Crime

'A Touch of Frost' was one of my favourite television police series. The British do know how to make those: Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Inspector George Gently, Vera, Luther, and so on.

However, I've never read any of those books, which were the basis for some (or all?) of those series. Until I was given this book, albeit in Dutch translation and more precisely, a re-edition by the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (The Last/Latest News). I'm usually very careful with translations, especially when the source language was English.

In this book, inspector Jack Frost has to solve many crimes: young children disappearing (being kidnapped), prostitutes being murdered, a skeleton being found in a back-garden, a robbery, and more. Of course, commander Mullet is also present in his typical way: obnoxious, worried about his own image, always looking at costs, KPI, and so on. He is not involved in the team-work, has a love-hate relationship with Frost (for obvious reasons) and will do anything to score with his superiors. Anything.

Frost is unorganized (in his way of working, in his administration, ...), chaotic, very arrogant in his behaviour towards Mullet and his colleagues. Insults, dry humour, ... all part of his image and style. The man smokes almost every minute of every day. He eats only (or 99.9% of the time) sandwiches with bacon and ham, and drinks lots of tea. Taking care of himself (personal hygiene, for example) is trivial to him. He also despises structure and being on time for meetings or other appointments, like at autopsies.

In many of his cases, whenever he finds a clue, he will try to solve the puzzle, but the minute he can blame someone, that's the man or woman who's guilty of crime x or y, despite their statements and the severe lack of evidence. His direct assistant, Taffy Morgan, is an even bigger pain in the ass. The young chap likes beautiful girls/women, especially blond ones with long legs and big... You know. The stuff that's described here would be screaming METOO! more than enough. Then again, when you know the book was written at the end of the 20th century...

Another proof of Frost's clumsiness: He doesn't have a bloc-note, yet writes names and places on his cigarette package. But he never, or I must have overlooked it, uses that information to make progress in his investigations.

R.D. Wingfield can write, that's for sure. I can't compare this Frost-story with the other ones, but this is a page-turner of a book. The translation also helped, of course. Hats off to Frans Bruning for his work. And how you, as a reader, think you know who did it, but in the end you're left baffled, because you did not expect that rabbit to be pulled out of the hat.

I don't usually read detective/crime stories, for several reasons, but I wanted something more accessible, lighter (so to speak), to end 2017. Due to circumstances, my reading time had to be prolonged with 24 hours. Plus, it was a gift, so...

Anyway, as an in-between story, very much recommended! Even more or especially (!) when you imagine the cast of 'A Touch of Frost' in action. ( )

R. D. Wingfield was primarily a writer of radio plays, most of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was in one of these that Detective Inspector Frost first made his appearance, although in that initial outing he was a far more jaded and cynical character that in his subsequent television incarnation as portrayed by David Jason.
After A Touch of Frost came to the television screens, Wingfield wrote a few ‘companion’ volumes, notable for the complexity of their multi-layered plots. While enjoyable, it was not difficult to spot that the novel was not Wingfield’s medium of choice, and that there was a certain formulaic nature to them.

Sadly this volume, published some years after Frost had become established as one of the most popular and enduring television detectives, is weaker still. At many points, the characters barely even manage to be two dimensional, and the plot is lamentable turgid. I am not sure why Wingfield bothered … and I wish I hadn’t. ( )

The Frost series just keeps getting better and better. Detective Inspector Frost is in top form dealing with a serial killer of local prostitutes, a new acting inspector Liz Maud, and the continual harassment from Superintendent Mullett, who can never quite understand why Frost can never seem to find a filling station that provides printed receipts for his gasoline reimbursement. Fortunately, Frost has a new DC who is quite adept at completing long overdue crime statistic reports and changing "5's" to "8's" on the gasoline reimbursement forms. Lots of the scenes had me laughing out loud. He continues to have a knack at dealing with suspects: "Do you want to confess now, or shall we waste time beating you up and claiming you fell down the stairs while drunk?" Insisting that a bus load of drunken revelers be kept out of the station, fearing the mess they would make, Mullett orders them to be gotten out of the way. Frost has the inspired idea of putting them back on the bus, whereupon they steal it, driving off quickly, and smashing Mullett's new car in the process.

Mullett is already livid because his usual parking place had been taken by the bus when he arrived. Frost meets him in the parking lot and begins, "Your best bet is to say it was parked and some drunken sod ran into it." "That's exactly what did happen," snapped Mullett. "Good for you!" nodded Frost approvingly. "I almost believe you myself, and I can always see through a lie." Frost really has his hands full in this one. He has someone killing and molesting children, a serial rapist and killer abducting and torturing local prostitutes, a DC who keeps getting everything wrong, and then suddenly a thirty-fiveyear old skeleton pops up with its skull bashed in. Throughout he keeps making mistakes, wrong guesses, constantly flagellating himself for his errors, no doubt wishing it could be Mullett instead.

Throughout, he has to cajole, bribe, and browbeat Mullett into assigning more men to stakeouts, spending more on overtime, and signing Frost's forged receipts. Then his prime suspect commits suicide in a holding cell, claiming that Frost badgered him and humiliated an innocent man. And to make things worse, the evidence begins to point to the man's innocence. Set aside some time for this one, the ending will keep you riveted to your seat and chuckling all the while. Great stuff. ( )

At the risk of repeating myself, I am once again singing the praises of DI Frost and his creator, R.D. Wingfield. Winter Frost which is the 5th book in this police procedural series is as good, if not better, than his previous four. Frost is still the sloppy, funny, seemingly inept policeman that eventually solves his cases. He is still aided and abetted by a wonderful cast of characters including his dogmatic, rule imposing, boot licking superior and his new assistant who is even lazier and more slovenly than Frost himself but excels in fiddling both Frost’s expenses and the Crime Stats Report.

Don’t get me wrong, these books are far from cozy, they are very dark. This time out Frost is searching for missing children and hunting a serial murderer who targets prostitutes. As one missing child turns up brutally raped and strangled, the pressure mounts. Thrown into the mix are the numerous other cases that Frost and his cronies must deal with, from armed robbery, hit-and-run accidents and the thirty year old remains of a skeleton.

These books are great reads, dark, intense, yet able to make you laugh out loud. An old-fashioned policeman, Frost very rarely goes by the book, he muddles through and eventually arrives at the correct finish. Deep down he is a very honourable man and is doing his best for the public Slightly formulaic in nature, I like to spread these reads out, and it is my great sadness that after this book I only have one more to look forward to. ( )