A PI Caper Worth Reading

When Mystery Readers of Visalia picked the theme of foreign intrigue for the month of September, I went to my book shelf thinking I must have a book that would fit the category. We could pick a story that had taken place in a foreign country or written was by an author from another country. Sure enough, I found Dying Day by James Mitchell. Written in 1988, it’s one of his older mysteries. This author wrote some 36 other mystery/suspense novels under several pseudonyms, including James Munro.

The main character in Dying Day is Ron Hoggart, a London based private investigator who specialized in finding things for people. In this case he was hired to find a lost airplane, one that had been lost 40 years earlier, a daunting task. But with the help of his friend and sidekick, Dave, he digs into finding information about the plane and the former RAF pilots involved.

As he pursues a trail that leads all the way back to World War II and the Berlin Airlift, it’s evident that something very valuable was on the lost plane, and someone is willing to kill to keep Hoggart from finding it. Within a few weeks, the bodies pile up. Each time he interviews someone with information he needs, they end up dead. Before long, he finds himself a target.

At the center of the puzzle is the pilot, Bill Day. The question that surfaces is whether or not this Royal Air Force hero had turned smuggler and thief before landing at the bottom of the ocean off Scotland. Hoggart stalks the ghosts of wartime England from Italy, Scotland and southern France to uncover the reason behind the murders, a fortune in gold.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a fast-paced caper designed to keep the reader turning pages. I liked the puzzle, the action, and the humor. The first-person style was fresh and lively. I’ll put James Mitchell on my list of writers I want to read again.