Lock 13 features Chris Honeysett, a private detective whose cases I had never read before, despite this being the sixth in what is clearly a popular series. The previous episodes are Headcase (2005), Slim Chance (2006) Rainstone Fall (2008) An Inch of Time (2012) Worthless Remains (2013) and Indelible (2014). Honeysett, like his creator Peter Helton is an artist operating near Bath in the south-west of England. His professional investigations do not pay all his bills, and he supplements his income by selling his paintings when he can, and teaching drawing and painting classes from his picturesque home, a former mill which he shares with his girlfriend, Annis.

Honeysett is engaged on an extremely dull – but possibly lucrative – case involving a gentleman called Henry Blinkhorn, an angler who, when his boat overturned in the Severn Estuary, tragically drowned. Or did he? The company faced with a hefty life insurance payout to the Widow Blinkhorn have their doubts, and Honeysett is hired to prove that Mr B is alive, well, and pulling several skeins of wool over the eyes of Griffins, the people who are taking the million pound hit over the death, or not, of the unfortunate fisherman.

A welcome distraction from the tedious observation of The Chestnuts, the Blinkhorn’s six-bedroom house in one of the many salubrious areas of Bath, comes when Honeysett’s regular model for his life drawing classes, a young lady called Verity, inexplicably disappears. With Annis – also an artist (and noticeably more successful) away painting a mural for a rich celebrity, Honeysett decides to delve into Verity’s disappearance but, as is the way with these things, he discovers that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Verity was friendly with some rather disreputable characters, including a verminous colony of New Age Travelers who, when they are not meditating or actually traveling, have their grimy fingers in a lucrative drug dealing business.

It seems that young Verity has come into funds rather suddenly, and has realised her oft-longed-for ambition to buy a canal boat and remove herself from the stresses and strains of city life by taking to the water. By a rather fortuitous set of coincidences (both for himself and the plot) Honeysett manages to borrow a canal narrow boat in which he sets off to pursue the errant Verity. As both he and we quickly discover, “pursue’ may be over-egging the pudding, as the laws of canal boating restrict speed to 4 mph. As Honeysett makes his stately – and occasionally wayward – progress in the ironically named Dreamcatcher, he soon has a growing number of conundrums to solve. Who, for example, are the two mysteriously sunglassed gents who appear to be following him in their cabin cruiser? And what is the true story behind the tragic drowning of Neil, former owner of Dreamcatcher, in the murky depths of the titular Lock 13?

Sometimes a novel is so delightfully written that a reader can reach the last page with a smile and sense of contentment, despite the fact that nothing very dramatic or shocking, at least by the standards of some modern thrillers, has happened during the 200 pages or so which have made up the narrative. Lock 13 is one such book. Peter Helton (right) tells the story through the eyes of Chris Honeysett, and the style is fluent, conversational, occasionally erudite, often witty – but always very, very, readable. Established fans of the Honeysett series can feel duly smug that the amiable painter-sleuth has found another convert, and they can rest assured that I shall be working my way through the file of Honeysett’s previous cases.

Reviewed online for Crime Review:

If you don’t go for quirky, look away now. Lock 13 is the latest in Peter Helton’s cosy series featuring an artist/PI with a silly name, a run-down watermill near Bath as his abode and fairly relaxed personal circumstances – his much younger girlfriend (also sporting a silly name) has been known to sleep with one of his mates, who just happens to be a former breaking and entering expert.

Chris Honeysett doesn’t always seem to be doing much arting, so to speak. And he’s not over-burdened with PI work either, despite having a nosy streak as wide as the M4. Mind you, he’s always desperate for dosh when you’ve got a house that eats money like his does.

In Lock 13, he’s offered a job by some insurers who want a missing man tracked down. Keen fisherman Henry Blinkhorn died when his boat capsized in the Severn estuary. So how come, six years later, he’s on the front cover of the Angler magazine? The insurers had paid out a large sum on his death, and they’d like their money back, please … Chris is a man who’s easily sidetracked, though, and when his life drawing model Verity Lake disappears, he sets off in search of her.

If you fancy a scenic tour of the canals of Bath and Wiltshire, then Lock 13 may well be to your fancy. And Helton definitely likes his unusual rural chases – a previous book had a memorably daft one down rural lanes, while the canal is just too tempting this time out.

If you’re a regular cosy consumer, some of the wobbles in Lock 13 might not bug you as much as they bugged me. Helton is rather king of the foreshadowing – you know, the ‘had I but known’ approach. Our hero isn’t a logical bloke – he sidelines a potentially well-paid gig in favour of looking for a missing woman where there’s no money at stake. And if you’re attempting some breaking and entering, and are angsting over not leaving a trace, would you really open a bottle of Scotch and get pissed? There are a few too many coincidences and it’s all tidied up rather too neatly so everyone can get home in time for tea.

