In Reference To Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books - Fool's Gold

 In Reference To Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books - Fool's Gold

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten New-to-me Authors in 2022

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Top Ten New-to-me Authors in 2022: Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl . This week's topic is a Freebie (any topic). I missed last week'...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Dead in the Water: Ted Wood

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Dead in the Water: Ted Wood: Reid Bennett is not just the Chief of Police in Murphy's Harbour, a small resort town in Muskoka, Ontario. He is the ONLY policeman in t...

Crime Time : Twofer: DEAD IN THE WATER/MURDER ON ICE – Ted Wood...

Crime Time : Twofer: DEAD IN THE WATER/MURDER ON ICE – Ted Wood...: When Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone's booze problem cost him his wife and his job as a detective with the LAPD he went east, takin...

FFB Review: Flashback by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the full list over at Patti’s blog.

Reid Bennett has been police chief of Murphy’s Harbour in Canada for three years now. That means he knows the locals pretty well and is very much aware of all the young people in the area. He knows that the kids he sees down Main Street are not local. They also seem to be the kind of kids waiting for trouble to happen.

They are and they will be more than once. The bigger issue is the body in the lake. More accurately, the body in the trunk of the car that was found submerged out in the lake. The car was recovered and towed to a nearby garage where the body was later found in the trunk. Moira Waites is the deceased and she had just left her husband, quite possibly for good, the day before.

Whatever future she had has now been destroyed with her death. The spouse is always a suspect and husband, John Waites, is definitely a suspect. Not only because he is the spouse and part of the argument they were having before she supposedly left, his behavior now is a bit off as he seems far more worried about the status of the car, his wife’s friends, and a host of other issues instead of the shocking loss of his wife.

That isn’t all that is going on either in Murphy’s Harbour as a bank robber who promised to get even with Bennett is on the way, and more. The tale is complicated and this installment is a good one.  Flashback is part of a series that should be read in order starting with Dead In The Water. People come and go in this series and the books interconnect making reading in order a good idea. As always, multiple mysteries are at work and there is plenty of action keeping things moving and the pages turning. 

Make sure you check out Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s review of Flashback that she did back in August. You can read that review here. Because of her review, I went to the beginning and read the first book, Dead In The Water. That became an FFB review back in September and I have kept going. The last book in the series, A Clean Kill, is only available to me at Amazon where I can get it in eBook form for $6.15. That price is just not in my budget right now. So, things may end here. We shall see.

Flashback

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1992

ISBN# 0-684-19414-7

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

224 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Snowjob by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott.This week Todd Mason is collecting the links and will have them over on his Sweet Freedom blog. 

Reid Bennet is always willing to go help a friend.  In this ninth book of the series titled, Snowjob, that willingness takes him to chambers, Vermont. While Reid Bennett was an odd man out because of his history when he arrived in Murphy's Harbour, Doug Ford is going to always be the odd man out on his local police force because he is African American.

He also is odd man out because he sits in the local jail accused of the murder Cindy Laver. She was the bookkeeper at the local ski resort. Not only was he there in her apartment the night she died, fifty thousand dollars she was to take to the bank and deposit was also found in the back of his car. Then there is the fact that nearly everyone around knew they were having an affair before Ford killed her.

While the evidence points to Ford being a killer, Ford swears he didn’t do it. Reid served with Ford in Vietnam and there is an unshakable bond there. A bond that will be tested as Reid investigates and learns what is actually going on a case that leads from small town murder to big time issues.

Ninth in the series, Snowjob is another very good installment in a very good series. Reid and his personal life continues to evolve and strengthen as he puts the past behind him. At the same time, as always, there is plenty of mystery and action to keep the pages turning. The result is another very good read making Snowjob, as are the other books in the series, highly recommended.

Snowjob

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1993

ISBN# 0-684-19563-1

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

262 Pages

I got to read this one by way of an Interlibrary Loan from the Beaumont Public Library in Beaumont, Texas. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: On The Inside: A Reid Bennett Mystery by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. This week Todd Mason is collecting the links and will have them over on his Sweet Freedom blog. Also, please take the time to think about Patti and her husband, Phil, who is fighting cancer with everything he has. Things have been rougher than normal the last couple of weeks. Say a prayer, light a candle, do whatever works for you, as he needs all the help he can get right now. Science can and does do a hell of a lot, but I also know Sandi was here far longer becuase so many of you said prayers and more on her behalf. Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my losing my everything. I am begging you to do whatever works for you for Phil and for Patti. Thank you.

As On The Inside: A Reid Bennet Mystery begins, newly Married Reid Bennett is the mining town of Elliot on an undercover assignment. He should have been away on his honeymoon with Freda. Instead, he is applying to be an officer on the local police force in the hopes that he can substantiate the rumors of police misconduct and corruption. It might have been more than a rumor, but the man who contacted the Provincial Police Commission was dead the day after he called to report the situation.

Whatever he knew and was going to tell investigators died with him. It is possible that the guy might have accidentally died as a result of drunk driving. Considering he had 14 years of sobriety, the crash could have just as easily been murder. Either way, the PPC need the situation evaluated and with the Elliot Police Chief accused by the dead man, they don’t know who else in that department they can trust.

The PPC know what Bennett did in Toronto and what he has been doing in Murphy’s Harbour the last couple of years. He is a good cop and one that can hold his own in physical situations when needed. Thanks to media coverage about what happened in Toronto a few years back and a couple of more recent cases in Murphy’s Harbour, Bennett has ready-made reputation which should work in his favor on the undercover assignment. Good thing Freda is willing to do what needs doing and Sam can go too. It will be a family affair in more ways than one.

On The Inside: A Reid Bennett Mystery is the 7^th installment in a very good series that started with Dead In The Water. Published in 1990, the focus is on the mystery of what is going on in Elliot. That mystery focus means, as always, there is plenty of action in this one just like the other books in the series. This book is also a bit more police procedurally as much of the book is Bennett is actually working on shift duty with other officers.

Like the other books in the series, On The Inside: A Reid Bennett Mystery, is a good one. 

On The Inside: A Reid Bennett Mystery

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1990

ISBN# 0-684-19090-7

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

280 Pages

Material supplied by way of an Interlibrary Loan filled by the staff of the Tom Green County Library in San Angelo, Texas, and sent to the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. My sincere and appreciative thanks to all involved.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: When the Killing Starts by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the full list over at Patti’s blog.

When the Killing Starts is the sixth installment in the Reid Bennett series by Ted Wood. Police Chief Reid Bennett was looking forward to his vacation time from Murphy’s Harbour. He is back down in Toronto with his girlfriend Freda and they have plans. At least he thought they did. Instead, an acting gig has come up for her and he isn’t about to get in the way or ask her to turn it down. She is going to be gone for at least a month and he isn’t at all happy about it.

Not only is he not at all happy about her going away, he isn’t sure what their future holds. He isn’t sure about his old job either as he thinks it might be time to move on from being in charge at Murphy’s Harbour. Doing what next is a question as all he knows is police work and serving in the military.

His knowledge of the military service and what it really means is about to come in handy as he will also be spared boredom while Freda is gone. Thanks to the mention of his name by a guy who is a big shot with a private security firm, Bennett is offered a job by a woman named Norma Michaels. Her adult son, Jason, has run off and joined one of those private mercenary outfits.  This one is called “Freedom for Hire.” Mom is sure her son has no clue what he is getting into and for 25k she wants her boy brought home alive and in peace.

Considering the kid is twenty and comes from a wealthy family, Bennett is sure the young Jason does not have a clue. Not that Bennett really wants the job, but the payday is the same as what Freda is going to get from her acting gig and he most definitely wants to pony up his share in the relationship. He also thinks his client is lying, but just isn’t sure about what or how exactly.

Bennett agrees and soon learns that those in charge of Freedom for Hire are bad guys with little in mind but taking money from others. Good thing Bennett has skills for dealing with guys like that as he learned his lessons well while serving in the jungles of Vietnam. The Canadian wilderness might have little to do with the steamy jungles of Vietnam, but men are men anywhere and skills do matter. It also does not hurt to have the police dog, Sam, at his side.

