Product Description

Bob Burns is an old-fashioned kind of Scottish sleuth, more interested in catching villains than brown-nosing to get promotion. So, when his enquiries into a brutal and bizarre murder are blocked by his bosses, should he risk losing his career by carrying on his investigations? Encouraged by an attractive-though-maverick forensic scientist and assisted by a keener-than-bright young constable, Bob does it his way. The trail leads the trio from Scotland to Mallorca, where intrigue and mayhem mingle with the crowds at a fishermen's fiesta. A rare combination of suspense and comedy, with a real twist in the tail.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194467 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 274 pages

Edinburgh Evening News, July 27, 2206
Peter has a killer way with words.
(Edinburgh Evening News)

The Scotsman - 26 August 2006
Written with gusto, the action moves at a rate of knots and revs dramatically ...

'Sunday Post Plus ' September 3, 2006
Whodunit fans will love this first in a new series ... a murder
hunt with funny and frightening results!

Customer Reviews

A highly entertaining and humorous romp
I rarely pick up a whodunnit book but I took a chance with The Mallorca Connection, not least because I am aware of Peter Kerr's other titles and know Mallorca well. The book's main protagonists, Bob Burns and side kick, Andy Green, offer a great deal of slapstick humour and fun reminding me at times of the madcap duo, Dogberry & Verges in Shakespearean comedy. However there is a complex murder to be solved and the investigation weaves its path from the UK to Mallorca. There is added poignancy and romance in the various sub plots. An enjoyable read for those wanting a racy whodunnit with added humour.

A Mischievous Mystery
As a fan of Peter Kerr's delightfully descriptive and humorous observations in his 'Snowball Oranges' series of travel books, I admit to having had misgivings about this crossover into 'crime' fiction. Other authors have tripped spectacularly over such tricky hurdles.

However, it seems that Peter has succeeded in making the leap by tackling the challenge in his own (apparently) simple way - i.e. as in his travel writing, he comes over first and foremost as a story-teller and he doesn't let genre demarcations get in the way.

Here is a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very last sentence. But along the way, your concentration is steered into tongue-in-cheek diversions that, while giving you a laugh or two, also introduce you to key features of the characters who, I guess, will become regulars in future Bob Burns yarns.

In fact, this is reminiscent of the formula that proved so popular in Kerr's travel books, but with the added freedom of imagination that fiction writing invites. He has certainly made the most of that freedom, especially in some hilarious action sequences. Thankfully, he has managed to maintain a strong travel element in the story line as well.

It's quirky, one of a kind, and I'm already looking forward to 'The Sporran Connection', which, according to its Amazon blurb, promises to be even more off-the-wall than this first Bob Burns whodunnit.

Crime 'purists' beware!

Suspense,wit and brilliant writing
Just like his brilliant travel writing, Peter Kerr's "Bob Burns investigates" is extremely well-written; highly entertaining; witty; and the characters and places are so vividly described that they spring to life in one's imagination. The plot of the murder mystery that Bob Burns investigates is so well constructed that the reader is left guessing until the end. To create great suspense, but at the same time inject humour in a detective story is no mean feat and just shows that Peter Kerr is one of today's most accomplished writers. What I appreciate most in his books (which I have all read avidly) is that he knows how to keep the story flowing without ever a dull passage or unnecessary digression.