But Lock 13 is still a pleasant, good-humoured read boasting some sparky dialogue – and sometimes you can’t ask for more than that. Don’t expect too much realism and you won’t be disappointed.

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Artist/Private Investigator Chris Honeysett has been given a thankless job by an Insurance company, prove a man declared dead is still alive. His Partner Annis has been commissioned to paint a mural at a wealthy man's house. Their friend Tim is in love. Chris is more interested in locating his missing life model Verity. Chris borrows a narrowboat and travels away from Bath into his latest excellent adventure Meeting a variety of villains and characters, including a naked rambler!. Very well recommended.

Quirky characters and an unusual setting compensate for some issues with this entertaining mystery. Chris is a painter and a PI who is looking not only for a dead man but also for his model. He's got a fun sense of humor. I was fascinated with the canals and boats. This would have benefited from another edit to tighten up parts and make sure things hang together. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of UK PI stories.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishing for a review copy of Lock 13, the seventh novel to feature Bath based painter and occasional P.I. Chris Honeysett.

Broke again, Chris agrees to take on a job for an insurance company. Henry Blinkhorn was presumed drowned six years ago and his wife collected a £1.5m insurance payout but his photo has recently appeared in an angling magazine so the insurance company wants its money back. With few clues Chris is happy to put the investigation on the back burner and concentrate on more important things like the wherabouts of his life model, Verity who has bought a narrow boat and disappeared.

Lock 13 is the first novel I have read in this series and it is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It's not really my kind of novel and it didn't hold my attention but for readers who prefer a cozy mystery with humour it is a superior offering and will suit well.

The novel starts well with some intriguing plotlines and some very funny asides from the hapless and rather inept Chris but soon loses its way as it descends into Chris's adventures on a narrow boat and descriptions of his cooking. The crime element gets lost in these meanderings and I found myself skim reading much of the novel to get to some meat which never really turned up.

I have pondered long and hard about my rating for this novel and have decided on 3* which is halfway between how much I enjoyed it and how much it deserves for being well written and professional.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the eARC.
This was my first book by Peter Helton and what a pleasant surprise; well written, funny and a perfect book for a rainy day.
Our hero, Chris Honeysett, is a part-time painter and part-time PI in Bath.
He's hired by an insurance company to find a man, supposedly dead in a boating accident, who has surprisingly shown up in a photo in a fishing magazine. His widow has already received an enormous amount of money and if Chris can find the 'dead' man, he will receive a hefty paycheck...
And boy, does he need it! His much more successful girlfriend is off painting murals and he's left giving art lessons, helped by his nude model Verity. After unsuccessfully staking out the widow's mansion and the sudden disappearance of Verity, he decides to start looking for Verity.
He ends up borrowing a narrow boat from his mechanic and this is when the fun begins. Our hapless hero has of course never even been on a narrow boat, but manages to bungle his way through all the harrowing mechanics one needs to attend to in order to keep the boat afloat, without killing himself or others.
When I was younger I thought out would be so romantic, sailing through England's canals, so I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions in the book. At the same time I realized going through all the locks would have soon dampened my enthusiasm, so taking the trip with Chris was good enough for me.
We meet some quirky characters on the way (and a crocodile!) as well as some genuinely nasty characters, but everything works out in the end, leaving me smiling and satisfied. Great read!

Hmmm. If you are interested in narrow boats and the canal system in England, you will enjoy this rather unusual mystery. I did enjoy it and was interested in the narrow boats, which I've always found a romantic part of England's past and present. Sometimes amusing and often unexpected, especially Honeysett's narrow boat new found friend on the canals.

Read in Dec.; blog review scheduled for March 12.

NetGalley/Severn House

PI. April 1, 2018. Print length: 224 pages.

Chris Honeysett is a part-time painter and a part-time PI. His sometime model, Verity, disappears without a word and Chris decides to find her. After hearing she is on a canal boat, he borrows his friend’s boat, which has a sad history itself and sets off on an adventure at a very slow pace. It doesn’t take him long to realise he is being followed by not one, but two boats. Who are these people and what do they want with him or Verity?

I loved this book!! The main character was so funny. It is written in the first person and Chris is hilarious with his comic asides and witty thoughts. The story gets lost about a third of the way through and doesn’t re-appear again until the last two chapters when it looks like the author remembers there Is a story-line. To be honest, I didn’t mind the ramblings kept me entertained more than the story would have done.

I am going to read more about this author. It is a nice change to have a funny, but also beautifully described, a book about crime.

More of Mr Honeysett, please!!!

Shesat.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review