Having been a huge fan of the original Frost books by RD Wingfield and the TV series it was with trepidation that I read the first set of prequals by James Henry and then latterly two by Danny Miller.

The crime in this, the latest of the prequals is set in the murky world of art dealership, and although not my favourite of the books, this was still an incredibly good read, helped along no doubt with the nostalgia for the era. With the antics of Frost getting one over on Mullet are interspersed with the more serious aspects of this police procedural the story flows well and has moments of lightness to make the reader smile.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you for the advance copy, a welcome return for Jack Frost and a good story, although in parts I got a bit bored (sorry!)

The welcome return of Jack Frost. An excellent story in several parts, Jack has his usual problems with Superintendent Mullet but survives the altercations with his usual aplomb. Great to have him back!.

All In A Days Work.....
An art dealer, a heart attack, an abduction and bodies piling up in local woodlands. All in a days work for Frost and the team. A DI Jack Frost prequel, well written and entertaining. A well rounded read,

Great story and Jack Frost is written so believably that you can picture David Jason saying the dialogue. Fabulous banter between the detectives too and very much of the time era it was written in. Very clever, but not gripping hence my star rating.

A crime novel packed full of intrigue which offers a characterisation of the criminal mind and presents the psychotic thirst for wealth.

An antique dealer turned drunken loner, is found dead on his couch. Cause of death - a heart attack. Detective Inspector Jack Frost is not convinced. It seems that top brass wants the case closed without too much digging.

Longthorn hospital and an orderly is increasing the level of morphine being intravenously fed to a convicted criminal. The orderly is mousy, inconspicuous. He knows how to fade into life, to go unnoticed. His motive is to get the dying man talking. Around the same time, Ivan Fielding is found dead sitting upright on his couch, clean-shaven and smartly dressed sporting a blue polka dot cravat – contrary to the dishevelled, derelict drunk his daughter and granddaughter have come to find at Glen Gables.

After Frost discovers jewellery by Cartier and oil paintings circa 1800, under the floorboards of Glen Gables, he launches into an investigation much to the chagrin of his super. Frost is absorbed in the case, but when Jimmy McVale turns up in Denton it does not go unnoticed. After 17 years in prison, the hardcore criminal has changed his ways, written a book and surfaced from a journey of self-improvement. Allegedly, McVale is linked to the ’67 Bond Street heist and the theft of an invaluable artefact. When little Ruby Hanson disappears and a non-descript artist is found murdered, Frost must consider the possibility that these events link back to the “Bond Street Burrowers”. A triptych of hideous paintings could possibly lead to the answer.

Ange

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

When an art dealer with a seemingly dodgy past is found dead at his own home, it is initially thought that his demise is due to a heart attack, brought on by his drinking habits. After signs of a break-in are discovered, and a worthless painting is found to be missing, however, Detective Inspector Frost suspects foul play and so begins an investigation against the wishes of his superintendent. Meanwhile, an infamous criminal, released from prison, arrives back in the area. Has he really turned over a new leaf or is this some elaborate ploy? When a girl is abducted from outside of a school, and bodies start turning up in Denton Woods, everything seems to lead back to the death of the art dealer, Ivan Fielding. Will Frost be able to unlock the past before there are more deaths?

I’ve always loved the Frost books by R D Wingfield and the subsequent TV series starring David Jason, so I was pleased to see that Danny Miller has continued to write about this legendary character. The character of Frost is well-written and it is easy to picture the detective whilst reading although he is more like the detective from the TV series than the Wingfield novels. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where he is trying to avoid his female neighbour – this was Frost at his best.

Although the plot was an interesting one, and a novel concept, I did find the number of characters confusing at times and had to keep reminding myself of who everybody was. I did like how all the plots intertwined and feel that with fewer characters, this would have worked just as well.

Despite this not being my favourite in the series, it was still very readable and it is always good to meet Inspector Frost again.

Jack Frost is called out when an antiques dealer Ivan Fielding is found dead in his own home. It appears to be natural causes, the man was a heavy drinker, but one of the PC's has found evidence of a possible burglary and the house is filled with valuable antiques but nothing seems to have been taken. Even when the PM shows he died of heart failure Jack still feels something is wrong.
However, pressure from Superintendent Mullet for everyone to be working on a county wide initiative means that Jack is on his own in following up on his feelings and when a young girl is kidnapped Frost knows that any thoughts of investigating his hunch will have to take a back seat.
Meanwhile Jimmy McVale, a violent bank robber, has been released from prison and is in Denton catching up with an old acquaintance. Are the events linked in someway or is Frost seeing connections that aren’t there.

This is another prequel to the DI Jack Frost series, originally by RD Wingfield, and here being ably continued by Danny Miller. Located in Denton, Frost and his team which includes DC Susan Clark, DS John Waters, PC Mills and the ambitious PC David Simms, operate out of Eagle Lane Police Station, ruled over by Superintendent Mullett. It all begins with a unnamed dying patient in a high security psychiatric facility being encouraged to spill the beans about specific events from his past at night. Frost finds himself at the home of retired art dealer, Ivan Fielding, a man who drank too much, whose death seems to straight forward. However, Frost has his suspicions aroused, particularly as evidence emerges that a professional burglar had been in the house. Curiously in a house overflowing with high value paintings and antiques, only a badly painted amateur painting is missing.

