Jazzy3113
01-14-2008, 05:23 PM
When I was in college I came across an award given to British authors called the Gold Dagger. It was awarded to the best mystery/crime book that year. I enjoyed reading a book that had won the award and began reading other winners.
Recently, I had the urge to reread one of the crime books I read and went through the Dagger List and have searched each winner, but I cannot find the book I loved. I am going to post the plot here and I hope it will trigger someones memory.
The book takes place in a small village somewhere in the UK. A girl has gone missing. The inspector visits the town and begins his investigation. During the course of the investigation, the Inspector finds out that the step-dad is a real scumbag and has been controlling his wife, and many members of the community through fear. He has been molesting some of the children and taking horrible pictures. The evidence begins to mount against the step dad including a bloody scarf found in his "photoshop".
He admits to taking indecent pictures but claims he never injured or physically hurt the girl. A physic claims the girl is unharmed and living in the city. Eventually the inspector arrests the step dad and he is executed for his crime of murder. Years later the inspector's son is getting married to a girl from the same small town and when he goes to the door of his new daughter-in-law, a woman opens the door and he has a heart attack. It is a spitting image of the missing girl from years ago.
It turns out her mother conncocted the scheme to fake her disappearance and death to save the girl from the step dad and get the step dad arrested.
Has anyone read this book and could pass along the name? I am not sure if it won the Gold Dagger or I stumbled across it while doing Dagger searches.
Thanks.
Recently, I had the urge to reread one of the crime books I read and went through the Dagger List and have searched each winner, but I cannot find the book I loved. I am going to post the plot here and I hope it will trigger someones memory.
The book takes place in a small village somewhere in the UK. A girl has gone missing. The inspector visits the town and begins his investigation. During the course of the investigation, the Inspector finds out that the step-dad is a real scumbag and has been controlling his wife, and many members of the community through fear. He has been molesting some of the children and taking horrible pictures. The evidence begins to mount against the step dad including a bloody scarf found in his "photoshop".
He admits to taking indecent pictures but claims he never injured or physically hurt the girl. A physic claims the girl is unharmed and living in the city. Eventually the inspector arrests the step dad and he is executed for his crime of murder. Years later the inspector's son is getting married to a girl from the same small town and when he goes to the door of his new daughter-in-law, a woman opens the door and he has a heart attack. It is a spitting image of the missing girl from years ago.
It turns out her mother conncocted the scheme to fake her disappearance and death to save the girl from the step dad and get the step dad arrested.
Has anyone read this book and could pass along the name? I am not sure if it won the Gold Dagger or I stumbled across it while doing Dagger searches.
Thanks.