Ring of Terror: Difference between revisions
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{{Image|Michael Gilbert Portrait - smaller.jpg|left|100px|Michael Gilbert on the back cover of [[Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens]], 1982}} | {{Image|Michael Gilbert Portrait - smaller.jpg|left|100px|Michael Gilbert on the back cover of [[Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens]], 1982}} | ||
'''Ring of Terror''' is a mystery novel by the British crime writer [[Michael Gilbert]], first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by [[Hodder and Stoughton]] and in the United States by [[Carroll & Graf]]. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, [[Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone]]. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. | '''Ring of Terror''' is a mystery novel by the British crime writer [[Michael Gilbert]], first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by [[Hodder and Stoughton]] and in the United States by [[Carroll & Graf]]. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, [[Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone]]. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. Along with its fictional characters and situations, there are references to actual events of the time, such as the [[Siege of Sidney Street]], and [[Winston Churchill]] plays a minor role as the [[Home Secretary]]. | ||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
Revision as of 17:48, 8 February 2017
Ring of Terror is a mystery novel by the British crime writer Michael Gilbert, first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States by Carroll & Graf. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. Along with its fictional characters and situations, there are references to actual events of the time, such as the Siege of Sidney Street, and Winston Churchill plays a minor role as the Home Secretary.
Plot
The book's events take place in Gilbert's usual locale of London and, to a lesser degree, the English countryside. Luke and Joe are both country boys, one the son of a gamekeeper of a landed gentleman, the other the son of a poacher. Both are therefore expert at tracking and hunting for prey. Close friends in spite of their very different natures and levels of education, they have become London policemen at an early age. Because Luke has learned Russian and French he is soon recruited by various authorities to help them in their battle against the increasing number of émigré anarchists, criminals, and terrorists who are now causing considerable problems in the metropolitan London area. By the end of the book, Luke has been asked to join the recently formed MO5 (later renamed MI5), a counter-intelligence agency, and Joe, in spite of losing part of a leg to a terrorist's bomb, has secured a good job as a security guard.
Appraisal
An appraisal some years after its publication comes from Barzun and Taylor's encyclopedic Catalogue of Crime:
A superb, though harrowing, story of murder in a prisoner-of-war camp in northern Italy towards the end of the last world war. The skill with which suspense is kept up during a series of trivial incidents related to oppression and plans of escape is equaled only by the management of a large number of characters, Italian and English.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Jacques Barzun & Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime,Harper & Row, New York, "Second Impression Corrected", 1973, page 208