RETURN TICKET is the second in a modern-ish day mystery series, Traffic Warden Mysteries #2 by author Michelle Diener. It's set in 1963, so it's got kind of a contemporary feel to it, especially as compared to Diener's typical science fiction genre. Diener has done a few historical whodunit series, too. My absolute favorite from this author is her Susanna Horenbout and John Parker series, set in Henry the Eighth's England.
This, Traffic Warden Mysteries #2 series is the first that she's done set in this century, and I already owned book 1, titled TICKET OUT, which was sitting in my To Be Read pile. So I opened up Ticket Out, then hopped on to RETURN TICKET. I can think of a few authors who have written books set in different worlds or timeframes where some series have worked for me but others, written with the same sort of voice but placed into a different setting, don't work for me. Usually, this happens when authors try to write more modern-day books, and that's the case here. I really enjoy many other series by Diener, but her mid-century mysteries miss the mark for me.
Gabriella Farnsworth is a half-Italian woman who moved from her birth country of Australia and takes up a job as a London traffic warden to make ends meet. Gabriella is one of those characters who always seems to be tripping over bodies. This kind of character is always wildly entertaining in an unlikely manner to read about – how can someone get into so much trouble?! She's typically so bold and almost blasé-acting about the dangers she's in too, even if she is shaking inside.
Gabriella's boyfriend, Detective Sergeant James Archer with Scotland Yard is searching for a killer who is using the pea soup fogs of London to provide cover for his nefarious deeds. It seems that these current killings are tied to a series of unsolved murders from during the Blitz. Gabriella gets pulled into DS Archer's search, and some of her neighbors get involved in the shenanigans too. Part of what I enjoyed about these books is the strong and supportive ties between many of the characters.
I typically really enjoy Diener's work, but this 1960s London series is not my particular cup of tea. Diner's voice doesn't work for me when set into a twentieth-century backdrop. I will be sure to grab any other series books that Diener publishes, but I think the traffic warden and her detective romantic interest will have to do without me in the future.
It’s autumn, 1963, and there’s a dark cloud hanging over London. Literally.
The thick, impenetrable smog is the perfect cover for a killer who’s stalking the streets, not that traffic warden, Gabriella Farnsworth, knows that when she’s approached by three young boys who say they’ve found a body.
When her boyfriend, Detective Sergeant James Archer, gets assigned the case, he begins to build a picture of the killer’s patterns and becomes increasingly nervous every time the smog settles over the city.
Especially when bodies are found once the mist clears.
Gabriella’s diverse contacts on the street provide vital information that help James understand that these murders are not the start of a killing spree, they are a continuation of one that came before.
They’ll have to go back to what happened during the Blitz, to another time when London was shrouded in darkness, to find the clues to catch the man who’s returned to kill again.
James and Gabriella know that they have to solve the mystery before the next fog descends, because when it does, the killer will strike again.
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