When the Killing Starts is another solidly good installment in the series. Mercenaries are old hat now, but for the time the book was published back in 1989, they were still relatively new in the mainstream consciousness. Little is done to further deepen the Bennett character though at this point one does not really expect that to happen. Deep in the series, When the Killing Starts is just one of those books where you sit back and settle in for the ride.

When the Killing Starts

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1989

ISBN# 0-684-18331-5

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

280 Pages

Material supplied by way of an Interlibrary Loan filled by the staff of the Paris Public Library in Paris, Texas, and sent to the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. My sincere and appreciative thanks to all involved.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Corkscrew by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the full list over at Patti’s blog.

Fifth in the series, Corkscrew opens with Reid Bennet at home doing his job as Chief of Police in Murphy’s Harbour. Biker gangs have been a problem before in Toronto and a biker gang is about to be an issue again.  This time it is the “Devil’s Brigade” and they are looking for their own kind of fun in the resort town of Murphy’s Harbour.

He has to keep things peaceful as he is a police force of one plus his dog, Sam. With reinforcements from the Ontario Provincial Police a long ways away, he has to keep things on as an even keel as possible. For the time being, their leader who goes by the name of “Russ” and Chief Bennett have worked out an understanding and uneasy truce exists. It actually helped a bit that Russ knew what had happened in Toronto so he has some grudging respect for Reid.

While the uneasy truce holds, Reid is able to focus on a bigger issue of a missing thirteen year old boy. Kennie Spenser went off with his expensive Nikon camera to take pictures and never came back. There has been no sign of him, the boy’s Mom is very upset and worried, and the boy’s drunk stepfather is of no help at all. Not only do the stepfather and the missing boy have a history, apparently the stepdad has also been physically violent with the wife. Clearly, the stepdad is a suspect in the teen disappearance, but he isn’t the only one.

As in earlier books in the series, plenty is going on in Corkscrew by Ted Wood. Not only do we learn a little more backstory on Reid, we see the beginnings of a new romance for him. That additional depth and evolution of the character does not get in the way of the action and the mysteries at work in Corkscrew. Another very good tale in a very good series.

Corkscrew

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1986

ISBN# 0-684-18568-7

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

233 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Fool’s Gold by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the full list over at Patti’s blog.

As happened in Live Bait, Police Chief Reid Bennett and his police dog, Sam, are not in Murphy’s Harbour. Instead they are over in Olympia where the biggest gold strike ever is drawing people from everywhere. That includes a certain geologist who was recently found dead.

Jim Prudhomme is the dead man. Apparently, he was attacked and killed by a bear while Mr. Prudhomme was out doing survey work in an isolated area. Killed by the bear who then gnawed on his hands and head making things a mess and very hard to identify, he was identified by his clothing more than anything.

His wife is a friend of Bennett’s ex-wife, so Bennett came to Olympia on her request to check and see if things are really the way she has been told. A review of the case file complied by the local police chief leaves some questions unanswered. Like why he had no rock samples with him? He had been out there awhile in the hours preceding the suspected time of the attack and yet there were no geology core samples found with the body or at the camp site.  That fact also means that it would be interesting to know about what his helicopter pilot knew about what Mr. Prudhomme was doing in the days and hours before the bear attack. What a local guide who also worked with Prudhomme knew would be helpful as well. Still, it isn’t much to go on and Reid Bennett does not see anything that really strikes him as an obvious indicator that anything happened differently than what is described in the police report.

All in all, while not everything has been tied up neatly, most things are and Bennett and Sam should be headed back home to Murphy’s Harbour. The fact that there hadn’t been a bear mauling in over 30 years probably does not mean anything either. And yet, Reid Bennett soon believes that things just don’t seem right.

Fourth in the series that started with Dead In The Water, Fool’s Gold is another action oriented mystery read. Some additional backstory on Reid Bennett is dispensed to readers as are several reminders of earlier events in this highly entertaining series. That is not the main focus of the book and takes up very little space or time. Much of the book is focused on the mystery of what happened to Mr. Prudhomme and how it relates, if it does, to the ongoing nefarious actions of many of the characters in this complicated tale.

