Review by Booklist Review
DCI Monika Paniatowski made a mistake. She had an affair with her boss, which resulted in his wife turning to alcohol and eventually dying while driving drunk. The chief constable blames Monika, and despite the fact that she's the gifted head of the CID, he takes every opportunity to belittle her. But his latest punishment shocks even Monika. She's pulled out of CID and assigned to security detail at a rock concert at the estate of the Earl of Ridley. Monika is humiliated, but when she arrives at the concert and is informed that the earl has hired the Devil's Disciples motorcycle gang to provide the real security for the concert, she senses a disaster in the making, a prediction that quickly proves to be spot-on when the brutalized body of a journalist is discovered. Unofficially redonning her CID hat, Monika starts her own investigation of the murder. Spencer produces another taut police procedural featuring the flawed but admirable Monica, a gripping plot, and plenty of authentic cop-shop details.--Melton, Emily Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Starred Review. Set in 1976, Spencer's superior eighth mystery featuring Det. Chief Insp. Monika Paniatowski (after 2013's Death's Dark Shadow) finds the Whitebridge copper shunted aside by her vindictive boss to serve as adviser to Gervaise de Courtney, 13th Earl of Ridley, who's sponsoring a Woodstock-like festival on his estate. Both the earl's family and the police foresee trouble that they'll be powerless to prevent. Meanwhile, the activities of a host of other characters-a rider in a motorcycle gang doing concert security, members of Paniatowski's unhappy squad, an unemployed journalist who has just published a career-changing story, a teen singer expecting to make it big-ratchet up the tension long before violence erupts. When it does, Monika's replacement has a suspect in mind-and demands evidence to prove it. Most of the violence is off-camera, but fierce all the same. Spencer has devised a thrill ride that's not easily forgotten. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Trying to avoid career assassination by her chief constable, Monika Paniatowski (Death's Dark Shadows) is assigned to cover the Earl of Ridley's rock concert. Who will destroy the festival first? The motorcycle gang hired for security or the Dowager Countess herself? When the body of a tabloid journalist shows up, the heat is turned on high for Monika. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Chief Constable George Baxter continues to harass DCI Monika Paniatowski. Since the death of his wife in an alcohol-fueled car crash, Baxter has been out to undermine Monika (Death's Dark Shadow, 2014, etc.). Now he's stuck his former lover with an assignment no self-respecting detective would tolerate: acting as adviser to the estate manager of Stamford Hall, where Gervaise de Courtney, 13th Earl of Ridley, plans to host a rock music festival. The assignment has some rewards. Katerina, Countess of Ridley, a Central European refugee who was rescued by her husband from the horrors of the 1968 Prague Spring, is a kindred spirit. And estate manager Edward Bell is compassionate, if somewhat oversold on loyalty to his employers. But the limitations of her position prey on Monika. She's forbidden by the earl to meet with the folks he's handpicked to handle security for the festivala motorcycle gang called the Devil's Disciplesbecause they don't like police. And Baxter insists she stay at Stamford Hall 24/7 for the duration of the festival. While she's stuck at the manor house, there's a juicy murder to investigate back in Whitebridge. The body of unemployed tabloid journalist Terry Lewis turns up in an alley. Monika's team is temporarily assigned to the grotesquely misnamed DCI Wellbeloved, who immediately tries to divide and conquer. He suggests to DI Colin Beresford that DC Jack Crane will soon snatch his job and tells DS Kate Meadows that she has the spark Beresford lacks. Naturally, they want Monika back ASAP. But will a solution to Lewis' murder while Monika languishes behind the gates of Stamford Hall help their old boss, or will it just cement Wellbeloved's position as their new leader? It's high time for Baxter to patch things up with Paniatowski, before their continuing feud overshadows Spencer's deft plotting. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
