The Broken Afternoon (DI Wilkins Mysteries)

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The author hits the nail on the head with his statement: 'we are thoughtless about what is the most precious to us...' [red] The novel begins with a harrowing crime, child abduction. Poppy Clark goes missing from her nursery school whilst wearing a pirate costume. So immediately we have a highly sensitive, emotive crime to deal with and a real race against time. I found the subject matter disturbing and difficult but Mason handled it carefully and it didn’t ultimately put me off enjoying the novel” The characters made this novel for me – I liked the chalk and cheese relationship between the two Wilkinses who are investigating the crime and how they are friends of a kind”

The Broken Afternoon is the second instalment in the series that introduced the partnership of DIs Wilkins and Wilkins (no relation) of the Thames Valley police force in A Killing in November. I am sorry to not have read the first book, because The Broken Afternoon is the best contemporary police procedural I have read in a very long time. Many thanks to @ReadingAgency and Riverrun Books for providing the library with free copies to read and review. The killer of Poppy Clark is eventually ‘unmasked’, but perhaps that cliche is inappropriate, as he has been hiding in plain sight all along. The more squeamish male readers may want to skip the section towards the end set in the hospital maternity unit. It is superbly written, but graphic: I went through that experience with three of my four sons, but on the fourth occasion the ‘phone call came too late – or perhaps I drove to the hospital too slowly. I did find the scenes between Ray and his wife quite humorous, and how Ryan interacted with his infant son endearing. Despite the fact that sometimes life doesn't always go as expected, these two manage to make the best of it. Ryan in particular is a star in this. This humour brought balance to the yet heavy theme of the book.With thanks to the author, publishers Quercus, and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this work in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I haven’t read the first book in this series but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of The Broken Afternoon at all – it was an easy read, with relatable characters and an exciting conclusion and I was able to dive straight in without feeling I’d missed a step” Despite their differences Ray and Ryan have an understanding and Ray let’s Ryan help him with the case, particularly as he keeps running into difficulties. Historic Oxford, on a sunny warm afternoon, a day when the lives of Poppy Clarke's parents will never be the same again, because their sweet, loveable little Poppy, dressed up as a pirate with ribbons in her hair, waiting for her mother, suddenly disappears.

Ryan Wilkins, one of the youngest ever Detective Inspectors in the Thames Valley force, dishonourably discharged three months ago, watches his former partner DI Ray Wilkins deliver a press conference, confirming a lead. Move over Morse. Simon Mason Oxford crime novel breathes fresh life into the police procedural' Val McDermidThe author uses the storylines of two different, seemingly unlinked cases, which at times overlap, yet only come together at the end. Screen Shot 2022-12-27 at 19.53.09I am sorry, but that is not how I see this book. Yes, it is set in and around Oxford, but apart from The Broken Afternoon being every bit as good a read as, say, The Silence of Nicholas Quinn or The Remorseful Day, that’s where the resemblance ends. Mason’s book, while perhaps not being Noir in a Derek Raymond or Ted Lewis way, is full of dark undertones, bleak litter strewn public spaces, and the very real capacity for the police to get things badly, badly wrong. Simon Mason (right) has created coppers who certainly don’t spend melancholy evenings gazing into pints of real ale and then sit home alone listening to Mozart while sipping a decent single malt. I really enjoyed the setting of Oxford – the author really evokes a sense of place. There’s an obvious parallel to be drawn with Morse, but Simon Mason’s book does stand up to scrutiny, although not quite in the same class as Colin Dexter. Still a very enjoyable read, would recommend” As the two men investigate the cases there appears to be a link but if Ryan continues to look into his friend’s murder he runs the risk that his reinstatement will be denied. As a copper he was unorthodox, irreverent to his superiors, but with a real nose for the mean streets and those who walk them. Ray Wilkins is university educated – Balliol, no less – a smooth dresser, good looking and at ease in press conferences; his partner Diane is pregnant with twins.