is superior work indeed.  Strong descriptions of London, Cambridge, and Amsterdam in wintertime make a powerful contrast between the trappings of the Christmas season and the sorrow and violence Dold’s sleuth encounters.  Many mystery writers have tried to portray tough male sleuths who are also sensitive, but Dold outdoes them all.

Publisher’s Weekly

Dold writes in an incisive literate style that holds the reader fast in a swift undertow of suspense.

His characters are real, and he knows how to tell a rip-roaring story rich in detail and emotion.

John Lutz
Author of Dancing with the Dead and Single White Female

Mitch Roberts is a breath of fresh air, and a welcome change from the mordantly cynical private eyes we’ve come to expect as the norm in crime fiction.

                                                                                                Rave Reviews

Dold writes like a mortal saint.  He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever read and better than most.

                                                                                                Loren D. Estleman