Private Investigator Chris Honeysett has a relatively simple case on his hands: find Billy the Tramp.
But despite Billy’s regular appearance on the streets of Bath, he’s nowhere to be seen – and no one seems to want to help Honeysett. And then there’s the ransom case dealing with an art theft and insurance company to worry about. At least his plight is better than the police’s…
Some weeks back, a body of a woman was found in Rainbow woods. Now another woman, Nikki Reid, has been abducted. The police are desperate to find her, fearing another victim on their hands. On a night walk looking for Billy, Honeysett stumbles into an abandoned train station but instead of finding Billy, he finds Nikki Reid – half-starved, dirty and frightened beyond all belief. According to the police, a man nicknamed “The Doctor” is behind the abductions. And as Honeysett soon finds out, The Doctor is not pleased that Honeysett took what was his…
Set in the beautiful and haunting Georgian city of Bath, Slim Chance is the brilliant second instalment of Peter Helton’s Chris Honeysett series – a thrilling and suspense-driven mystery with a chilling murderer. Perfect for fans of Graham Ison and Robert McCracken.
Praise for Peter Helton
**”Art imitates life imitating art in this appealing mystery debut” -Publisher’s Weekly **
Originally from Germany,Peter Helton was once a translator for TV and film living in London. Later, he moved to the West Country to study among other things a fine art degree at UWE, Bristol. He now lives on the outskirts of Bath with his cat Asbo, writing and painting – his books include the Chris Honeysett series and DI Liam McLusky series.
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From Publishers Weekly
Lively prose and a vivid picture of the ancient English city of Bath—in particular, its vaults, tunnels, bunkers and cellars—lift Helton's second mystery to feature artist and PI Chris Honeysett (after 2005's Headcase). Fans of Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy will appreciate the scheme that Honeysett, who's a bit of a scalawag, concocts to handle an insurance payoff to art thieves—and the connections Honeysett has to some bohemian characters. A sadistic killer has already struck once in Bath and has kidnapped a second victim. When our hero, embarked on a completely different task, stumbles on the killer's lair, the killer seeks vengeance on Honeysett by making one of the artist's companions his third victim. Honeysett and his allies must play a deadly game to keep their friend alive while they seek the killer's new hiding place. Meanwhile, the thieves Honeysett conned also want a piece of him. Readers will look forward to further installments in this offbeat series. (July)
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From Booklist
The ancient city of Bath, England, affords a great setting for sleuthing, with its well-preserved Roman and Regency sites almost elbowing out the bland present. In the past 10 years, fictional private eyes with an archaeological (Roman baths) or literary/historical (Jane Austen, Beau Brummel) bent have prowled through Bath. Helton introduced a new Bath part-time sleuth, artist Chris Honeysett, in Headcase (2005). This second Honeysett caper follows the sleuth as he tracks down some art thieves for an insurance company. During his ramblings through Bath, Honeysett stumbles upon a woman imprisoned under an abandoned railway station. This woman has been systematically starved by a murderer police refer to as Dr. Atkins. The MO here fits with the murder of another woman a few weeks before. The Bath setting, Helton's insights into art forgeries, and the unconventional tactics of Honeysett's somewhat dodgy team of an ex-burglar, ex-forger, and art student add up to sheer fun. Connie Fletcher
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