Fool’s Gold is a good one and is strongly recommended as are the previous installments in this engrossing series.

Fool’s Gold

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1986

ISBN# 0-684-18568-7

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

233 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Live Bait by Ted Wood

This first Friday in October is rather special around here as it is Scott’s birthday. Also a bit bittersweet as well as his mother, and my everything, Sandi, is not here to celebrate with us. So, today is one of those days that are a bit difficult as we try to deal with it all. Make sure you check out the full list of books over at Todd Mason's blog.

As Live Bait by Ted Wood begins, the summer tourist rush in Murphy’s Harbour is over and Chief Bennett is on vacation.  Bennet is a bit bored. Not much is going on for him other than he has to figure out what to with the surplus of tomatoes from his garden. That is until Fullwell pulls up and gets out of his cal.

Fullwell works for Bonded Security and did not making the 200 mile drive up from Toronto on a social call. The company he works for has had some incidents at some of their construction sites during the night hours. The latest incident included a security guard badly beaten who wound up in the hospital. He is going to be okay, but has a long road of healing in front of him.

Something has to be done. Fullwell would have done the normal thing and would have contacted the Toronto Police, but the new VP of Marketing shut that down hard. The VP of Marketing is all worried about the publicity angle. He is the golden child to those in power, so if Fullwell ignored him and went to the police anyway, Fullwell would lose his job in a heartbeat. Since that is not an option, he has convinced the VP they could use Bennett as bait to see if the goons come by and try the same thing again. Fullwell is sure that Bennett with his skills, ex-military after doing a stint with the Marines in Vietnam and ex Toronto Police officer, can more than hold his own against a couple of thugs.

Bennett is bored and is intrigued. The money would also be pretty good as the amount he would make for a night or two of work down in Toronto is the same as a full week of work back in Murphy’s Harbor. Not to mention the fact he can see his sister and her family while he is in Toronto

He agrees and goes undercover on the job site of the most recent attack. At first, things work exactly as plan. Until they don’t. Once they start heading in the wrong direction, things quickly go downhill. Bennett in danger is one thing and he signed on for that. But, things get very personal as Bennett’s sister and her family is suddenly at risk in a case that involves organized crime from Canada and Asia, enemies on the Toronto Police force, and numerous other characters many of which pose a significant threat.

Third in the series behind Dead in the Water and Murder on Ice, Live Bait is primarily an action-oriented mystery read. There is some further character development regarding Bennett’s past in Vietnam and memories that still haunt him. But, the main focus is on action as he careens from violent incident to violent incident as he attempts to put the pieces together.

This read also comes across as bit dated in spots as “the triads” are explained as if they are new phenomena. Of course, back in the early 80’s they were new to the mainstream audience, though the concept and practices had gone on for centuries.  All in all, Live Bait is another very good read in a very good series. While one could read this one without losing very much of the previous two books, it is recommended to read them in order.

Live Bait

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1985

ISBN# 0-684-18330-7

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

212 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Murder On Ice by Ted Wood

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the full list over at Patti’s blog.

It is January as Murder On Ice by Ted Wood begins. Murphy's Harbor is cold and snowy as befits the area 200 miles north of Toronto. This second book in the series finds police Chief Reid Bennett still dealing with some of the repercussions from events in Dead In The Water.

Long known for their summer tourism, one of the local business men has created a new event, the winter carnival. While this is the second annual event, for Chief Bennett this is his first though he is not that concerned. While there have been a few strangers around, it, the event is not anywhere big enough to have garnered much attention beyond the locals. Most are just treating it as another excuse to get drunk so the local bar is doing a brisk business. The highlight, over at the local Legion Hall, will be to select a queen of the winter carnival.  Chief Bennett along with his police dog, Sam, are present to see a non-local resident and clearly the most attractive young woman around, Nancy Carmichael, crowned queen. Seconds later the lights go out, and Nancy is abducted and vanishes into the snowy night.

Chief Bennett and Sam plunge out into the night in pursuit. The kidnappers might have been able to get away with it if not for the heavy snowstorm that made travel in the area nearly impossible. Those conditions also created a trail in the snow that Bennett and Sam could follow. A trail that vanishes a little more every minute as the snow comes down.

