Keith Calder is a gunsmith and shooting instructor, but when a member of a shoot is killed and a friend arrested he decides to investigate. A bit too much about guns and bullets at times, which I just skipped.
But enjoyable enough for the first in a series ( )

Great characters, great story, and you learn a bit about guns and dogs and poaching ...

I first read this series when it was originally published and I’m delighted to find the books are just as enjoyable decades later. There is no sense of the stories being dated, perhaps because they focus on country pursuits where you are not conscious that there are no computers, no mobile phones... The important thing is that the characters are fully developed real people that you care about.

The lead character is Keith Calder, itinerant gunsmith and shooting instructor. He is a bit of a lad, is Keith. Never mind a girl in every port - he has one in every town. And while he has to keep on the windy side of the law, he’s not above the odd bit of poaching, not to mention other dubious pursuits.

Keith is one of a shooting party which ends in tragedy when a man dies. He is called in to help the defence when a local man is charged with murder. This proves to be a bit tricky as the accused and he are at daggers drawn, and Keith has a few secrets of his own to keep.

A very satisfying read. ( )