Book description
As he settles into the village life of Aidensfield, North
Yorkshire, Police Constable Nick Rhea begins to understand the
complexities of rural law enforcement, much of with proves to be very
unofficial but highly effective. We hear of his dilemmas as he is torn
between his desire to prove the crippled Sidney Chapman's dog innocent
of sheep-worrying, and the need to do his duty. Farmer Lowe's sheepdog
presents a different problem: the overworked old dog is pretending to
be deaf and Rhea finds himself drawn into the crisis; without the dog,
the cows cannot be milked. Local colours and characters abound. The
mixed creeds of the community provide more headaches for Rhea: for
example Jame Bathurst's funeral goes quite smoothly except that the
village grave-digger does not want the death-bed convert buried in
Catholic ground and has omitted to dig the grave. Rivalry abounds
between Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists, and Rhea has his work cut out.
Nicholas Rhea is the pen-name for Peter N. Walker, formerly an
inspector with the North Yorkshire Police and now the creator of the
Constable series and the inspiration for the long-running and critically
acclaimed ITV drama series Heartbeat and author of Portrait of the North
York Moors. As Peter N. Walker, he is the author of many murders and
mysteries. He lives in North Yorkshire.