Vanessa Fielding, Ivan's wife and his daughter, Sally can throw no light on why the painting should have been taken. Mullett is intent on directing policing energies on the widespread protests at Denton Woods, intent on trying to prevent the proposed intrusive development from taking place there. With an inconclusive post-mortem, and dismissing Frost's reports of a late night intruder at Fielding's home, Mullett insists Frost drops any investigation into Fielding and concentrates on the protests. However, this is Frost, once he has got the bit between his teeth, he is never going to let go. In the meantime, a notoriously famous criminal killer, McVale, is free and arrives in Denton, having gained academic qualifications in prison and written a bestseller, an autobiography, claiming to have seen the light and turned his back on his life of crime. A string of murders take place that seem to be the work of the same killer, using a ball peen hammer. A young girl, 8 year old Ruby Hansen is abducted which has Frost's team working furiously all hours to find her. Every thread lead to Ivan Fielding and his colourful intriguing past life.

Miller's Frost has much in common with Wingfield's Frost, he is still a scruffy and crumpled figure, with his faded bomber jacket, corduroy trousers and cherry red Doc Martens, to the horror of Mullett, but he is a highly effective police officer. A number of Denton's characters return, such as Harry Baskin who runs The Coconut Grove, now involved in organising darts tournaments which are proving to be lucrative. This is a wonderfully entertaining crime read, a joy to see Frost resurrected, in this complex and brutally violent mystery that involves the intelligence agencies and national security. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of The Murder Map, the sixth novel in the Jack Frost prequel series.

I enjoyed reading this book but was disappointed that the author seemed to take the David Jason portrayal of Frost rather than the format described in the original R D Wingfield books all of which I've read. The humour is missing as the original author wrote plots which were laugh out loud amusing, which this book although the author tries but he just cannot emulate. Because of this the book just becomes a standard police procedural with a lead detective who wears strange clothes. I was pleased that the author kept to the R D Wingfield descriptions of Frost and his boss Mr Mullett but the rest of the story was just average fair.

When art dealer Ivan Fielding is found dead of a heart attack in his home, surrounded by the treasures he’s collected all his life, it doesn’t initially seem like a case for Detective Inspector Frost and the Denton police force. But then signs of a burglary are discovered, and Frost senses there’s more to the story than meets the eye – even though the only thing taken was a worthless amateur painting.

Then a young girl is abducted outside the school, an infamous gangster fresh from prison arrives in the area, and dead bodies start turning up in the woods. As Frost and his team dig deeper, everything seems to lead back to Ivan Fielding’s murky lifetime of misdeeds..
This book is good but the author if he continues writing this series needs to forget David Jason;s portrayal of Frost and concentrate on the protagonist described by R D Wingfield.

Despite the differences of the characters displayed on paper and TV once again Jack Frost is at his best. A story involving criminals and crimes old and new keeps the reader engrossed right to the end. An excellent read.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder Map which is the first Book by this author that I have read. It has a lightness and deftness that make it easy to read The novel is told from various points of view, both the police and assorted bad guys. I’m not always a fan of this approach but it works well here, giving the reader a wider view of events and more to ponder as not everyone’s motives are clear from the outset. It held my attention from start to finish so I read it in one sitting.

Art dealer Ivan Fielding is dead from a heart attack at home. It doesn't look at all suspicious - until subtle signs of a burglary are found. But the only thing which appears to be missing is a worthless painting.

A notorious ex-con turns up in Denton, and a small girl is abducted from outside school.

Meanwhile, Denton Woods are heaving with eco-protestors against proposed development.

Mullett wants everyone concentrating on the woods protest and the abduction. But Jack Frost has other ideas, especially when dead bodies start turning up...

This is the second book i have read in the frost series by Danny Miller and I enjoyed this just as much as the first one. It is told from different perspectives, the police but also other criminals for want of a better word. It kept me engrossed with the different views and trying to piece together all the bits of the story. I would definitely recommend this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley for my advanced copy of The Murder Map.

This is the latest installment of the Detective Frost books, and if you are wanting to read one where the character in the book most resembles David Jason's portrayal, then this is for you.

The story centres on an apparent death of natural causes which Frost is not satisfied in. He digs deeper to reveal a case of murder and hidden treasures.

Whilst I enjoyed the book as a light hearted crime drama, I felt it lacked the gritty storytelling of the previous Frost books. I would think that for die hard Frost readers such as myself this may sadly be a let down, however fans of the tv series will thoroughly enjoy. Saying that, I shall look forward to the next installment.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of The Murder Map, the sixth novel in the Jack Frost prequel series.

When former antiques dealer Ivan Fielding is found dead from a heart attack Jack Frost finds something not quite right about the scene so the subtle signs of a professional burglary confirm it, except all that was stolen was an inexpert amateur painting. With a local protest attracting protesters from all over the country Superintendent Mullett wants all hands concentrating on that and forbids Frost from taking the investigation further, but events overtake them and all roads lead back to Ivan Fielding.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder Map which is the first of Mr Miller’s offerings in this series that I have read. It has a lightness and deftness that the James Stanley novels lacked, making it more readable. The novel is told from various points of view, both the police and assorted bad guys. I’m not always a fan of this approach but it works well here, giving the reader a wider view of events and more to ponder as not everyone’s motives are clear from the outset. It held my attention from start to finish so I read it in one sitting.

The plotting is clever with several big events to keep the reader interested but the real thread is the question of their significance and how they fit together. That sounds a bit vague but I don’t want to issue spoilers. Suffice to say that everyone is looking for the same high value item, although not everyone knows exactly what it is. As I said it’s a clever and captivating idea and I loved the ending where Frost both wins and loses which reminded me very much of the television series. I also loved the small comedic touches, both in the dialogue and the situations, which made me laugh. I think that this is the first prequel I have read where I could see David Jason on the page.

The Murder Map is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.