THE SPANISH VILLA MURDER an addictive crime mystery full of twists (Eric Ward Mystery) Paperback – 18 May 2020

A very intelligent novel, which is riveting and intriguing. Eric Ward is drawn into a perplexing situation when he is asked to find a missing man. This leads him into a web of confusion, and twists and turns throughout this makes for a suspenseful read.

This book in the series takes some following. Lots of characters, events happening, Intrigue and brutal murders. I couldn't get into this book as the others. Shame. The rich, well married, playing at law and crime just didn't pull together thus time round

Very complicated and rather like the last shipping story. Running out of steam?

Bought this as a Kindle book. Story is typical of the series so no surprises. What annoyed me is the vast number of typographical errors present. This was very disappointing.

A good read and many twists and turnsWell worth getting on KindleMaybe could move on a bit faster

Another successful storyline,can get a bit complicated in various parts(board meetings,law chamber sittings)but stick at it,all part of the storyline interest.All the series have been good reads,the flow and pace is good.😎😎

Nothing more to be said but the highest praise. Thanks for keeping me happy during lockdown , thanks also to my large Samsung tablet as my sight is a problem xx

I'm a big fan of this author and have read a lot of his books.I checked out the reviews before I bought this book and it got great reviews,but once I started reading it I knew that it wasn't for me.

Like the rest of the series, a nice gentle flow with plenty of hidden agendas and murder to cap it off. International wrangling gone wrong. Well worth reading.

Newcastle attorney Eric Ward was a policeman until his career was cut short by glaucoma. He studied law, and eventually became a barrister. And surgery seems to have considerably helped his eyesight. He’s married to the former Ann Morcomb, a wealthy younger woman who runs an estate and a considerable number of investments, and she has yet to understand why Eric won’t throw over his law practice and be her full-time attorney.Eric likes his independence, and he likes knowing that he doesn’t depend upon a wealthy wife, even if it would be easier. He does represent her on the board of a financial firm in London, one that’s filled with sharks itching to see the end of him. Eric asks too many questions – the wrong kind of questions. But’s he made a name for himself in Yorkshire and London for his expertise in maritime law and for ferreting out information that has saved clients (and his wife) a lot of money.He’s approached by Simon Chan, head of a shopping and banking company in Singapore, to find a former company officer who’s now missing. It seems this officer negotiated deals he shouldn’t have, and it isn’t just Chan who wants to find him. The man also disappeared with the wife of a former business partner. But nothing in this world of shipping, strange contracts, high finance, hostile takeovers, and arbitrage is ever what it seems. And the body count is growing.First published in 1991 as “A Kind of Transaction,” “The Spanish Villa Murder” by Roy Lewis is the ninth mystery in the Eric Ward series, and it shares the consistently high quality of story of its predecessors. The story displays a quiet (sometimes not-so-quiet) tension between Ward and his wife that connects to the main plot line and a deep knowledge of maritime law and how courts operate.Lewis is the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes “A Lover Too Many,” “Murder in the Mine,” “The Woods Murder,” “Error of Judgment,” and “Murder for Money,” among others. The Eric Ward series, of which “The Sedleigh Hall Murder” is the first (and originally published as “A Certain Blindness” in 1981), includes 17 novels. The Arnold Landon series is comprised of 22 novels. Lewis lives in northern England.Ward’s understanding of human nature, and his ability to know when a client is lying (which is often), underscore the story in “The Spanish Villa Murder.” The series is being revised and reissued by Joffe Books, and it’s an excellent mystery and legal thriller.

Always pleasant and easy to read, this novel is as entertaining and gripping as the previous ones in the serie with Eric Ward. It is well written and documented.

Another great Eric Ward story from Roy Lewis. Retired Chief Inspector (due to glaucoma problems), Ward falls back onto his Legal training as a solicitor and sets up in private practice. One to get your teeth into, two murders, jigery pokey, insider dealings and fraud. This book has it all. Highly recommended.

Those of us unfamiliar with boardrooms, stock markets and international shipping will need to work hard to keep up, as former policeman, now Tyneside lawyer, Eric Ward is drawn into a complex tale that involves all three. A man is murdered in Spain. The woman he’s with is brutally raped but escapes back to England and ends up calling on Ward for help. In between times, Ward is asked to find a missing man, a former Tyneside boy who has gone on to become VP and Charter Manager in Singapore for an international Chinese-Malayan company. He’s also asked to help head off a raid from a dubious American on a company that turns out to also have a part in the story. Things come to a head with a marvellous scene in chambers where the no-nonsense Master attempts to get to the bottom of a 3 way legal contest.Lewis is at his best when presenting the legal and business aspects of the case so it’s not a story for intellectual wimps. The tone and sensibility of the book are refined in an age-gone-by kind of way though he makes it perfectly clear that the behaviour of people at this level can be just as vengeful and shark like as that of a drug lord. A different kind of crime novel - most welcome.