Eighteen months ago, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Langton
arrived on the scene in Abbottsford, right in the middle of
a murder investigation. Since then, life has settled down
nicely for him and his wife and young son. But memories of
his time at the Met are about to be triggered as he becomes
involved in the unsolved disappearance of a young woman nearly
sixteen years ago. Could a cult be involved.?
As the details of her abduction and murder come to light,
a systermatic pattern of abuse of other victims by members
of the mysterious Scorpion Club is slowly revealed. Langton
is faced with the formidable task of identifying those who
raped and murdered victims chosen purely for their star signs.
But after sixteen years, and with the main suspects either
missing or presumed dead, how is he to go about that task?
Drawing on his experience with the Met, he enlists the help
of a psychic, and finds that he is now in the position of
not only having to defend his own intuition, but hers, too
The sequel to `Death is a Member`, Murder in the Ascendant
is a well-crafted detective story that never rushes in its
satisfying dissection of the dark side of human nature.
..
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4.0 out of 5 stars Murder in the ascendanct, 12 Nov 2008
By Michael Hands - See all my reviews
This is the second book belonging to this author that I
have read, and I consider that The Author has lost none
of his touch at keeping the reader on the edge of his seat
whilst trying to assertain who committed such a dastardly
murder some 16 years ago.
The book is well constructed and I found it difficult to
put the book down untill I reached the final chapter and
learned for myself just who the murderer was.
Totally recommended.
October 19th. 2008
The following is an extracr from an email I received today
from Shawn Remfrey one of the Ninety odd reviewers of Armchair
Interews in America . Shawn reviewed `Murder in the Ascendant`
last August for me { see armchair interview listed below
}.
Dear Mr. Evans,
I've restarted typing this letter to you three times now.
It seems I'm not quite sure how to tell you what an impact
you've made on my life. I did the review for Armchair
Interviews for 'Murder in the Ascendant', I hope you remember
me :) I've gotten permission from the site to contact
you personally. I'm afraid this letter might seem
as if I'm rambling, but I hope you don't mind :) As
I sit here typing this I have three children asleep on the
floor beside me and a 3 year old trying to tug me away from
the computer while 2 tv's are blaring Disney movies.
Thankfully both tv's are playing 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks'
so at least they're in sync :)
When I first got your book, I thought to myself 'ok, a detective
novel, this should be a nice read, but I sure hope it isn't
too predictable'. Then I read your book and was absolutely
astounded by the gift you have. I kept finding myself
wishing that you had started writing earlier because you
have so much to give the world. Then I realized that
I'm just thankful you started writing :) I still haven't
read "Death is a Member', but it's on my 'to get when
I have a chance to breathe' list :) I'm hoping once
you finish the trilogy I'll be able to get the first and
last book so that I can put your books on my keeper shelf.
I loved your book so much that I shared it with my Grampa.
I come from a long line of booklovers, and my grandfather
is the king of readers. He has first editions of the
most wonderful books, such as Caine Mutiny and Robin Hood.
When I want something good to read that will make me really
think, he's the man I go to. He loved it as much as
I did and had my aunt order him a copy online. I hope
you take that for the high praise that it is, since my Grampa
doesn't read fluff books, only actual literature.
Your book is sitting right up there with all of the classics.-----------------------------------
The email goes on to more personal elements of her family
life in Indiana of her work and the fact that she schools
her own children.. I’m quite sure she could write
a great book on her young life and it will be a suggestion
I will put to her..
Weekend Book Reviews. Shropshire
Star. Saturday 30th.August 2008.
This the sequel to `Death is a Member` and is the second
in the trilogy.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Langton ex Metropolitan Police
and now settled in Abbottsford becomes involved in the disappearance
of a woman 16 years ago. As details of her abduction and
murder come to light, a pattern becomes clear and there
is suspicion of a cult involvement.
Langton is faced with the task of identifying those who
raped and murdered victims chosen purely for their star
signs, but he seems to be on a dead-end course as all the
main suspects are missing or dead.
He enlists the help of a psychic to help shed some light
on the matter, but soon finds he is having to protect her
intuition as well as his own.
This is a really good story by a Much Wenlock author who
didn’t begin writing until he was 81. His characters
are credible,his detail faultless, and his style is eminently
readable. It is a perfect example of good English crime
fiction.
* * * *
Sally Bunn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second book of the authors trilogy ` Murder in the
Ascendant` I was quite surprised at the format. I enjoy
crime novels and his first effort of writing a crime novel
`Death is a Member`I enjoyed very much. As an ex member
of a Golf club here in East Sussex i was familiar with the
atmosphere you get at club socials . This second book involving
a psychic medium added a new dimension. It has been used
before in crime mysteries but I found Evans attempt a much
more realistic addition to th unfolding mystery. The mystery
of a young girl missing 16 years ago and the subsequent
murders committed by members of a mysterious cult associated
with a direlect old mansion going up for auction was intriguing.
The question of whether the murder of young girls in those
pat times and whether the perpetraitors were still alive
was well hidden right to the end.. The psychic worked well
with the established character of DCI Jim Langton. I hope
the third book will be as gripping
D.Mooney 45 Southridge rise. East Sussex
__________________________________________________________________
Bryn Onnen. Abergele. Clwyd. North Wales.
