Inspector Alvarez Series

British art dealer Oliver Cooper lived an apparently idyllic life on sun-soaked Mallorca - until he abruptly disappeared. Low-keyed, cognac-nipping, but always sharp-witted Inspector Enrique Alvarez is called upon to investigate the disappearance. Cooper is presumed dead and thought to have been considering suicide, but his car was abandoned and no one can find the body. Alvarez has just decided that suicide is out of the question when Cooper's body finally turns up in his own home, making it plain to everyone - even to Alvarez's superior, Superintendent Salas - that a murder has occurred. On the trail for suspects, Alvarez discovers that Cooper's beautiful widow, Rachael, has been having an affair, and that the dead man's neighbor also had cause to hate him. There is no shortage of suspects, except that Cooper's smashed watch indicates his time of death, and those under suspicion all seem to have alibis. But is evidence in the shape of a watch to be believed?

After a night of hard partying, four British tourists fall asleep on a pleasure boat off Mallorca. The next morning, however, three of them, Sheard, Kirsty, and Cara, slowly realize that the fourth, Lewis, is no longer there. Inspector Alvarez is disturbed by a phone call during his leisurely breakfast ordering him to find the missing man. As Alvarez quickly discovers, though, Lewis was no ordinary tourist. Even though his twentieth adventure takes him away from his beloved Mallorca to mainland Spain and to Paris, Alvarez still finds plenty of time for nips of brandy, long midday meals, and even a siesta or two, as he attacks this latest impossible crime with his usual sleepy and sun-soaked vigor.

Inspector Alvarez likes the quiet life, away from the disapproving gaze of his boss, Superior Chief Salas, and the antics of Mallorca's expatriate community. So he is not inclined to become too concerned when Bevis Ogden, a wealthy British man, reports the disappearance of his attractive young wife, Sabrina. No doubt she has found a younger, possibly wealthier, alternative and left for greener pastures. However, the discovery of a body at the bottom of a gorge changes his attitude dramatically. The husband is distraught, but is this just an act? Rumors abound over Sabrina's lifestyle-from the lovers to the over-indulgent spending. But their expat pack is rife with unsavory characters: The young gigolo who, dependent on a wealthy older woman, may have had an illicit affair with Sabrina; and the cynical and bitter friend whose advances she may have rejected. The investigation becomes even more complicated when the specter of an insurance fraud is raised. Alvarez thinks he knows the answer, but proving his theory is another matter. Wittier and fresher than ever, this latest novel in the "good natured, wonderfully ironic, completely captivating" series (Buffalo News), proves that Roderic Jeffries is a clever and compelling storyteller at the top of his form.

When the body of retired Bolivian diplomat Guido Zavala is found floating in his swimming pool, Inspector Alvarez finds evidence that points to foul play. Though the Inspector would rather be sipping a brandy in the shade, he begins to look for suspects. As Alvarez digs further into Zavala's past, he quickly uncovers a history of dubious acts that had left Zavala with numerous enemies-each with plenty of motive to see him dead. There is Jerome Robertson, whose beautiful and much younger wife had been involved in an affair with Zavala; Santiago Pons, a builder whose gambling debts had left him at Zavala's mercy; and Bailey, an honorable man who had suffered at the hands of Zavala. The deeper he delves into the case, the more Alvarez begins to find himself in danger. After a series of phone calls that make it all too clear he could be the next victim, he appeals to Superior Chief Salas for help and is denied. Will Alvarez be able to weed through the long list of suspects before it's too late? Jeffries delivers yet another delightful and witty mystery featuring "the brandy-loving, slow-moving" (Booklist) Inspector Alvarez.