Peter Guttridge, The Once and Future Con

The Once and Future Con

Peter Guttridge

Speck, Mar 2006, $14.00

ISBN: 1933108061

Nick Madrid returns to his college for the first time in about fifteen years to attend a reunion at Oxford. He meets his college girlfriend Faye, who apparently married his rival for her affection back then, Jonathan Askwith. The hostilities between Nick and Jonathan remain high. However, Nick is not interested in rekindling the fire with Faye; instead he wants to light a new one with Genevra Wynn, a friend of his pal Bridget Frost, though in her heels she stands at least two inches taller than Nick's 6'4". Bridget apparently likes Genevra's brother Rex.

Genevra invites Nick and Bridget to join their company by publicizing their discovery of King Arthur's grave site, at what they are converting into Avalon Theme Park to make lots of money since heritage is in. As he considers the venture Nick has doubts, but agrees to at least look at their Camelot. He also learns that his enemy Jonathan drowned in his own puke in the chapel, apparently too drunk to move. Nick travels to the site, but instead of chivalry, he soon finds sexual taboos as the norm, and a serial killer eliminating the competition.

The humor in this you can't go home Madrid mystery is less than in his previous appearances, as this is more personal than ever; Nick is stunned with a revelation about a fifteen year old son of Faye, sexual misconduct with incest and adultery flowing free, and the homicides. The storyline is action-packed once Nick journeys to Avalon, and never slows down until the final con is confronted. Fans of the series will enjoy the journalist's latest investigative tale.