Having read "Death is a Member" & now "Murder
in the Ascendant" may I take
this opportunity of congratulating the author on two very
fine books where
the narrative is so well constructed that once one picks
up one of these
books to read it is very difficult to put down.
The subject matter in both books has been well researched
& this is
reflected in the excellent way the respective characters
portray the fruits
of that study in a most readable & enjoyable manner.
I look forward to the third union of DCI Langton & DJ
Evans being published
in the very near future.
Brom.. North Wales.
___________________________________________________________________________
From Armchair Interviews--America------ http://www.armchairinterviews.com/
.
Murder in the Ascendant
by Desmond John Evans
Published by Athena PressClick on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Shawn Remfrey
It all starts with some real estate going up for sale. When
the agent goes to look at the mansion, he feels like something
is wrong and mentions it to his friend, Chief Inspector
Jim Langton. When the Chief Inspector goes to take a look,
questions start forming. The unsolved mystery of a young
woman nearly sixteen years ago is brought to light, and
the case is reopened.
When Inspector Langton goes to a local psychic for help,
everyone starts questioning his tactics. Clues along the
way lead the inspector to start hunting for the mysterious
Scorpion Club, but will he find all the answers he needs
from them? Who owns the mysterious mansion? What actually
happened to Jane Wixman nearly sixteen years ago? Will the
inspector be able to solve the mystery before any more people
die?
I love this book! Usually mystery books are great through
the first half and then you figure out what’s going
to happen in the end, at which point you only continue reading
the book just to make sure you’re right. This is not
one of those books! I did not have a clue how it was going
to end until it was spelled out for me at the end. The characters
are so realistic that you either love them or hate them.
You can hear their voices, see their faces, and suck in
their emotions as if they were your own. I truly believe
this is one of the best mystery books I have read in years.
Murder in the Ascendant is the second book in a trilogy
being written by Desmond. Evans. The first book, Death is
a Member, introduces us to the Chief Inspector (CI), and
this one continues eighteen months later. I’m impressed
not only with Evans’ amazing storytelling abilities,
but by the fact that he started writing at the age of 81.
He also served in WW II and spent his life working in insurance.
I cannot wait for the third book to be released!
(Read Desmond Evans’ story on our site in Reader’s
Place as he explains how and why he started writing at age
81.)
Armchair Interviews says: Truly a 5-star read!
From our armchair to yours...
© 2008 CASI Publishing, All Rights Reserved.
July 7th. 2008----Leighton Buzzard
I recently bought the second book
of the trilogy. You will remember I sent my thoughts on
the first book `Death is a Member` which I enjoy very much
I finished with your second novel Murder in the Ascendant`over
a week ago and I am glad to tell you that I was glued to
it to the last page, I am looking forward to reading your
third one soon.
Best wishes
Charo
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.0 out of 5 stars Langton Does It Again, 7 Jul 2008
By Ross Evans (Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Following on from, but not limited to, Death is a Member,
Murder in the Ascendant sees DCI Langton investigating a
series of grisly murders with one thing in common - their
star sign...
As Langton gets drawn deeper into a web of murderous intrigue
that goes much deeper than he had foreseen, it becomes clear
that the detective may have to enlist... unusual help to
crack the case - a case that occured over 16 years ago.
Desmond Evans has followed up his debut novel with a powerful
narrative of mystery, danger, and a strong cast of desparate
characters. A must-read for fans of the detective and crime
genres.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Hands. Shrewsbury. July 9th.
Finished reading Murder in the Ascendant
in Scotland. I enjoyed it immensley. The build up was quite
gripping,I was pleased at the development of the two main
character’s Langton and his colleague Mills. The introduction
of the psychic was clever and her role acceptable. I have
to say I enjoyed this book more than your first. Best of
luck with your third, I look forward to it’s release
at the end of the year
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Desmond.
I thought you would like to know
my thoughts on your second book. I enjoyed it very much,
quite different to `Death is a Member`, On balance as an
ex golfer of over 35 years I felt more at home with your
first one. I am hoping you will go ahead and complete your
trilogy and I shall look forward to you letting me know
when it is published.
Best wishes
Brenda . Shrewsbury
The Scorpious constellation --look at the
cover design.
There are several myths dealing with the Scorpius Constellation
the sign under which the character of a scorpio is expressed,
there are possibly two main ones. The first I will mention,
having been explained to me by someone interested in astrology
is of Orion, the Hunter. There is more than one version
of this tale, basically the tale is that a jealous Juno,
the goddess Artemis sent Scorpio to kill Orion. The Scorpion
stings Orion who dies. However so the story goes, Jupiter,
Juno’s husband and king of the gods, takes pity on
Orion. Jupiter balanced the heavens putting himself and
his dogs in the sky as constellations together with all
of the animals he hunted up there near him. Scorpius, however,
was placed on the opposite side of the sky so Orion would
never be hurt by it again"
There is another myth that includes Scorpio. In this story,
"Scorpius is responsible for the runaway horses of
Phoebus Apollo when Phaethon tried to drive the Chariot
of the Sun, he caused great havoc as he careered around
the skies, drying up rivers and scorching the earth"
(Texas Astronomical Society's Constellation of the Month
Series)..
