In the 1980s Dorothy Simpson wrote a number of mystery/police procedural novels featuring Luke Thanet. Some have recently been reissued. This is welcome news to the author’s fans and a chance for new readers to enjoy stories that feature a likeable and recurring cast of characters.

Thanet is a good man who cares deeply about his cases, his family and his colleagues, especially Mike with whom he works closely. In this entry, Thanet is looking forward to a break but it is not meant to be. Instead he becomes involved in the case of Charity Pritchard and the religious grooup within which she has been raised. What happened to her? Who is responsible?

If you like traditional mysteries and don’t mind that the titles might seem a tiny bit dated (but so are all those glorious 30s mysteries), consider giving this book and series a try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read. All opinions are my own.

I read this series when they were new and enjoyed every one. Now I am revisiting them, reading them back to back to back - five of them so far. They have stood up well. If you are a fan of the Midsomer Murder series, give this series a try. Luke Thanet and his partner follow the same formula in each book, the standard discovery, investigation, etc. but, beyond that there is the unfolding personal life of Thanet and those around him. In this one, the police search for a missing girl ends in finding her dead. Given her family life it's no surprise that she disappeared. Her family are members of a strict biblical religious group and put their faith in God to find their daughter.
I'm glad this series is being re-issued and I'm looking forward to eventually reading every single one of them.

I had not read any of the Detective Inspector Luke Thanet series before and I read these all at once. In the introduction to the first one, Ms Simpson explains that she spent her professional career as a marriage counselor and that she found some inspiration for her plots in the psychological insights she gained as a therapist. That admission coloured my reading of the books, as did my familiarity with the early run of Midsommer Murders, a long-running UK TV series.

Luke Thanet and Tom Barnaby share a smarminess about their home lives and marriages that I find repulsive. In the case of Luke Thanet, I read Ms Simpson's efforts to teach responsive marriage techniques and her idea of how a married man should act. She even drags DI Thanet's assistant, Mike Lineman, his controlling mother and his suffering wife into it. Yuck.

The mysteries are OK but nothing special.

I don't need this series.

I received review copies of "Close Her Eyes", "Puppet for a Corpse", and "Six Feet Under" by Dorothy Simpson (Open Road Integrated Media) through NetGalley.com.

Much like Puppet for a Purpose, this book also gives the reader a mystery that is NOT what it seems. Once again, things are NOT what they seem. This was actually the first Thanet book I ever read, and one that got me hooked on Thanet as an interesting leading character! Lots of red herrings abound in this book, and you might think you know for sure who the killer is, only to be surprised at the end! But once you look at the facts, it all makes sense and you see where you went wrong. This one is more of a Fall read to me, due to the subject matter, but it's a good look at the evolving team of Thanet and Lineham, and not to be missed if you are into this series!

I just binge read 5 of Dorothy Simpsons Detective Thanet series. The first being "Six Feet Under". This the 5th of the series.

My review will be the same for all 5 that I read. I don't like to recap what happened in the book. We can all read the blurb on the jacket, or online versions. I find it much more important to tell you, the potential reader, what I liked and why or what I disliked and why.

What i liked:

Detective Thanet is a fully realized character. We find out that he hates the first contact with a corpse. There is a mixture of anger and empathy. He often wonders if this makes him ineffective detective. We get a chance to see his family life. His wife and two children. We see the struggles and joys of a normal family. Adds a distinct layer to his character.

Their are only 2 other recurring characters, Doc Mallard, the curmudgeonly coroner, and DS Lineham, Thanets partner who has two strong women in his life, his mother and his wife. they aren't as fully realized as characters but we gather enough information to relate to them.

The tedious work of interviewing and writing reports is frequently related. Since this is a vital aspect of police work we are given an incite to the working life of the police.

The interaction between characters works well. Suspects getting annoyed with the interruptions to their lives. Family members being interviewed shortly after the murder. The difficult job the police have in doing their investigation.

Dorothy Simpson makes the whole process seem real.

What I don"t particularly appreciate. One caveat is that reading all 5 books in a row these "problems" are amplified.

There is a formula that is followed in each book. The finding of the body. the early interviews, the lack of forensic evidence, secondary interviews, the insights that lead to the murderer. Connections to evidence is lacking.

As I stated this becomes more apparent when reading one after the other.

I would like to thank the Publisher, NetGalley, and the author for my copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

An unlikeable victim and an equally deplorable cast of potential murderers make this my least favorite of the first four Luke Thanet mysteries. In addition, Thanet’s wife Joan has temporarily left him to pursue her education, and we don’t get the understated pleasure of watching their relationship develop..

4 and 1 / 2 stars

When the teenage daughter of a fundamentally religious couple goes missing, DI Thanet and DS Lineham are on the hunt for her killer.

The parents delay calling the police into the search for their daughter. They want the search for their daughter left up to God. Later, Charity’s body is found not far from her home.

Charity has had a very unhappy home life. It is no wonder she wanted to escape. She suffered a major trauma in childhood that scarred her for life. But she was an unlikeable person.

Following a painstaking investigation, Thanet hits upon the answer.

This book is very well written and plotted. This is perhaps the best of the series so far. I love the psychology of these novels. DI Thanet is a keen observer of human nature and has startlingly clear insights into people. These are easy to read novels with a laid back attitude. I also like the relationship Thanet has with his wife, Joan.

I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.

The fourth book in the series and I'm still very much enjoying them. In this entry, Thanet gets a distraught man claiming his daughter is missing. Soon after her body is found and ensues another investigation for Thanet and his partner, Mike Lineman. I really like the dynamics between the two men, they have a great partnership. In between the investigation, you also get a glimpse of home life with both men. This novel was just a tad more graphic than the others, especially one scene that was quite horrific. But I'm still loving these books and looking forward to reading the rest of them.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. (less)

I gave up on this. The plot seemed so implausible.

This was an ok story with an unexpected ending. It was not very original. Overall I was not happy with this book