In Death la Carte, bad-boy Police Inspector Jack Mowgley has jumped before being pushed and taken early retirement. With no prospects in England, he has moved across the Channel to set up in Cherbourg as a private investigator. His intentions are to live off the colourful band of British expats in the area while funding the restoration of his mostly-ruined manor house in the Normandy countryside. He expects to encounter nothing more demanding than cases of marital infidelity and financial irregularities, but soon finds himself involved in people trafficking, drug smuggling and a series of murders most foul.
This must be read to the shocking end.
Extracts: It occurred to Mowgley that the body on the bench was more like a shop window mannequin being prepared for display than a mutilated corpse. The comparison came to mind because there were no hands protruding from the cuffs of the sleeves, or head from the collar of the snow-white shirt... Coco Lecoq looked like an uncomfortable cross between an Old Testament prophet and the mad professor in Back to the Future. He had a shock of red hair, a moustache to rival Asterix the Gaul, and possibly the worst set of teeth Mowgley had seen in Normandy, which was saying something. An all-round arts enthusiast, Coco also staged regular open concerts in the square beside the pub. Last year he had arranged an exchange deal which involved the St-Sauveur Ladies Glee Club travelling to perform in a punk venue in East Dulwich, while the club had sent as its representatives a band called 'We Hate Fucking Foreigners'.
What readers say about Mowgley:
'I was totally absorbed as the tale unfolded. Not so much by the plot, but by waiting for the next assault on political correctness.'
'Our dysfunctional detective hero is no Morse or Rebus, and thank goodness for that. Mowgley is refreshingly sordid, and I was secretly pleased to find he had absolutely no redeeming characteristics.' NB. All the events and situations relating to drug and people smuggling in the book are based on fact. The latest reports are that these activities are increasing most rapidly in northern France.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George East is not everyone's idea of an author. After leaving school at 16 with no qualifications, he set out on a varied career path which included (failed) Rock god, Impressionist (house) painter, plumber, welder, demolition engineer, pickled onion manufacturer, private detective, male model, lorry driver, brewer's drayman, PR and Marketing guru, magazine editor, freelance journalist, hotel manager, snooker hall owner, seamstress, night club bouncer, DJ and radio and television presenter and pub landlord. After writing his first book in 1969, his successful Mill of the Flea series followed several years later. Then George turned his hand to crime fiction and wrote Death Duty, the first book in a series about a seedy detective in charge of Portsmouth ferry port. He based the book on his experiences in travelling to and from France, and of his time behind bars when his pub was the local for a squad of CID officers. Soon followed the second, third and now fourth book Death la Carte in what I suspect will be a long running series. Now, George divides his time between France and England, writing travel and crime books, and, as he says, winkling out the best and cheapest bars and restaurants in all France.
To find out more about George and his work, his website can be found at www.george-east.net