A Little White Death (Inspector Troy Series) Book

Nineteen sixty-three, think the Profumo affair, Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, the death of Stephen Ward, Kim Philby defecting to Russia, a Member of Parliament deceiving the House, the downfall of a government and you have the essence of this novel, particularly in its early stages.
All those characters and events are depicted through the invented characters of the tale and 'A Little White Death' does, therefore, start promisingly with Commander Freddie Troy of Scotland Yard the key character.

Thereafter, an excellent picture of the society of England in 1963 with its focus on the cold war, spying and social and sexual revolution is vividly painted but the storyline, despite the occasional sensational element, fails to keep up its high intensity.

Yes, there is sex, drugs and murder and as Troy investigates he is drawn into various tricky situations and meets with various scandals, lies and deceit at every turn, attempts on his life and also has difficult times with his brother Rod, who is a Member of Parliament and therefore firmly attached to the establishment. In so doing, as the author weaves his tale, the reader comes across many true life characters such as Harold Wilson and George Brown, who intermingle with his own well constructed fictional characters.

'A Little White Death' is rather like the curate's egg - good in parts - but for me it too often wanders off into humdrum pedestrian mode and therefore one tends to lose interest to a degree. But, as I mentioned, it does capture moments in time of 1963 England and for that alone it has some appeal.