Face Value(1983)

Roger Ormerod

With three days left until he retires, Detective Inspector Richard Patton doesn't want any more big cases.

Amelia Trowbridge reports her husband missing, and his car is soon discovered.

A burned out car in a ravine should be the perfect way to while away his last days in the force.

After all, there isn't even any proof of a crime.

But strange things begin to turn up.

A threatening message written on the window of convicted rapist Clive Kendall, recently released from prison.

A sinister bearded doll hanging from the branches outside.

When a mutilated body is found in a remote cottage, DI Patton knows his last days of work will be anything but dull.

Who is the dead man?

And where is the missing husband of Amelia Trowbridge, owner of the burned out car?

Will DI Patton discover the truth behind the hanging doll murder?

And can he take anything anyone tells him at Face Value?

Face Value is an expertly plotted crime thriller from a master storyteller.

Praise for Roger Ormerod

"A gripping tale, packed with clues, red herrings, and emotional conflict." - Bradford Telegraph and Argus

"An altogether taut piece of excitement" - The Journal (Newcastle)

"Eclectic, underrated Ormerod can be relied upon to come up with the startling goods" - Sunday Times

"I am glad to announce that the detective novel is still alive and well in Mr Ormerod's skilful hands" - The Spectator

"Fast-moving, with well-orchestrated jiggery-pokery; not unlike an early Dick Francis in tone and method" - Times Literary Supplement

Roger Ormerod 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.

Published as The Hanging Doll Murder by Scribner in 1984.

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