DEATH DUTY is the first Inspector Mowgley murder mystery. The main character Jack is a cynical, world-weary, anti-authority and otherwise decidedly maverick CID officer. But as readers will discover, Jack Mowgley is very different from any other literary plainclothes policeman. For instance, he sleeps on a defunct lightship, drives a terminally ill Lada and has ‘ACAB’ (All Coppers Are Bastards) tattooed on his knuckles? He gets booze and baccy supplies by smuggling them through the continental ferry port he is supposed to be keeping free of crime? It is a mystery to other officers in the force how Jack Mowgley reached the rank of Detective Inspector and came to be in charge of policing the port. Some reckon the Ferry King has something juicy on his superiors, in particular the irascible Chief Superintendent Sidney ‘Gloria’ Mundy.

The setting for DEATH DUTY is 1999, with the world on the brink of a new millennium. Jack Mowgley, it is commonly agreed, is on the brink of enforced early retirement. Or worse. Attitudes are changing, and those in authority think officers like Mowgley have no part to play in the Modern Police Force. Without doubt, Jack Mowgely is caught in a time-warp with regard to policing policies and procedures, and PC he most definitely ain’t.

A painful divorce resulted in our flawed hero being dispossessed of his home in Hampshire and lumbered with the crippling mortgage on a pretentious ruin in Normandy. It does not lessen the pain that his wife insisted on buying La Cour (‘The Yard’) before running off with its suave French vendor. At least. Mowgley reflects in a positive pub moment, owning the expensive ruin means he can call himself Mowgley of the Yard.

The only woman in Jack Mowgley’s life is CID Sergeant Catherine McCarthy. As well as his official bag-carrier, she is Mowgley’s confidante, bringer of solace, and fierce protector from his host of detractors and those who would bring him down.

She is also the only person who can keep up with him in the pub. To others in the force, she is a strikingly attractive but sometimes prickly officer. To Mowgley, she is his mate Melons…and he is the only human being on earth allowed to call her that. DEATH DUTY opens as Melons arrives in the scrap yard which is Mowgley’s current abode to report on a tragedy. A woman passenger has disappeared from the deck of a ferry on a night crossing to Cherbourg. As the case develops, Mowgley and his assistant uncover increasing evidence that this is anything but a straightforward death at sea… WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT MOWGLEY:

I was totally absorbed as the tale unfolded. Not so much by the plot, but by waiting for the next assault on political correctness.

Our hero is no Bergerac and thank goodness for that. Mowgley is refreshingly sordid and I was secretly pleased to find he has absolutely no redeeming characteristics.
PC he most certainly ain’t - and the tale is much the better for it. THE MAIN MAN Name: John (‘Jack’) Mowgley Rank: Detective Inspector (just)
D.O.B.: 31.1.50 Height: 5ft 11 inches Weight: 16-17 stone (depending)
Body shape: Lumpy Distinguishing Features: ‘ACAB’ tattooed on fingers of left hand. Scar on right temple. Frequently broken nose. Right earlobe mislaid.