"e;Keen as Mustard"e; is a crime novel set in Harrogate, Yorkshire in the present day. It introduces DCI Cyril Bennettand DS David Owen. Each character complements the other in many ways, both physically and intellectually, buttheir differences amalgamate, one is the grit, the other,the pure magic that produces the perfect pearl in theoyster.Sulphur mustard, a viscous poison, turns to gas when exposed to heat. From 1915, this gas proved devastatingand debilitating when it was effectively used to add further misery in the trenches of Belgium and France. DCICyril Bennett finds himself face to face with the same misery as the first, present day victim, is chastised in thequiet town, just as he is beginning to make progress investigating the suspected murder of two children whoseremains, buried decades ago, are discovered within the grounds of an old Teacher Training College.Bennett, a single, immaculately dressed, northern, art-collecting copper is a stickler for punctuality and goodmanners; a man with a keen eye for the ladies. Waking to find that he is suffering from Bell's Palsy comes as agreat shock, as vanity and partial, facial paralysis are not good bed fellows. DS Owen, his right hand man and DSLiz Graydon, new to the Harrogate Force, are allocated, one case each, under Cyril's watchful eye. Theinvestigations lead Cyril to the Cote d'Azure whilst at the same time, the number of mustard gas victims begins togrow. All victims are from the same profession and each is attacked in the same, calculated way. Human error, improving technology, good Forensic evidence mixed with Bennett's gut feelings, are shaken intoan effective cocktail for solving crime. Sadly, however, we know only too well, that the criminal world always hastwo sides, the face that we see and the one that remains eclipsed; the umbra and penumbra. Sometimes onemasks the other but more often than not it is deliberately hidden. Good conceals bad, the truth the lie; we areusually so anxious to discover the one we seek, that we fail to look further. Is this a failing of human nature?
