Mildly Malicious (book review)

     Graham Thomas. Malice in Cornwall (1998) A glowing corpse washes up on the north Cornwall beach, Insp. Erskine Childers is called in, his sidekick Sgt Black has memorise lots of poetry, the locals are the usual collection of country weirdos and incoming weirders. There’s an ancient unsolved murder, a new murder, blackmail, smuggling, bad food, good food, Erskine’s wry reflections, adultery, back-to-the-land romanticism, and so on. It’s a mildly engaging mix that afforded me a couple or three hours of pleasant reading. The novel improves towards the end, Thomas was I think still learning his craft. No fancy forensics, no cell phones or computers. Worth a look if you're looking for low-stress entertainment. **