Book info

• Title Frost at Christmas
• Author R. D. Wingfield
• Year 1984
• Genre Mystery

Ten days to Christmas. Tracey Uphill, aged eight, hasn't come home from Sunday school. Her mother, a pretty young prostitute, is desperate. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost, sloppy, scruffy and insubordinate. He's been assigned a new sidekick, the Chief Constable's nephew Detective Constable Clive Barnard. Fresh to provincial Denton in an oversmart suit, Barnard is an easy target for Frost's withering satire. Assisted and annoyed by Barnard, Frost, complete with a store of tasteless anecdotes to fit every occasion, proceeds with the investigation in typically unorthodox style. After consulting a local witch, Frost finds himself drawn into an unsolved crime from the past. He's risking not only his career, but also his life...

Thoughts

I’m not sure what prompted me to want to read this. I’ve seen a few of the episodes, and David Jason is, of course, a national treasure, but that’s about as far as it goes.

As it turns out, R.D. Wingfield was never that keen on the TV adaptation of his character and I can see why. In the book, whilst still remaining lovably erratic, Detective Inspector Jack Frost is far more of a dirty old man.

Troubled and troublesome, he’s teamed up with a young, ambitious chap and the mismatched pair find themselves thrown in at the deep end with a couple of inter-linked crimes to be solved.

Although the format isn’t exactly unique, the writing is fabulous - indulgent and welcoming. Despite the frozen winter described within, it still felt warm and cosy to read, a piece from a simpler time. I’m definitely going to be reading the others in the series.

Rating: 4 / 5