The Contraband Killings (The Dan Foster Mysteries, 4)
As the 18th century draws to its close, Bow Street Runner Dan Foster and second-in-command Constable Evans are sent to Anglesey, North Wales. A Revenue Officer has been brutally murdered by smugglers, one of whom, Watcyn Jones, has been arrested and housed in Beaumaris Gaol. Foster’s mission is to transport Jones to London for trial and subsequent deportation, but the convoy is hijacked and Jones disappears, inadvertently responsible for another murder.
Magistrate Sir Edward Hyde and Captain Williams of the Anglesey Volunteers lend their local expertise. When a second Revenue Officer is found with his throat cut, Foster surmises it’s an inside job. Perhaps someone with access to the patrol rotas is diverting officers away from smuggling operations? Two more murders occur, muddying the investigative waters. The closed-mouthed silence of the island residents shunts the investigation into low gear. Smuggling is in their blood, whether they partake or not, and they protect their own. But policing is in Dan Foster’s blood.
Boyce possesses a sharp visual descriptive power which evokes strong emotions of landscape, the Welsh people, poverty, filth, starvation, and copper mining. Is it possible to feel wet and cold during a fictional storm or to feel flustered at the coaching depot departure stand? Apparently so, thanks to evocative writing! Foster is an intuitive cop, brave, honest, and intelligent, and a good mentor to the wavering Evans, who isn’t sure why he chose policing. Over the course of the book Evans learns to trust his instincts, becoming an invaluable second-in-command. Foster’s unusual family dynamics add to his likeability. The frustrations of an investigation where no one is willing to talk is well-thought-out, and evokes understanding of what the police face every day. An interesting read, which gives the mystical isle of Ynys Môn a new dimension.
