Prize Murder

While seeking the legendary Holy Trough of Blackamoor, Detective Inspector Montague Pluke, detective and lover of horse-troughs, comes across a man's body. Brent Fowler is lying on a patch of moorland normally covered in thick heather; however, a fire has burnt it away to reveal his body. The dead man, Pluke discovers, has been shot in the head.

It is soon established that the victim was a paedophile murder suspect, and so the eccentric and superstitious Pluke is pitched headlong into an investigation which spans both sides of the Pennines. Other paedophiles have also been lured to beauty spots and assassinated; it is known that some received letters saying they had won prizes offering unforgettable experiences.

Relying on his luck-enhancing techniques as he ventures into the city of Manchester upon his quest, Pluke himself is arrested on suspicion of being a paedophile! Then it is his turn to receive a letter saying he has won a Lucky Break weekend in the Lake District. Pluke knows that Brent Fowler won the prize of a weekend shooting party - as its victim - and so it is that the brave and magnificent Montague Pluke allows himself to be carried by the assassins to almost certain death, steadfastly protected by his rabbit's foot, rowan twig, double hazel nut and lucky blackthorn shillelegh.

Prize Murder was originally published in 2006.

Second hand copies are available on eBay and AbeBooks.