Haunted by the Past

Set in Stratford and the surrounding villages, ON A THIN STALK illustrates how even seemingly ordinary places can be haunted by their past – in this case the second world war.At three in the morning, out on the perimeter of a disused airfield, Amos Cotswold – jobbing farmer and local councillor with a pet pot-bellied pig – leaps for his life when Spitfires strafe the road. The year – 2006. Ghostly repetition? A restless, unburied soul re-enacting its own demise... or powerful interests determined to prevent the redevelopment of the adjacent army camp?

A priceless Durer sketch

Amos lands in a ditch atop the corpse of a German prisoner of war. Carrying a priceless Durer sketch, the dead POW leads Amos along a trail of phantom aircraft, fine art, a gangmaster’s exploitation of immigrant labour and the renovation of an old steam railway. Hampered by his inherited obligation to the wartime underground movement, Amos finally uncovers the dark reality of what the second world war bequeathed the country.

Virgil knew a thing or two

The title was taken from a Virgil quotation: You practise your pastoral music on a thin stalk. It is over two thousand years since Virgil recognised how fragile was the balance between economic necessity and that rural idyll to which we still aspire. In ON A THIN STALK, Amos Cotswold battles against local prejudice and crooked entrepreneurs to promote projects which will sustain his village – little suspecting what really drives the enemy.

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REVIEWS:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Marple's friend ......, 18 Oct 2007

Anne Gubbins - This review is from: On a Thin Stalk (Hardcover)

Had Amos Cotswold been created eighty years earlier, he would have made a good friend for Miss Marple. With a similar way of refusing to take no for an answer and worrying an anomaly until it yields up its evidence, he sets about solving mysteries. In this first book of a new series, shots from a Spitfire both scare and intrigue him, and lead him to probe the twenty-first century world of art scams and illegal immigrant labour.

AM Story writes with a light touch, a keen sense of humour and a strong affection for the Warwickshire countryside where the story is set. Amos is a character you quickly grow fond of - I look forward to reading more of his exploits.

J. D. Gillott - This review is from: On a Thin Stalk (Hardcover) 11 Sep 2007

A rattling good who dun it novel with local interest which keeps you in suspense until the last chapter. Full of different plot solutions with well formed characters each capable of a surprise part in the final outcome.

Christopher Farmer

This review is from: On a Thin Stalk (Hardcover) 3 Sep 2007

What a cracking novel.It keeps you guessing all through the story as to the ending.I take my hat off to the author for a well written and well
constructed mystery novel.I hope there will be a lot more Amos Cotswold mysteries to come from the pen of A.M.Story.