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Lowe & Simpson #1
Hung in the Balance
Philipa Lowe, returning to England for her husband’s funeral after a four-year separation, anticipates a short, uncomplicated visit.
Graham’s estate should be insignificant, the legal hassle minimal — a quick signature, then back to her life in New York. But her optimism proves to be short-lived.
The first shock is to discover that the coroner’s inquest determined that Graham committed suicide…by driving himself off the edge of a slippery slope and into a quarry.
This she finds unacceptable; never mind that she’s sure Graham was constitutionally unlikely to kill himself — he can’t possibly have done so by getting in a car. It’s impossible.
In fact, the whole situation seems so highly improbable that she soon manages to persuade herself that he might even still be alive.
Doubt is cast on this hope by Detective Inspector Oliver Simpson, who seems determined to convince Philipa that Graham’s suicide is nothing more or less than it seems.
Yet as the unlikely pair work together, she begins to discover extraordinary details of Graham’s background that she never dreamed existed…and slowly finds herself beginning to recapture her former love for him.
But in the midst of her somewhat unorthodox investigation, Philipa accidentally stumbles upon another body — one that dramatically complicates the conclusions that had been drawn about Graham’s death.
Faced by a murder that cannot be murder and a suicide that cannot be suicide, she starts to question everything about both cases.
As the extent of Graham’s estate becomes known and more details come to light, the danger to Philipa grows…
Hung in the Balance is filled with ingenious plotting, original and unexpected situations, sharp dialogue and convincing characters which will keep you entertained until the very end.
Roger Ormerod (1920-2005) was a prolific writer of ingenious and densely plotted crime novels - some 35 in all - which were published in the UK and the USA. He lived in Wolverhampton and amongst other things worked as a civil servant and as a Social Security inspector – backgrounds which he made full use of in his fiction, as he did with his hobbies of painting and photography.
Graham’s estate should be insignificant, the legal hassle minimal — a quick signature, then back to her life in New York. But her optimism proves to be short-lived.
The first shock is to discover that the coroner’s inquest determined that Graham committed suicide…by driving himself off the edge of a slippery slope and into a quarry.
This she finds unacceptable; never mind that she’s sure Graham was constitutionally unlikely to kill himself — he can’t possibly have done so by getting in a car. It’s impossible.
In fact, the whole situation seems so highly improbable that she soon manages to persuade herself that he might even still be alive.
Doubt is cast on this hope by Detective Inspector Oliver Simpson, who seems determined to convince Philipa that Graham’s suicide is nothing more or less than it seems.
Yet as the unlikely pair work together, she begins to discover extraordinary details of Graham’s background that she never dreamed existed…and slowly finds herself beginning to recapture her former love for him.
But in the midst of her somewhat unorthodox investigation, Philipa accidentally stumbles upon another body — one that dramatically complicates the conclusions that had been drawn about Graham’s death.
Faced by a murder that cannot be murder and a suicide that cannot be suicide, she starts to question everything about both cases.
As the extent of Graham’s estate becomes known and more details come to light, the danger to Philipa grows…
Hung in the Balance is filled with ingenious plotting, original and unexpected situations, sharp dialogue and convincing characters which will keep you entertained until the very end.
Roger Ormerod (1920-2005) was a prolific writer of ingenious and densely plotted crime novels - some 35 in all - which were published in the UK and the USA. He lived in Wolverhampton and amongst other things worked as a civil servant and as a Social Security inspector – backgrounds which he made full use of in his fiction, as he did with his hobbies of painting and photography.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Roger Ormerod
87 books9 followersRoger Ormerod was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. He worked as a county court officer, an executive officer in the Department of Social Security, a postman, and a shop loader in an engineering factory.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 6, 2017
A real puzzle, but who done it?
This is a good story with a tight plot and plenty of twists, turns, puzzles and questions without answers.
Philipa Lowe returns to England to attend the funeral of Graham Tonkin, her estranged husband, an apparent suicide. However, there are discrepancies that cause her to doubt the verdict. She shares her doubts with Inspector Oliver Simpson and the game's afoot as the two begin to investigate.
8
This is a good story with a tight plot and plenty of twists, turns, puzzles and questions without answers.
Philipa Lowe returns to England to attend the funeral of Graham Tonkin, her estranged husband, an apparent suicide. However, there are discrepancies that cause her to doubt the verdict. She shares her doubts with Inspector Oliver Simpson and the game's afoot as the two begin to investigate.
8
July 24, 2017
Another mixed bag from Ormerod. The book goes on for much longer than the plot can sustain, so wobbles to the finish line. Then too, he wrote women poorly, and in HB, the main characters are female. Omerod either saw us as hysterical *itches ; ) given to erratic unpredictability, or he thought the rest of the world did, so was trying for realism. Gender pigeon-holing aside, it makes for a bumpy read.
July 8, 2017
The potential is here
The story line becomes ragged at some points but manages to hold together to the end, which has a very good ironic finale.
The story line becomes ragged at some points but manages to hold together to the end, which has a very good ironic finale.
August 9, 2018
Omg
This is a disaster! All the pitching is too much. I stopped reading it after the paintings fiasco. Very annoying character.
This is a disaster! All the pitching is too much. I stopped reading it after the paintings fiasco. Very annoying character.
October 1, 2020
It’s been a while since I read a mystery and this one was fun and full of surprises. Super quick to read and not super predictable
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews