No Accident is a mystery/detective story set in and around the South Downs. Now I like a good mystery to get my teeth into and I was born and raised in the South Downs area so it was immediately appealing in that respect. The author is a self-confessed Columbo fan so people of a certain age will love or hate that connection .. personally I used to really enjoy Columbo so I couldn’t get his image out of mind for quite a while when I was reading this! Columbo does actually get a part but this time in the form of the dog! Kent Fisher is called to an ‘accident’ involving farm machinery (bit gruesome) in his role as an environmental health officer. The victim is a worker at the adventure park which just happens to be run and owned by Kent’s enemy Miles Birchill. Sadly for Kent Mile’s is alive and well, he would prefer it if he were the person the tractor minced! There is a whole can of worms to be opened when Kent begins investigating and I like his method of detective work. We get to know Kent fairly well, he is a decent guy, keen on saving the environment, rescuing animals and putting preservation plans into action. He is currently living in a small area that used to belong to his father’s estate .. there are plenty of secrets revolving around family members and clues pointing at Kent’s birth/childhood. The surrounding area is well described, the author’s apparent love of Sussex and ‘homely’ detectives shine through. It has a cosy, sedate feel to the story almost as though it is set in a previous generation. I enjoyed the humour scattered throughout and the possibility of secret passages in the big house gave it a real Scooby Doo atmosphere. So will Kent Fisher solve the mystery behind the ‘accident, who is the victim and what happened? Robert Crouch has produced a highly enjoyable book and I look forward to reading more by him. Many thanks to the author and Caroline (Bits about Books) for inviting me to take part on the tour.

A different read where the Environmental Health Officer Kent Fisher was at the helm of the investigation of the murder of his colleague. A slow moving story with many subplots, the story was fun to read in most parts. The plot lines were well crafted, the dialogues were okay but didn't pull me in certain sections as I didn't like the the way women were described. But that can be purely me as I expected something more. The mid section meandered, but the final reveal of the Killer was great. Overall, a good read.