The result is a harrowing search and investigation that results in more violence and death than clues. What at first seems to be a staged abduction by a feminist group for publicity purposes clearly has serious undertones as the bodies begin to stack up while the storm rages.

Second in the series, Murder On Ice is just as good as the first book. Fact, it might be a slightly better book. In a sense, this is a locked room mystery set outside as the weather keeps everyone bottled up and Chief Bennett can’t receive assistance from outside law enforcement. While little is done to further flesh out the Bennet character, the focus is on plenty of action and the occasional references to how combat experiences in the steamy jungles of Vietnam, help him stay alive in a nighttime frozen wilderness half a world away. A mystery full of twists, Murder On Ice by Ted Wood is strongly recommended.

Murder On Ice
Ted Wood
Charles Scribner’s Sons
1984
ISBN# 0-684-18134-7
Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)
175 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

FFB Review: Dead In The Water by Ted Wood

For this first Friday in September, I offer you an all new review of a book series that I started only because of Aubrey Hamilton. She recently reviewed the ninth book in this series titled Flashback. It sounded so good I wondered if the Dallas Public Library had them. They have most of the series including the first several. That allows me to meet my compulsion to read series in order from the start. Because the books were available you have this new review today to consider. For more reviews and books you should consider, head over to Patti Abbott’s blog. 

Library Hardback and Review

Published in 1983, Dead In The Water begins the series featuring Chief of Police Reid Bennett. Ex-military, ex Toronto officer, this disgraced-- in the eyes of some—cop is the Chief of Police for Murphy’s Harbor located in the Muskoka cottage country. Roughly two hundred miles north of Toronto, Murphy’s Harbor is a resort town where nothing violent ever happens. The worst of it is dealing with drunk tourists, drunk residents, and those, adult and teen, that like to pick at the scab of what Bennett did one night in Toronto.

Bennett is “Chief” in name only as the police force is pretty much him. He does have some help answering phones and such by a grizzled WWII ex vet named Murphy. Then there is, Sam, a German shepherd that he relies on to help him as needed.

So, when the tourists are upset, Chief of Police Reid Bennett is the only one to call and it does not matter if Bennet has lady friend spending the Friday night or the fact that it is three in the morning. Not only does the phone call from Murphy make it clear that there are upset tourists involved, so is the son of a town councilor. Politics and tourism are always a deadly combination in a town that relies on tourists to survive.

Ken Sullivan’s son was out on a date with the daughter of a tourist. Lucy for the young man that she could handle herself as she pulled him back into the boat after he was run over and hit with the propeller. She saved his life. Once he gets her dad out of the way and calmed down a bit, he talks to Jane Bryant and learns the boat they were in hit something in the channel. Something was out there in the water and they never saw it before they hit it and the young man was ejected from the boat. 

By just before dawn he finds the boat floating about a mile upstream from the marina dock Chief Bennet and his police dog, Sam, had left minutes earlier. He tows it back to the dock where he finds Murphy waiting for him. Murphy recognizes the boat and tells Chief Bennet that the boat belongs to a good friend, Ross Winslow. Why that boat was out there on the water, with no sign that the fishing rods had been deployed or that anyone one was or had been onboard, is strange.

After some much needed sleep, Bennett learns that Winslow, a punctual man in his routines, seems to be missing. If that is not enough, a biker gang Bennett tangled with back in Toronto may be headed their way and looking to settle some scores with Bennett.

Things escalate rapidly in Dead In The Water by Ted Wood. New York thugs, a damsel in distress, plenty of action with violent outcomes, and more make this police procedural a very good read. It is also the first book of the series I would not have gone looking for if not for the review work of Aubrey Hamilton. She recently reviewed Flashback which is the ninth book in the series. As I am compelled to read all series from the beginning, I started here. Dead In The Water by Ted Wood is a great start to a series.

Dead In The Water

Ted Wood

Charles Scribner’s Sons

1983

ISBN# 0-684-17958-X

Hardback (also available in paperback and digital formats)

175 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018