Into Darkness
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- ¥1,600
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- ¥1,600
発行者による作品情報
In the stinking mud of a great tidal river, a body lies half submerged. Sir Tommy Best, adored British actor, has fallen to his death through a hole in the walkway above. The saintly Sir Tommy was friend to the starving and penniless, to kings and stars. He was also totally blind and reliant on his brilliant guide dog, Suzy. But she is nowhere to be found. It seems unimaginable that Suzy would have led him into danger, so is it murder? And where is she? When she finally turns up, it is only to deepen the mystery. She is stressed and tense and soon Chief Superintendent 'Fatso' and Detective Chief Inspector Ned realise that only one person in the force can possibly help. Kate, police dog handler extraordinaire, known affectionately as the Dog Tart, suggests they find Nick Parsons, who trained Suzy, in the hope that he can get the dog to lead them to the truth. The search for Nick Parsons culminates in a highly unusual plan, in which Ned will become blind for one night and with Suzy the guide dog, re-enact Sir Tommy Best's last fateful walk. The truth which they uncover is utterly horrible.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In documentary filmmaker Lewis's promising first novel, Jewish Det. Chief Insp. Ned Bale investigates the death of legendary actor and philanthropist Sir Thomas Best, whose body was found in a muddy unused dock basin, part of a nameless, sewage-filled U.K. port. Since Tommy was blind, no one can understand what he could have been doing on the docks at midnight. Did he fall? Was he pushed? Tommy's 11-year-old seeing-eye Labradoodle, Suzy bred for blind people with allergies is the only witness. Tommy's widow, Dame Angela, who maintains that suicide is not an option, proves unhelpful, but the dog's trainer, a solitary-soul veterinary nurse, does lend Ned steadfast assistance. That Suzy's harness was broken before the time of death suggests foul play. The climax convincingly recreates the blind man's last moments, and Lewis has a flair for the unexpected turn of phrase as well as plot.
