Murder in Oxford (Blind Detective 9)
Frederick Rowlands, a blind veteran from the Great War, answers a short and cryptic summons from an old friend, Major Fraser, and travels from Brighton to Oxford during December of 1942. Having only passing memories of the university town, even Rowlands is struck by what many of the academics say: “it feels more like a military camp!” Greeted by his old friend, Frederick is briefly told that Challoner, a trusted comrade of Fraser, staying in college, fears that there is a traitor in Oxford, selling secrets to the Germans. All very puzzling to Rowlands, but before Challoner can name or even speak to the trusted pair, he is murdered!
Reluctant but intent on discovering the killer – and possibly a traitor – Rowlands starts to question people, listen intently to public conversations, sit in the background, and try to consider what happened. The inquest proceeds quietly, and discreetly, showing the hand of the secret service. The presence of MI5 being stationed at nearby Blenheim Palace, and chance encounters with two agents working there, involves Rowlands deeply in the affair, more deeply than he’d wish. Then, when there’s another death in the same college that Challoner was staying at, Frederick is forced back to Oxford. Can he, a blind civilian, uncover a murderous traitor before anyone else dies?
In a novel filled with atmospheric detail, Koning writes with both clarity and style. The setting is one that is visualised with her clear description. As the protagonist is blind, the author uses him as a very effective stand-in as the reader/observer. The mystery and the high stakes in wartime Britain are played out well, as is the mundane home life of the period. Ninth in the series.
