Frost at Christmas

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Frost at Christmas
Author R. D. Wingfield
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Detective Inspector Frost
Genre(s) Mystery novel
Publisher Constable
Publication date 1987
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) crimeline - reprint edition
Audio Book
Pages 288 pp reprint edition, paperback)
ISBN 0553571680
Followed by A Touch of Frost

Frost at Christmas (1984) is the first of the series of novels written by R. D. Wingfield, the creator of the character Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who is more famously known in the television series ‘A Touch of Frost’, where the character is played by Sir David Jason.

[edit] Plot

As Christmas approaching Detective Inspector William “Jack” Frost is on the trail of a sensitive case which has limited time to solve. Tracy Uphill, an eight year old child, goes missing after attending Sunday school. It turns out her mother is a prostitute who couldn’t meet her because she was with a client.

There are many suspects and characters to trouble DI Frost’s mind including; the mother’s client with a false alibi, the vicar with a penchant for pornography and a local psychic who claims she know where to find the body of the young girl. At the same time other cases also need to be solved as Frost has to investigate the break in into a local bank, a 30 year old skeleton with a severed arm.

Detective Sergeant Clive Barnard, the nephew of the Chief Constable, is another problem Frost faces. While many believe that DS Barnard has only got into CID through his family connections and his all-knowing attitude does not help to improve his image, Frost seems to be the only person understanding the young cop and becomes his mentor.