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A Killing Frost

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Author: R.D. Wingfield

Synopsis:

A Killing Frost By R.D. Wingfield

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On a rainy night in Denton, Detective Inspector Jack Frost is called to the site of a macabre discovery in the woods – that of a human foot. Meanwhile a multiple rapist is on the loose, the local supermarket reports poisoned stock and a man claims to have cut his wife up into little pieces, yet can’t recall where he hid them. But it is when two young girls are reported missing in quick succession that the Denton crime wave reaches terrifying heights. As the exhausted Frost staggers from case to case, pressured from all sides and haunted by memories of his wife, something nasty arrives at the station in the form of Detective Chief Inspector Skinner. The scheming, slippery Skinner clearly has his eye on the Superintendent’s office, but his first job is to manipulate the transfer of the unorthodox D.I. Jack Frost to another division. Will Frost find the missing girls before his new nemesis forces him away from Denton once and for all?

About The Author:

R. D. (Rodney David) Wingfield, was an English author and dramatist. He was born in London and, apart from his evacuation to Somerset, during the Second World War, spent most of his life in the London/Essex region.

He was a very private man, who shunned most public appearances, book launches and signings, and he was very rarely photographed.

He was a prolific writer of mystery radio plays, which he enjoyed much more than writing books, but it is for his character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost, that he will be best remembered.

Although ‘Frost’ was immortalised on television, by Sir David Jason, Wingfield was never really comfortable with this interpretation of his creation;

He always insisted: “I have nothing against David Jason as Frost at all, he just isn’t my Frost.”

There were a total of six ‘Frost’ mysteries, ‘A Killing Frost’ being the final episode. Unfortunately Rodney Wingfield passed away, before the book went to publication and it was finally published, posthumously, the year following his death.

My Review Of: ‘A Killing Frost’

I have watched all the “TouchOf Frost” programmes several times and never tire of them. Personally, I think that Sir David Jason’s portrayal of Jack Frost, does real justice to the books and makes them come to life.
The book itself, is so descriptive and attentive to detail, that you can almost smell that awful anorak; musty from having been wet and dried on the body so many times, mixed with the aroma of grease and fat from Jack’s continual fry ups in the police canteen, that he rarely gets to finish!
Working in a continual maelstrom of mess and disorder, constantly failing to stem the flood of urgent admin and police politics heading his way from Superintendent Mullet, the reader really does begin to wonder how on earth Jack will ever get to solve a case.
The bodies seem to mount up at an alarming rate and the reader is drawn from one plot to another, as Jack strives to keep Mullet, who is just itching for an excuse to have Jack transferred away from Denton, at bay.
Jack, rising to the challenge as always, with wit, insight and sometimes even vulgarity, always seems able to get one over on Mullet, despite often sailing pretty close to the wind; although he does have a powerful ally in the Area Commander, who enjoys basking in the limelight of Frost’s bravery medal!
The story is quite fast paced, but even with the multiple plots, isn’t ever confusing or unclear. Some of the one liners from Frost add a touch of humour to his otherwise quite brusque manner.
Jack uses this slightly ‘stroppy’ persona, to mask the fact that he is really quite a lonely person, since the death of his wife, but every potential new relationship has so far ended in disaster, because of his dedication to the job.
He can also be quite sensitive when dealing with victims and their families, although, again you have to search for that hidden nuance, which is expertly woven into the dialogue.
Rapists, pedophiles, missing people, a butcher who has lost his mind, all feature in this episode and fit neatly into a great page turner, that I was reluctant to leave, until the last clue had been solved.
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About Yvonne

I can’t remember a time, even as a child, when I haven’t been passionate about books and reading.
I began blogging, when I realised just how many other people out there shared my passion for the written word and I have been continually amazed at the wealth of books that are available and the amount of great new friends I have made, from literally 'The Four Corners Of The World'.

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