A Thrust to the Vitals

'Very well detailed mix of past sins and greed with family ties. Loved it.'

A Little Laughter. A Little Mayhem. A Little MURDER . . .

Returning to Elmhurst many years after his involuntary departure, to attend a civic reception in his honour, Sir Rufus Seward ignored the maxim that 'going back' is not always wise.
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Summoned after Seward's body is found, a wood chisel protruding from its back, Dl Joe Rafferty receives a panicky call from his younger brother, Mickey, who fears he is in the frame for Seward's murder. Strangely, given his loathing of the dead man, Mickey had received an invitation to the reception. Keen to confront the bully who made his youth a misery, Mickey found his tormentor's body, and fled the scene...Rafferty, aware that his brother hated Seward, and that Mickey, a carpenter by trade, has three pointers to guilt -- the means, the motive and the opportunity -- finds himself torn between protecting his family and finding the real killer.
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But he can't protect Mickey forever. and if he wants his little brother to have a normal life again, he must find the killer - as a matter of urgency.
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Rafferty & Llewellyn British Mystery Series

Dead Before Morning #1 
Down Among the Dead Men #2 
Death Line #3 
The Hanging Tree #4 
Absolute Poison #5 
Dying For You #6 
Bad Blood #7 
Love Lies Bleeding #8 
Blood on the Bones #9 
A Thrust to the Vitals #10 
Death Dues #11 
All the Lonely People #12 
Death Dance #13 
Deadly Reunion #14 
Kith and Kill #15 
Asking For It #16 
The Spanish Connection #17