Sat 11 Feb 2017
Archived Mystery Review: FRANK PARRISH – Sting of the Honeybee.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[5] Comments
FRANK PARRISH – Sting of the Honeybee. Dodd Mead, US, hardcover, 1979. Perennial Library, US, paperback, 1983. First pubished in the UK by Constable, hardcover, 1978.
Dan Mallet is a poacher by choice, not by necessity. He’s also a part-time burglar, but at this he’s still very much an amateur. A pony he pilfers and some stolen clocks eventually prove to be his undoing — major contributing factors in the huge predicament he soon finds he’s gotten himself into, in this, his second book-length adventure.
There is no detection involved. A gangster who comes down to the West Country from London reveals his true colors very early on. To regain his boyhood farm from the two little and quarrelsome old ladies who now own it, the man is willing to go to any lengths, and only Dan knows the trouble they’re in.
In truth he’s in no position to do much about it, but the suspense story that follows as he tries is an exciting one, retaining a great deal of the deep, raw flavor of the untamed English countryside. As always, it’s tremendously satisfying to read a mystery that’s both well-written and well-contrived.
The Dan Mallet series —
Fire in the Barley, 1977.
Sting of the Honeybee, 1978.
Snare in the Dark, 1982.
Bait on the Hook, 1983.
Face at the Window, 1984.
Fly in the Cobweb, 1986.
Caught in the Birdlime, 1987.
Voices from the Dark, 1993.
February 11th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
I’ve read most of that series and enjoyed each book.
February 11th, 2017 at 10:21 pm
I have copies of the first six and have read (and enjoyed) three of them. The last two titles I didn’t know about before.
I left my rating for the book off the review. Just in case anyone would like to know, I gave it an “A minus.”
February 11th, 2017 at 11:47 pm
I just discovered that book seven, CAUGHT IN THE BIRDLIME, was published in the US as BIRD IN THE NET, and that book eight, VOICES IN THE DARK, never came out in this country.
No wonder they didn’t sound familiar!
February 12th, 2017 at 12:21 am
I enjoyed all the Mallet books, but loved the Sandro, Colly, and Lady Jennifer series as by Ivor Drummond even more. There he managed to combine Bulldog Drummond, Dennis Wheatley’s Duc De Richleau, the Saint, and James Bond while being a better suspense writer than any of them.
February 12th, 2017 at 1:50 am
Great adventure stories, yes, and great titles, too:
DRUMMOND, IVOR; pseudonym of Roger Longrigg, (1929-2000); other pseudonyms Laura Black, Frank Parrish & Domini Taylor
The Man with the Tiny Head
The Priests of the Abomination
The Frog in the Moonflower
The Jaws of the Watchdog
The Power of the Bug
A Tank of Sacred Eels
The Necklace of Skulls
A Stench of Poppies
The Diamonds of Loreta