Publisher's Synopsis
SPARROWHAWK -The Accidental Death of a Dead Man.
It was reported as a straightforward road accident. Perhaps it was but the crash scene gave rise to more questions than answers. For Sparrowhawk, this might well be seen as an accidental death; but it couldn't possibly be the accidental death ... of an already dead man ... could it?
Then there was Merrick Nethercutt. Maybe he was just a frustrated writer and novelist, hungry for literary success ... or perhaps a narcissistic psychopath prepared to commit murder in order to claim a place at the table of world prize winning authors.
Northumbrian police master sleuth, Detective Inspector Sparrowhawk, is tasked with finding out the truth of it all. One theory required a mountain of irrefutable evidence and the other a simple autopsy report.
A welcome birthday present, from a loving wife to her husband would set Canadian businessman Chandler Blake on a mission that would add even more mystery to the case; a case Sparrowhawk's boss, DCI Hoppingdon, thought to be a lost cause.
Perhaps Sparrowhawk's sidekick, Detective Sergeant Calvin Whitstable and a chance invitation to a friend's drinks party would provide the turning point. A breathless phone call to Sparrowhawk would reveal it ... and the discovery of some smashed and broken Crown Derby china would confirm it!
If you like the Richard Levinson and William Link character Columbo, then you will love D.I. Sparrowhawk; someone with the same determination and tenacity, annoyingly acute attention to detail and the homing instinct of a true bird of prey.
